Robert Creighton, IDSA | Red Cape Studio Founder and Industrial Designer 1999 – Present
Robert Creighton has more than twenty years of experience in the conceptual development of interactive experiences and the design of educational environments for cultural institutions. His professional experience bringing varied and complex subject matter to life has led to the development and design of wide ranging and captivating visitor experiences for museums, aquariums, science centers and corporate clients. He’s worked with curators deeply exploring current cultural issues to understand the underlying causes of a community uprising and alongside scientists studying everything from ant decapitating flies to the water system in California. The designs that come from these projects engage the public and encourage them to question assumptions and explore their world from new perspectives.
He began his career with Tom Hennes at Thinc Design in New York where he worked on a range of award winning exhibits including the Aquarium and Rainforest within the California Academy of Sciences. While working in the field of experience design, Robert pursued theoretical work at The New School studying with Paul Ryan to understand his theory of threeing and the underlying concepts from Charles Pierce’s theory of Semiotics. This formed the critical framework for Robert’s thesis research into the application of Semiotics within the development of physical experiences centered around transportation and humans relationship to cars as still objects.
Semiotics and Sustainability inform Robert’s design process and provide a framework to address complex design problems and deliver thoughtful solutions. Recent projects include: “Game Changing” that explores the connections made across cultures through the game of baseball post WWII, “No Justice, No Peace” exploring the causes and aftermath of the 1992 Uprising in Los Angeles, “Another Promised Land: Anita Brenner’s Mexico” that offers a new perspective on the art and visual culture of Mexico and it’s relationship to the United States. He is currently investigating exhibit ideas that allow children to explore their emotions as well as examining the possibilities of pushing the museum out of the building and onto the streets within communities.
Robert is a member of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the product design department at OTIS College of Art and Design. He holds a BFA in Industrial Design from the Rhode Island School of Design and a Master’s Degree in Media Studies from The New School. His films have been shown internationally and he currently resides in Los Angeles.
