Archival Displays:
Resonance and Preservation

The display and preservation of a culture’s historical artifacts and documents as an homage to the past, inspiring contemporary and future generations, is an art and a skill. Archival displays exist at this powerful intersection, protecting legacy and making it relevant.

McDonald’s Headquarters, Speedee Labs, Chicago | Photographer Garrett Rowland

At McDonald’s Headquarters, Speedee Labs, a corridor-based archival display system celebrates decades of global brand history. Working with McDonald’s full-time archivist team, we transformed a circulation path into an immersive gallery experience that allows archivists to effortlessly rotate exhibits. From vintage Happy Meal toys and packaging to brand memorabilia and ephemera, each object required detailed care. Custom display cases incorporate UV-filtered glazing, controlled lighting, and archival-quality materials that ensure long-term protection.

An extensive custom millwork grid of cubbies along a wall, each softly glowing and fronted by matte-black glass with the sheen of an iconic arch at the center, invites visitors to look inside. When opened, the light brightens, revealing a key artifact from the archives, perhaps a vintage sign or an original mixer. At either end of the grid, a motion-activated digital screen shows videos that bring the legacy to life. At the center of the corridor, a 20-foot-long illuminated glass-topped vitrine displays additional artifacts, complemented by drawers in the display case that visitors can open, revealing a cache of artifacts under glass. The elongated, jewel-box presentation with museum-grade precision invites close viewing and discovery without compromising preservation standards, proving that protection need not create distance.  

Big Fish Games: Celebrating Seattle’s Maritime Legacy

Big Fish Games Headquarters, Seattle | Photography Sherman Takata

Big Fish Games Headquarters, Seattle | Photography Sherman Takata

Big Fish Games Headquarters, Seattle | Photography Sherman Takata

For Big Fish Games, located in Seattle’s historic 1910 Maritime Building, the story centered on place. As part of the headquarters renovation, we created an archival feature that celebrates the city’s waterfront legacy, reinforcing the authenticity of the exposed timber-and-concrete warehouse structure.

Rooted in research and artifact curation, the installation draws on historic maritime objects and documentation to tell the story of Seattle’s port culture. Rather than functioning as a standalone exhibit, the feature is woven directly into key circulation paths. Layered graphics reference maritime maps and historic records; materials complement the existing architecture.

Lighting levels and mounting strategies are carefully detailed to protect artifacts and documents while maintaining visibility and engagement. Employees organically encounter the story embedded in their daily experience.

For a company built on creativity and storytelling, integrating the maritime history into the workplace experience creates a strong sense of continuity and place, becoming part of the organization’s cultural narrative.

Lit Brothers Building: Stitching the Past to the Present

Lit Brothers Building, Philadelphia | Photography Jeffrey Totaro

Lit Brothers Building, Philadelphia | Photography Jeffrey Totaro

Lit Brothers Building, Philadelphia | Photography Jeffrey Totaro

Lit Brothers Building, Philadelphia | Photography Jeffrey Totaro

Archival displays are more than simply placing objects in cases. They shape a spatial narrative.

At the historic Lit Brothers Building in Philadelphia, repositioning the property meant celebrating its retail legacy and introducing it to a new generation of tenants. The Artifact Gallery Wall, located just outside the renovated tenant lounge, became a storytelling anchor within the reimagined building.

The process began with discovery. Partnering with Brickstone Realty, we uncovered and cataloged historic assets, including newspaper clippings, vintage advertisements, architectural drawings, photographs, and even an original department store cash register. Organizing these materials into thematic timelines allowed us to identify key storylines and develop the guiding concept, Founding Threads, which weaves (pun intended) together the building’s fashion heritage and architectural legacy.

Graphics, color blocking, and curated displays are layered intentionally to create rhythm and emotional resonance. The exhibition is not a static wall. It is a moment of pause along the tenant journey where current and prospective tenants can gather, reflect, and connect with the history of their environment. When you understand why something matters, the experience becomes memorable.

Conclusion

Across projects ranging from historic department stores to global brands and creative headquarters, one principle remains constant: start with the story. Collaborate early and often. Let preservation inform creativity and design for engagement as much as protection.

At its best, archival display design does more than safeguard objects; it creates moments of connection between past and present, place and people, memory and meaning. When preservation and inspiration work together, history is not confined to display; it lives in the space.