Lead Narrative Designer
About The Position
Luci’s Narrative Designers champion a story-first approach to creating impactful visitor experiences for museums, visitor centers, brands, and more. The Lead Narrative Designer is a senior, client-facing, highly collaborative team member responsible for implementing exhibit-related storytelling through scholarly research, interpretive planning, audience advocacy, and client communications. The role serves as a go-to resource for content creation and visitor-centric strategies, bringing enthusiasm and rigor while applying and pushing best practices in museology and experience design. The Lead Narrative Designer leads interpretive and exhibit development with clients and project teams, conducts research, develops exhibit storylines and interpretive plans, and advocates for accessible, inclusive, and meaningful audience experiences. The role coordinates with project and creative leadership on tasks, resources, deadlines, and financial targets; facilitates public and community engagement; collaborates across design and media disciplines; and supports the Narrative Design team through work reviews, ideation, feedback, training, and mentorship. The position requires in-studio presence at least three days per week at one of Luci’s offices in Chicago, New York City, or Seattle. Travel is required for client meetings, site visits, installations, and professional development.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Museum Studies, History, Education, Design, or a related field.
- Professional experience in exhibit development, museum content creation, and interpretive planning; 8+ years is ideal.
- Excellent public speaking and the ability to articulate ideas to clients, stakeholders, and team members in formal and informal settings.
- Experience leading or guiding junior team members, providing clear feedback, and maintaining positive team dynamics.
- Proven ability to lead public-facing workshops and community engagement sessions with a variety of individuals and communities.
- Passion for audience-centered design, storytelling, and alternative learning methods.
- Willingness to adapt to changing project needs and creatively solve issues related to content, timelines, and resources.
- Familiarity with best practices in Inclusive and Universal Design.
- Ability to be present in a studio at least three days per week at one of the Chicago, New York City, or Seattle offices.
- Willingness to travel for client meetings, site visits, installations, and professional development.
Nice To Haves
- Master’s degree or another advanced degree in a relevant field.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a primary client contact on interpretive and exhibit development matters; lead workshops, pitch ideas, and respond constructively to feedback.
- Research varied topics and distill complex information into clear messaging for clients and the public.
- Develop and refine exhibit storylines, interpretive plans, and content outlines aligned with project goals and audiences.
- Advocate for diverse audience needs and abilities, supporting accessible, inclusive, and impactful experiences.
- Identify needs for freelancers, subject matter experts, or specialized processes and bring requests to project leadership for approval.
- Coordinate with Project and Creative Leads to plan tasks, allocate resources, and meet deadlines and financial targets.
- Facilitate public-facing and community engagement workshops and stakeholder sessions.
- Advocate for storytelling-driven experiences rather than didactic knowledge transfer.
- Prepare and deliver status updates, creative briefs, and interpretive concepts to clients and stakeholders.
- Promote awareness of project vision, scope, timeline, and deliverable needs.
- Champion the voice of the visitor so exhibit solutions are accessible, engaging, and meaningful to clients and their audiences.
- Collaborate with 2D and 3D designers, developers, and media specialists to integrate storytelling and interpretive content into exhibit experiences.
- Work with Creative Directors, Project Directors, and Project Managers to uphold creative excellence while meeting budgets, timelines, and goals.
- Coordinate with external collaborators to align their contributions with interpretive goals and budget.
- Contribute ideas to refine project-specific workflows and documentation to improve efficiency and quality.
- Review Narrative Design team members’ interpretive plans, exhibit matrices, content outlines, and documentation.
- Support colleagues through ideation workshops and internal creative reviews.
- Provide constructive feedback and escalate significant quality concerns to Project Managers or Directors as needed.
- Provide ongoing training and support by sharing storytelling, visitor engagement, and interpretive methodology best practices.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
