Verso il museo aperto — Chiara Barberi

Verso il museo aperto
2025 Editorial

In recent decades, museum institutions have struggled to maintain their socio-cultural relevance in a rapidly changing world. This challenge is particularly evident in natural history museums, often perceived as outdated and disconnected from contemporary issues, despite their strong educational and ecological potential.

This thesis explores how communication design can support the transformation of the natural history museum into an open museum: an inclusive and dialogic space in constant redefinition. Through a transdisciplinary approach combining museology, semiotics, and communication design, the research examines the role of the designer-translator in processes of mediation and meaning-making.

The study combines theoretical analysis with six international case studies and an in-depth examination of the Civic Museum of Natural History in Milan. The results highlight how communication design can create integrated systems that foster participation, awareness, and a renewed public role for museums in contemporary society.

Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Elena Caratti