Director of Design

The Wisconsin Historical Society connects people to the past by collecting, preserving, and sharing stories.

Enriching and transforming lives through unparalleled access to history.

Founded in 1846, the Wisconsin Historical Society is one of the nation’s most respected and dynamic historical organizations. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, the Society is uniquely positioned to serve the public through its mission to connect people to the past by collecting, preserving, and sharing stories.

At the heart of this work is a belief that history matters. A deeper understanding of the past strengthens communities, informs civic life, and supports cultural and economic vitality. The Society’s values are to Embrace a Spirit of Service, Engage our Expertise, Spark Enthusiasm, Cultivate Inclusion, Exceed Expectations, and Think Big and Grow with Purpose. These values guide a high-performing and collaborative organization that is recognized nationally and internationally for its impact.

WHS is committed to being a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization because we truly believe this is the most effective way to attract, engage, and retain the best talent and the most meaningful way to support our mission.

The Director of Experience Design (DXD) leads the Wisconsin Historical Society’s (WHS) Experience Design Studio to advance interpretive and experience projects that are audience-centered, relevant, compelling, and captivating human-centered stories. Achieving excellence in experience design, the DXD ensures each project is on schedule, on budget, and with strong communication with internal and external partners. Positioned within the History Experiences and Engagement Bureau, the DXD is an agency wide leader within a work unit consisting of Experience Design, Community Engagement, and Public Historians.

Experiences shared by the Society are rooted in the foundational elements of history to develop experiences that share state, national, and international stories.

Based in the Design Studio in the flagship Wisconsin History Center (WHC) in downtown Madison, DXD leads the development and implementation of experiences across a diverse portfolio of twelve historic sites and attractions. The core responsibility is the semi-regular changing temporary gallery (~7,500sf), community gallery (~1,000sf), and textile case inside the WHC. The experiences within these spaces will vary greatly from projects developed fully in-house by the Studio to leasing international traveling exhibits.

Additional scope includes leading experiences design at WHS venues that range from historic houses, outdoor living history environments, indoor galleries, library and archives, and other attraction settings.

All projects undertaken by the Design Studio are approved by the WHS Programs and Products Review Team with appropriate financial and staffing resources to deliver the product. DXD is responsible for maintaining the agency’s Experience Development Schedule to ensure the right cadence and resources are committed, and to avoid competing deliverables.

To achieve these goals, the DXD leads the Design Studio to work collaboratively with colleagues across the agency, contractors, and community experts. Reporting to the DXD is a team consisting of Lead Experience Designer, Exhibition Manager, Graphic Designer, Lead Technician, and Technician. For project development, the DXD will engage internal multidisciplinary teams of venue leadership and staff, exhibit developers, educators, retail, marketing, collection specialists, and agency leadership.

DXD is the primary relationship manager with contractors who specialize in the creation,…