Corporate Support
The Design Museum is a global hub for the transformative power of design. Our world-renowned exhibitions and dynamic research programs showcase how design can help our planet and its people thrive. Corporate partners play a crucial role in our mission, and we offer a range of unique engagement opportunities—from multi-year partnerships and sponsorship of groundbreaking exhibitions, to brand activations and corporate memberships.
Since moving to our stunning modern landmark in Kensington in 2016, we have welcomed millions of visitors, and the museum’s values—Empathy, Curiosity, Collaboration, and Impact—are at the heart of everything we do.
Our Corporate Development team is ready to work creatively with partners to deliver flexible, tailor-made benefits that achieve your goals and provide an outstanding return on investment.
Exhibition Sponsorship
Every year, the Design Museum hosts four world-class temporary exhibitions spanning fashion, film, design and lifestyle, bringing unique perspectives and interventions into the world of design. Sponsorship is a great way to align your organisation with thought-provoking subject matter and offers an innovative platform to showcase your brand to the world.
Benefits include exclusive venue hire in our stunning, grade II* listed building with private access to our exhibitions, VIP invites to our opening parties, curator-led tours and workplace talks, complimentary tickets for your network and opportunities to engage with our members and patrons.
In addition to prominent branding on extensive print advertising as well as online marketing and press campaigns, the museum works closely with supporters to maximise ROI, raising and enhancing your brand profile across key demographics through a targeted and integrated strategy.
Corporate Membership
Corporate Membership offers unique and exclusive access to the Design Museum for your staff, guests and clients. With three tiers of Corporate Membership available, we offer flexible schemes that cater to organisations of all sizes and interests.
Throughout the year, members benefit from personalised assistance from a dedicated Account Manager, facilitating access to exclusive, invitation-only events with prominent partners in the design and culture industries for unique networking opportunities.
During exclusive venue hires, Corporate Members collaborate closely with our expert Events Team, ensuring events reflect their brand’s ethos and meet objectives from conception to execution. Benefits for members include:
Complimentary year-round access for staff and clients to our world-renowned exhibitions
Venue hire for daytime or evening events
Lunchtime talks for your staff networks or clients
Discounts on public programme events & learning workshops
Invitations to exclusive private views and VIP events
Brand Partnerships & Activations
The Design Museum forges high-profile, innovative Corporate Partnerships, collaborating closely with brands to create a rich exchange of ideas and meaningful connections with our design-savvy audiences.
From immersive brand-focused exhibitions in the expansive Helene & Johannes Huth Gallery (319 sqm) to activations in the Atrium, Plaza, and High Street Kensington shop, the Design Museum features seven highly original and versatile spaces available for commercial hire. Additionally, the entire museum is now available for unique and exclusive day-hires and closures.
Having developed over a hundred exhibitions, many of which are now touring the globe, our knowledge and expertise can help deliver immersive exhibitions & activations centred around your chosen key themes.
Partnership can also include multi-year sponsorship of annual events, life-changing learning programmes, Design Camps and ‘First Friday’ lates at the museum. With one of the highest organic digital reaches of any cultural institution (over 5 million digital followers), partnerships offer demonstrable global reach, and we produce impactful marketing campaigns for all our activities.
For more information and to explore upcoming opportunities, please contact: corporate@designmuseum.org
Partnerships highlights
Harvey Nichols
As Headline Sponsors of The World of Tim Burton, Harvey Nichols collaborated with the director’s team to create a stunning Christmas window at their Knightsbridge flagship. The eerie festive display featured sculptures from Burton’s personal archive, while Cable All The Way, an animation starring Burton’s Robot Boy, spread the campaign across socials and online. With over 260,000 visitors captivated by the exhibition, Harvey Nichols gained exceptional brand visibility at the museum during the holiday season.
Bloomberg Connects
We are excited to be partnered with Bloomberg Connects, a free mobile app and website that provides access to expert-curated content and guides produced by museums. The platform has helped enrich our visitors’ journeys at the museum, developing their understanding of the importance of design through exclusive interviews, exhibition content and virtual tours. As the world goes more digital, this collaboration opens up exciting new ways for us to connect with audiences beyond the museum walls.
Habitat
We joined forces with Habitat in the creation of Changing Spaces: 60 Years of Design, a free interactive installation celebrating Habitat’s 60th anniversary. Spanning both the museum’s atrium and plaza, Changing Spaces showcased Habitat’s journey through six decades of shaping British interiors, and invited visitors to explore how our homes have evolved over time. We were delighted to celebrate Habitat’s rich design legacy with such a playful and engaging display.
Nyetimber
The Design Museum is proud to be working with Nyetimber as our official and exclusive English sparkling wine partner. For over 35 years, Nyetimber has had a single aim: to make the finest English Sparkling Wine. Nyetimber redefines tastes and attitudes towards English Sparkling Wine, achieving exceptional quality and consistency in each of its vintages. Nyetimber can be enjoyed in the Design Kitchen, as well as being served to guests at exclusive Design Museum events.
Snap
Teaming up with Snap Inc. has brought new energy to our exhibition programme through a range of interactive AR activations. For Rebel: 30 Years of Fashion, a Snap filter highlighted the artistry of makeup artists in the show’s ‘Backstage’ section. For Barbie®: The Exhibition visitors could strike a pose in front of an AR mirror, transforming into different versions of the iconic doll. For The World of Tim Burton, Snap animated Burton’s remarkable characters throughout our atrium.
Mailchimp, Official Partner of Brand Exhibition ‘Email is Dead’, 2023
CQS, Official Partner of ‘Ai Weiwei: Making Sense’, 2023
Alexander McQueen, Official Partner of ‘REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion’, 2023 – 2024
Van Cleef & Arpels, Official Partner of Brand Exhibition ‘The Art of Movement’, 2022
Fred Perry, Official Partner of Brand Exhibition ‘Fred Perry: A British Icon’, 2022
Bombay Sapphire, Official Partner of ‘Supermarket’, 2021
Jaguar Land Rover, Official Partner of Designer Maker User, 2017 – 2020
Get in touch
For all Corporate Partnership and Membership enquiries, please email corporate@designmuseum.org
Thank you
Corporate donors play a crucial role in supporting our exhibitions, young people, and educational programmes both within London and across the country. The Design Museum would like to thank the corporate donors, individuals and trusts and foundations who continue to be vital supporters of the museum.
Background image: The Design Museum's Triwall. Photo by Rob Harris. Triwall design by Space Popular (Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg).