The professional association for design. Wisconsin Chapter

Sept. 24, 2008 - Designing the Harley-Davidson Museum

Inner Mongolia
photo credit: Palani Mohan/Getty Images for Circle of Blue

Event Recap

by Stacey Williams-Ng

When my husband asked where I was going the other night, as I gathered my things to leave in my triple-buckled black leather boots, I quipped, "I'm off to the motorcycle cathedral," and he knew immediately that I meant the Harley-Davidson Museum. I don't remember exactly why that phrase popped into my head, especially considering that I had never been to the Harley-Davidson Museum before, but when I arrived I was taken by the sense of entry and approach as I drove my car slowly into the new premises in Milwaukee's historic Menomonee Valley. It was really something, especially since—okay, I'll go ahead and admit it now—I'm not a motorcycle enthusiast. I am a sucker, however, for elegant design and great architecture. Oh, and leather boots. But I digress.

Amy Decker, our new President, gave a great opening presentation that included a Wisconsin-produced video documentary produced and directed by AIGA Wisconsin member Jake Stroh. Through Amy's speech as well as in the video, visitors were introduced to the mission and values of AIGA, and in particular its relevance right here in Wisconsin. Clips by influential figures from the community, such as Dan Keegan of the Milwaukee Art Museum, Ken Hanson of Hanson Dodge, and MIAD's new President Neil Hoffman, among others, both iconic and ordinary, truly strengthened the power of the message and for me, solidified how important AIGA is in our design profession.

The keynote speakers for the occasion, of course, were the leading minds behind the design of the Harley-Davidson Museum, James Biber and Abbott Miller of Pentagram Design. Biber, an acclaimed architect and senior partner at Pentagram, presented a detailed overview of his team's process and vision for the architecture of the museum, and Miller discussed in parallel the process of developing the exhibition design. Abbott Miller, who designed the poster for the event and appeared in the AIGA Wisconsin video as well, is a Pentagram partner and a prominent member of AIGA at the national level. For many attendees, so many of whom are graphic designers by trade, Miller's work is legendary; truly it was an honor and thrill to have him right here in Milwaukee, endorsing our fledgling chapter.

Jim Biber's presentation on the development of our city's newest cultural icon, the Harley-Davidson Museum, was absolutely fantastic. It was a scholarly discussion, presented with the depth and thoughtfulness that one would expect he would deliver to a group of fellow architects (and certainly, with the AIA as a major sponsor of the event, we had our share in the room). But for me, as an illustrator and graphic designer, it is rare to have the opportunity to hear such profound depth of content from someone in a parallel field, so there were a lot of lessons to be learned. Foremost for me was the rigor of brand research that went into the plans, coupled with a large degree of historical and contextual research, both in terms of Harley-Davidson's corporate history as well as Milwaukee's city history and culture. How right I was when I had jokingly referred to the place as the motorcycle cathedral, for we learned from Biber that in fact, their two greatest sources of inspiration for the overall architectural concept were the small-town crossroads ("State and Main," as Biber put it), and the great cruciform shape of the medieval cathedrals. Both versions of the "cross" shape provide a perfect environment for sacred gathering places, and so according to Biber, it was the perfect visual metaphor for the kind of gathering place that the museum is meant to be.

The museum has been called an "engaging and entertaining homage to an American icon" by The Wall Street Journal and a "fascinating survey of lifestyle branding, connoisseurship and pop culture" by T: The New York Times Style Magazine. If you've seen the exhibit spaces, you'll know why. Abbott Miller's vision for the exhibitions is truly extraordinary, and brings the formality and "sacred-ness" of the architecture down to the human level. How carefully he and his team labored to measure exactly the right distance for bike display ("We didn't want to say 'do not touch,'" he smiles) and to inspire people like me, who may not understand the passion of the ride, to feel that awe and inspiration that so many Harley riders around the world already know. And for those riders, even more special care was taken to display the objects and the legacy that is so dear to them in a way that is familiar, reverent-and-yet-oh-so-irreverent, cool, and beautiful.

And wow, somehow they did it.

Thanks again to James Biber and Abbott Miller for joining us for this event, and for helping us demonstrate the incredible value of an AIGA membership.

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