Creative Director, The Jim Henson Exhibition
Museum of the Moving Image
Step into the world of Jim Henson’s studio and workshop, where every element—from casework to artifacts to a dizzying array of media—tells a story.
I led the team at Collins for over two years in moving from exhibition outline through design development. Our team was small-but-mighty, so I had my hands in just about everything: strategy, branding, artifact layout, prototyping, software development, 3D modeling, and production software development. It was a blast.
Prototyping Process
Each element, from casework to interactives, was supported by low-tech prototypes (and the occasional code sketch).
The Muppet Show projection
How does one convey the explosion of creativity that happened at the Henson company with The Muppet Show? With a room-scale projection of every episode playing simultaneously, of course.
Puppetry for Television Interactive
Henson’s technique of using a screen while performing was both unique and integral to his and his cohort’s style. To stay true to the performer, I kicked off our process with a workshop and demonstration with two current puppeteers—and had them co-design a paper mockup of the experience with our design & client teams.
Anything Muppets Interactive
Sesame Street offered a unique challenge for Henson and co.: need a (seemingly) endless well of new characters. Enter the Anything Muppets: three differently-sized and hued puppets that could become almost anyone (or anything!). Visitors can create their own Fat Blue with authentic Creature Shop parts while hearing from designer Rollie Krewson (directed by yours truly).
Once they’re ready, they spin Blue around for his camera test (we learned from Rollie that designers use a mirror or live camera to hone in the eyes).
Credits
COLLINS, The Museum of the Moving Image, The City of New York, The Jim Henson Company
MoMI: Barbara Miller, Wendell Walker, Angel Ortiz-Oyola
COLLINS: Brian Collins, Brett Renfer, Clay Kippen, Caroline Bagley, Gabe Benzur, Josh Smith, Antonia Lazar, Tom Wilder
