Organized by Design Museum Boston in association with Grand Circle Gallery and Boston Logan Airport, ‘Getting There: Design for Travel in the Modern Age’ explores how design shapes and transforms the experience of traveling by ship, train, and plane. The exhibition looks back on the jet-setting days of the early 1900s, considers the contemporary traveler’s experience in a deregulated travel industry, and offers some exciting glimpses into future travel possibilities.
Design has shaped and continues to transform our travel experiences. The moment you step into the airport, station, or port you’re entering a world that is curated and planned by designers. From the layout and signage of the airport, to the form and function of your suitcase, to the style and dimensions of your seat; every aspect of the experience is designed.
The exhibition is an initiative to show the efforts of designers to create a comfortable, efficient, and exciting travel experience. We invite you to view vintage travel advertising from a time when leisure travel was made more feasible by technological advancements in transportation. Compare images, plans, and artifacts of the past, present, and future — and ask yourself, “How do we define the Golden Age of Travel?”
The exhibition chronicles the design evolution of traveler accessories, such as noise-canceling headsets, as well as designs of airline seats, train interiors, and vintage cutlery. Drawings, models, and prototypes from design firms such as Bose, Samsonite, Teague, Two Twelve, and IDEO, will highlight projects that have creatively addressed design challenges posed by the constraints of human travel.