Capital Development

Every theatre, museum and gallery should be designed to be experienced, not just seen. To achieve this requires human-centred design.
As part of a consultant group evaluating Arts Council England’s capital investments , I’ve seen first-hand what can go wrong when the ‘big idea’, aesthetics and value engineering get in the way of the user experience. In response, I’ve developed processes to ensure the finished build realises its full potential in delivering an outstanding experience for all who visit.
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Bolton Octagon youth consultation with the architects
Bolton Octagon youth consultation with the architects
Bolton Octagon
Bolton Octagon
Concept Development
Concept Development
Dunfermline Museum and Art Gallery
Dunfermline Museum and Art Gallery
Factory International, Manchester
Factory International,
Manchester
Liverpool Everyman
Liverpool Everyman
Museum of the Home
Museum of the Home
Site visit, Factory International
Site visit, Factory International
University of Bristol Students Union
University of Bristol Students Union
The AOC
V&A Museum of Childhood

Lisa saved the day at a crucial moment in our capital development project. She has been fundamental in putting the visitor experience back at the heart of what we do. Her techniques are the perfect mix of culture change and practical solutions to real problems.

Sonia Solicari
Director, Museum of the Home

Working with Lisa Baxter has been transformational. The building that our theatre is in the middle of a major capital development and we are about to start with work in the theatre itself. It has become very clear to us that considerations about the customer experience using Lisa’s framework and approach would have greatly informed the design of the wider building project. There are some design elements that unfortunately are too late to change. If Lisa’s approach had been considered in more detail earlier on better decisions would have been made.

David Baxter
Theatre Manager, Abergavenny Borough Theatre

Working with Lisa is always a joy. Her insight and wisdom as we prepared to open the doors of the new Liverpool Everyman was fantastic. Lisa helped us explore and understand our new theatre afresh, allowing us to enjoy and discover the delights and challenges it offered.

Sarah Ogle
Communication and Sales Director, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse

Lisa really helped students understand how they wanted to experience the space. She got under the skin of the issue in ways that we would not have been able to without her… The results of her work will significantly contribute to the transformation of UBU and ensure the experience we create is as amazing as we intend it to be

Ben Pilling
Head of Operations and Development, Bristol University Students Union (UBU)
Rethinking The Foyer At The Museum Of The Home, London

Capital Development

If you are thinking about refurbishing or redeveloping your venue, or building a brand new one, I can help you:

  • Develop a User Experience Framework to establish your user experience aspirations and align the Capex team around the experiential goals of your building.
  • Translate this into Practical Guidelines that inform decision making processes around all areas of the capital development to keep the users front and centre.
  • Ensure the building experience and the brand experience are closely aligned through the process of Brand World Building.
  • Design and facilitate creative Stakeholder Engagement events to leverage the potential of the Capex project to meaningfully and productively connect with your audiences and communities.
  • User Test your venue prior to opening to fine tune and calibrate the user experience.
  • Keep the user at the heart of the process every step of the way as your Critical Friend and User Champion.

Clients

  • Factory International
  • Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse
  • Warwick Arts Centre
  • Museum of the Home
  • Young V&A
  • Bolton Octagon
  • Dunfermline Museum and Art Gallery
  • University of Bristol Students Union
  • York Theatre Royal
  • Arts Council England
  • Bradford Community Housing Trust
  • Abergavenny Borough Theatre

Training and Talks

  • Cornwall Museums Partnership’s Firm Foundations Programme
  • ACMI [Australia’s National Museum of Screen Culture]
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