The Museu del Disseny (Museum of Design) is an eclectic museum that brings together a variety of artifacts, permanent exhibits, and temporary installations to tell the story of graphic, product, and fashion design throughout Spain and beyond during the past several centuries. Across its many galleries visitors will encounter everything from ceramics to chairs to tourism posters to couture dresses. The Museu del Disseny is located within the Disseny Hub Barcelona complex at Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes, right next door to Mirador Torre Glòries and the Museu de la Música de Barcelona
History of Museu del Disseny
The Museu del Disseny occupies a prominent place within the Disseny Hub Barcelona (sometimes referred to simply as “DHub”) constellation of facilities, which also include a Documentation Center and Archives. The Museu del Disseny as it exists today came about via the merger of several other local institutions, namely the Museu de les Arts Decoratives, Museu Tèxtil i d’Indumentària, and the Gabinet de les Arts Gràfiques. Occupying a visually striking building designed by a local architectural firm, the Museu del Disseny in its current form first opened its doors to the public in 2014.
Museu del Disseny Highlights
The permanent collection of Museu del Disseny numbers thousands and thousands of unique artifacts drawn from a diverse array of disciplines. Of particular note are the museum’s holdings in the fields of graphic design, decorative arts, textile arts and historic clothing, and product design. The museum is also renowned for its splendid graphic arts collection and collection of haute-couture fashion dresses designed by some of Barcelona’s most acclaimed fashion houses.
Museu del Disseny is home to three permanent exhibitions. These include Common Objects: Local Stories, Global Discussions, which brings together a variety of everyday items (think chairs, tables, and lamps) in order to consider the impact of their designs on our lives; Do You Work or Design?: New Visual Communication (1980-2003), a show that explores nearly a quarter-century of provocative work in graphic design; and Dressing the Body: Silhouettes and Fashion (1550-2015), a series of galleries highlighting the impact fashion has had on cultural trends over the past several centuries.
Museu del Disseny also regularly stages temporary exhibitions. These shows run at the museum for a limited time, thus meaning that what you’ll see depends on when you visit. However, a sample of recent temporary exhibitions of note include Pastoral Futures, Wool Migrations, which showcased tapestries and textiles by numerous contemporary artists; ESPILL: A Satellite for the Solstice, a sculptural installation that hung from the ceiling of the museum’s lobby for three months; and HERE WE ARE! Women in Design (1900 – Today), a survey of work by some of the finest female designers of the twentieth century.
More to See and Do at Museu del Disseny
Museu del Disseny is a lively place, where there’s always something new and different taking place. For more information on this distinctive attraction, read on below.
*On the ground floor of Museu del Disseny you’ll find Cafeteria Sauleda, the museum’s in-house dining option. There you can enjoy breakfast or lunch—as well as a quick snack or glass of wine—in the midst of a sunny space defined by large, floor-to-ceiling windows.
*Museu del Disseny provides guests with lockers where they can store any bags or luggage that they don’t wish to carry around the museum during their visit. Best of all, use of these lockers is entirely free of charge.
*Visitors on the hunt for a terrific photo opportunity will want to ride the “up” escalators at Disseny Hub Barcelona; this is because you can access wonderful views of Sagrada Familia from this vantagepoint.
*Whether it’s a film screening, guided tour, or curatorial lecture, there’s always something happening at Museu del Disseny (and throughout the entirety of the Disseny Hub Barcelona campus). Visit the attraction’s official website and click on the “Activities” webpage for the most up-to-date calendar of events, where you might discover something of interest scheduled to take place when you’re planning to visit.
Why Museu del Disseny Should Be on Your Must-See List
The entire Disseny Hub Barcelona complex is a fascinating place to visit; the very nature of its eclectic offerings means that there’s more than likely something for everyone in your traveling party. In particular, if you’re the kind of individual who loves fashion design, has a passion for graphic illustrations, or can’t get enough of interior decorating, you’ll definitely want to add the Museu del Disseny to your Barcelona itinerary.