Set and Exhibit Designers

Set and exhibit designers develop visual and tactile spaces for entertainment productions or for a variety of displays. Set designers work on movies, television, theater, and other productions. Exhibit designers create spaces to showcase products, art, artifacts, or other displays.

Duties

Set and exhibit designers typically do the following:

• Evaluate scripts or objects to be exhibited
• Collaborate with directors, curators, and others about intended audience in order to determine specific design features
• Design sets or exhibit spaces to tell a story based on factors such as narrative, budget, and location
• Prepare drawings by hand or using computer aided design (CAD) programs of proposed sets or exhibits
• Prepare budgets for all necessary sets or exhibits
• Coordinate with the design team and others to create sets or exhibits that include objects, graphics, and media

Set and exhibit designers create spaces that communicate a message to an audience. They may analyze scripts or other research documents to determine how these spaces can best support a story or theme.

In film, theater, and television, set or scenic designers communicate the author’s or director’s ideas to the audience through the look and feel of scenery, furniture, and props. They consider the scene’s historical period, time of day, season, and other aspects of the story.

Exhibit designers take into account the lighting, size of the space, message, and other qualities of a display. For interactive exhibits, they integrate multimedia effects, such as video and sound, into the space to create a multidimensional experience.

Set and exhibit designers may work on traveling shows and displays, such as concert tours and museum exhibits. These sets must be easily erected and dismantled for transport to new venues and must be flexible to accommodate performing or exhibit spaces of different sizes.

Set and exhibit designers may specialize in designing for a particular purpose. For example, set designers for performing arts companies develop stage sets for live shows, while those who work in television or movies design sets for live or recorded programs, in-studio broadcasts, or motion pictures. Exhibit designers may focus on a specific type of museum display, such as artifacts, or on trade shows or conventions to demonstrate products.  

Set and exhibit designers held about 31,300 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of set and exhibit designers were as follows:

Set and exhibit designers may move from one short-term, full-time job to another, working for a series of employers rather than only one. They may be hired on a per-project or contract basis. Some designers, such as those who work on traveling shows or exhibits, need to travel as part of the job. They may be away from home for weeks or months, depending on the project.

Their work may be stressful at times. For example, they may face deadline pressure while incorporating late changes into the final design or completing a project before the scheduled opening.

Work Schedules

Most set and exhibit designers work full time. They may work evenings or weekends, such as when overseeing the installation of a set or exhibit.

Set and exhibit designers typically need a bachelor’s degree in theater design, exhibit design, or a related field. Some employers prefer to hire candidates who have a master’s degree.

The median annual wage for set and exhibit designers was $66,280 in May 2024.

Employment of set and exhibit designers is projected to show little or no change from 2024 to 2034.

Despite limited employment growth, about 2,500 openings for set and exhibit designers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.