Design Museum, Designer Maker User gallery (Photo: Art Fund, Hydar Dewachi)
Design Museum, Designer Maker User gallery (Photo: Gareth Gardner)
Design Museum, Braun Phonosuper SK5 record player, 1956, Hans Gugelot and Dieter Rams
Design Museum, Moulton AM2 bicycle
SIMPLY LUXURYArt
DesignSince 1989

Design Museum

Founded in 1989 by Sir Terence Conran, the Design Museum on Kensington High Street is devoted to contemporary design in every form.

The story →Visit the museum.
Designer Maker User gallery (Photo: Art Fund, Hydar Dewachi)
1989Founded
2016Kensington High Street
2018European Museum of the Year
FreeDesigner Maker User
Design Museum, Designer Maker User gallery (Photo: Gareth Gardner)
Designer Maker User gallery (Photo: Gareth Gardner)
The story

Design in every form.

The Design Museum was founded in 1989 by Sir Terence Conran and describes itself as devoted to contemporary design in every form. It is a registered charity.

The museum opened in its current home on Kensington High Street, next to Holland Park, on 24 November 2016. In 2018 it was named European Museum of the Year.

“Devoted to contemporary design in every form.”Design Museum

Its permanent collection display, Designer Maker User, is free to visit and looks at twentieth and twenty first century design through the roles of designer, maker and user. Tim Marlow has been Director and Chief Executive since 2019.

The museum

Designer, maker, user.

How design is imagined, made and used.

01

Designer

Who imagines the object.

02

Maker

How it is made.

03

User

How we live with it.

04

Free

The permanent collection.

Objects

Everyday icons.

From the permanent collection.

Design Museum, A Thonet mould from the collection
The No. 14 chairA Thonet mould from the collection
Design Museum, A lamp from the collection
AnglepoiseA lamp from the collection
Design Museum, The Clubman, by Piaggio
VespaThe Clubman, by Piaggio
DM
The home

Kensington High Street

A registered charity next to Holland Park, home of the Design Museum since 2016.

On Simply Luxury

Design Museum stories.

8 November 2026

Bianca Saunders joins The Nue Black Aesthetic at Design Museum

7 November 2026

The Nue Black Aesthetic opens at the Design Museum

25 September 2026

Dior Opens Flagship House on Milan’s Most Coveted Address

Visit

Visit the museum.

Devoted to contemporary design in every form.

Design Museum
224 to 238 Kensington High Street, London W8 6AG
Monday to Thursday 10am to 5pm, Friday to Sunday 10am to 6pm. Open bank holidays; closed 24, 25 and 26 December.
designmuseum.org→ Instagram @designmuseum→ +44 20 3862 5900→ bookings@designmuseum.org→ Directions→
DESIGN MUSEUM
Contemporary design in every form.
Visit designmuseum.orgMore Art

Imagery shown from designmuseum.org. Every fact on this page is drawn from Design Museum’s own website and corroborated by independent sources. Simply Luxury is an independent publication.

⌂ Simply Luxury