By The People: Designing A Better America was a groundbreaking exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum that celebrated the power of ordinary citizens to design solutions for their own communities.
The exhibition demonstrated how design can be a tool for empowerment, resilience, and social justice.
As the exhibition designer I created an experience that celebrated ideas and stories over objects. In a simple, bold move, we “hacked” the Cooper Hewitt’s open source font to create a stencil font. This font was used to paint important text, including the title wall, introductory text and compelling infographics—such as statistics and community quotes—directly onto wall panels.
Throughout, I focused on crafting a space that dignified local narratives, made complex stories accessible, and invited visitors to see themselves as agents of change. My goal was to blend sustainability, inclusivity, and compelling visual storytelling to amplify the exhibition’s mission.
Patrick Seymour, 2018