Careers > Set and Exhibit Designers

Set and Exhibit Designers

$59.99K Median Salary 3.1K Job Openings (Annual Projection) 9.1% Job Growth

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About This Career

Design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions. May study scripts, confer with directors, and conduct research to determine appropriate architectural styles.

Reported Job Titles

Designer, Display Coordinator, Exhibit Coordinator, Exhibit Designer, Exhibit Preparator, Historical Society Window Dresser, Installations Designer, Projection Designer, Scenic Designer, Set Designer

Career data shown for:

Skills You'll Need

Click on skills to find related courses.

Abilities

Fluency of Ideas

Oral Comprehension

Visualization

Originality

Problem Sensitivity

Written Comprehension

Information Ordering

Near Vision

Oral Expression

Speech Recognition

Written Expression

Deductive Reasoning

Speech Clarity

Category Flexibility

Inductive Reasoning

Far Vision

Flexibility of Closure

Selective Attention

Knowledge

Fine Arts

Design

Computers and Electronics

Building and Construction

History and Archeology

English Language

Communications and Media

Mathematics

Production and Processing

Administration and Management

Skills

Active Listening

Reading Comprehension

Critical Thinking

Operations Analysis

Speaking

Time Management

Coordination

Complex Problem Solving

Judgment and Decision Making

Writing

Active Learning

Monitoring

Instructing

Mathematics

Negotiation

Persuasion

Service Orientation

Social Perceptiveness

Systems Analysis

Technology Skills

Computer aided design CAD software

Presentation software

Video creation and editing software

Graphics or photo imaging software

Object or component oriented development software

Development environment software

Data base management system software

Data base user interface and query software

File versioning software

Program testing software

Spreadsheet software

Electronic mail software

Document management software

Desktop publishing software

Office suite software

Operating system software

Word processing software

Web platform development software

Tools

Air compressors

Power staple guns

Notebook computers

Alternating current AC arc welder

Art airbrushes

Digital cameras

Audio mixing consoles

Paint brushes

Liquid crystal display projector

Pneumatic nail drivers

Platform step ladder

Paint rollers

Nylon fabric sling

Saws

Claw hammer

Scissors

Power saws

Sewing machines

Personal computers

Tablet computers

Abilities

Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.

Knowledge

Fine Arts: Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Design: Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Building and Construction: Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
History and Archeology: Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Communications and Media: Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Production and Processing: Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Operations Analysis: Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Mathematics: Using mathematics to solve problems.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

Technology Skills

Computer aided design CAD software: Autodesk AutoCAD; Autodesk Revit
Presentation software: Microsoft PowerPoint
Video creation and editing software: YouTube
Graphics or photo imaging software: SmugMug Flickr
Object or component oriented development software: Oracle Java
Development environment software: Adobe Systems Adobe Creative Suite
Data base management system software: Apache Solr; Elasticsearch; MySQL
Data base user interface and query software: Blackboard software; Database software; Microsoft Access; Yardi software
File versioning software: Apache Subversion SVN; Continuous integration software; Git; Version control software
Program testing software: Selenium
Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel
Electronic mail software: IBM Notes; Microsoft Exchange; Microsoft Outlook
Document management software: Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat; Filing system software; Records management software; Transcription system software
Desktop publishing software: Adobe Systems Adobe InDesign; Microsoft Publisher
Office suite software: Microsoft Office software
Operating system software: Microsoft Windows
Word processing software: 3M Post-it App; Evernote; Google Docs; Microsoft Word
Web platform development software: Microsoft Active Server Pages ASP

Tools

Air compressors:
Power staple guns: Automated staple guns
Notebook computers: Laptop computers
Alternating current AC arc welder: Underwater welding equipment
Art airbrushes: Airbrush sets
Digital cameras:
Audio mixing consoles: Audio compressors; Audio mixers; Broadcast mixing boards; Sound effect generators
Paint brushes: Paint application brushes
Liquid crystal display projector: Liquid crystal display LCD projectors
Pneumatic nail drivers: Pneumatic air nailers
Platform step ladder: Portable stepladders
Paint rollers: Paint application rollers
Nylon fabric sling: Synthetic web slings
Saws: Multi-purpose saw sets
Claw hammer: Claw hammers
Scissors: Paper scissors
Power saws: Chain saws
Sewing machines: Industrial sewing machines
Personal computers:
Tablet computers:

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