Graphic design in museums: the expanded field

The story of graphic design as a cultural and museum object is a complex one. While there have been few dedicated institutional efforts towards graphic design itself, its numerous outputs have been acquired by a variety of private and public entities as either works of art, collectible objects of fetishism, sources of information or archival and documentary materials on a variety of topics. The varied and dispersed presence of graphic design within institutes in charge of cultural heritage has been further complicated in the digital age. The spread of digital technologies has not only challenged graphic design as a specialised practice, but also led to an expansion of the design field that makes it more difficult to identify, and thus acquire and preserve, its products as distinct artefacts. Examining the status of the design object in museums through the lens of graphic design invites us to question the very ideas of design and museum, as this contribution aims to briefly illustrate through the discussion of several cases between the past and the present.