Designer Maker User presents the museum’s collection to look at the development of modern design through these three interconnected roles.

Designer Maker User features almost 1000 items of twentieth and twenty-first century design viewed through the angles of the designer, manufacturer and user, including a crowdsourced wall.

The exhibition covers a broad range of design disciplines, from architecture and engineering, to the digital world, fashion and graphics. Designer Maker User features a bold, colourful and engaging display designed by Studio Myerscough, with digital interactives by Studio Kin.

The ‘Designer’ segment of the exhibition is based on the phrase by the Italian architect Ernesto Rogers: from the spoon to the city. It explores the ways in which the thought-process of the designer informs projects at every scale, from the smallest to the largest.

David Mellor's traffic light, Kinneir and Calvert's British road signage system and a 1:1 scale prototype for the new London tube train designed by PriestmanGoode will be on show.

In the ‘Maker’ section, the exhibition traces the evolution of manufacturing, from Thonet bentwood cafe chairs and Model T Ford cars to robotic arms, mass customisation and 3D printing. Everyday objects such as tennis balls as well as notable designs including the London 2012 Olympic Torch are presented at different stages of production.

A display on the ‘User’ explores the interaction between people and brands that have come to define the modern world. Features include a vinyl player from Dieter Rams, landmark pieces from Sony including the Walkman and the Minidisc, the Apple iPhone and the Olivetti Valentine typewriter; all demonstrating how design has changed how we communicate.