When the Museum of American Finance opened its new home at Commonwealth Pier in Boston, the vision was to create more than a traditional museum. Led by Museum President and CEO David J. Cowen and building on the institution founded by John E. Herzog, the team set out to create an engaging, accessible space where visitors could explore American financial history and learn about finance through artifacts, storytelling, graphics and interactive technology.
With exhibit design by G&A Strategy and Design, BluEdge helped take that vision from design to reality—using a combination of large format graphics, exhibit graphics, custom fabrication, dimensional elements and installation to create a cohesive visitor experience.
Six Galleries. Seven Exhibits. One Cohesive Environment.
The 5,400-square-foot Museum of American Finance features six galleries housing seven inaugural exhibits, covering everything from Alexander Hamilton and the origins of the American financial system to investing, financial technology and personal finance.
Each space had its own story to tell, which meant this wasn't a project that could be accomplished with one type of graphic or material.
BluEdge brought together a wide range of experiential marketing and environmental graphics capabilities, including:
- Custom wall coverings using DreamScape materials
- Approximately 60–65 SEG fabric graphics and frames in varying sizes
- Direct-to-substrate printing on rigid materials, including painted MDO
- Dimensional and 3D-cut lettering
- Second-surface acrylic graphics for donor recognition
- Custom fabrication and exhibit display components
- AV and interactive technology integration
- Professional installation
The ability to produce so many different elements under one roof helped turn individual components into one coordinated museum environment.
Details That Make the Difference
In a museum, graphics don't just decorate a space—they help tell the story.
BluEdge's custom wall graphics and wall coverings created the visual foundation for the galleries, while SEG fabric graphics, dimensional lettering, fabricated components and digital elements added layers to the experience.
The details required careful coordination.
SEG frames were painted to complement their individual gallery environments. Wall coverings incorporated placement guides so frames could align precisely with elements within the printed design. Dimensional lettering and pin-mounted elements were similarly positioned to interact with the graphics behind them.
The result was an environment where the wall graphics, exhibit graphics, dimensional signage and fabricated displays felt like parts of the same experience rather than separate pieces.
When the Plan Changed, We Could Change With It
Complex exhibit installations almost always bring a few surprises.
One came when the museum's display cases arrived. The original plan called for wall covering material on the case backs, but inconsistencies in the fabricated surfaces would have interrupted the finished imagery.
Because BluEdge had multiple print and custom fabrication capabilities available, the team could quickly develop another approach.
The solution was 3mm direct-printed Sintra. Large rigid graphics were printed and installed directly over the case backs, creating a smoother surface and allowing the imagery to appear clean and uninterrupted.
Instead of compromising the design or bringing another specialty vendor into the project, the team was able to solve the problem and keep moving.
The Advantage of Multiple Capabilities Under One Roof
A museum environment like this can involve a long list of specialty vendors—one for wall coverings, another for rigid graphics, another for dimensional signage, another for fabrication, and still others for technology and installation.
BluEdge could bring many of those capabilities together through one partner.
That helped the project team:
- Maintain consistency across different materials and applications
- Coordinate production and installation across multiple exhibit elements
- React quickly when field conditions required a different solution
- Maintain precise alignment between graphics, frames and dimensional elements
- Reduce the complexity of managing multiple specialty vendors
- Keep the project moving toward the museum's opening
Our branded environment and custom fabrication capabilities are built around exactly this type of challenge—combining graphics production, fabrication, digital integration and installation to turn a creative concept into a finished physical space.
From Production Floor to Museum Floor
Installation was completed in phases.
The wall coverings were installed first, taking approximately 10 days. SEG graphics, dimensional lettering, MDO and other exhibit components followed over approximately eight additional days, bringing the overall installation to roughly three weeks.
Having the production and installation teams working toward the same end result helped ensure that what was produced translated successfully into the physical environment.
Helping the Museum Deliver Its Vision
Ultimately, BluEdge wasn't there simply to print graphics. Our role was to help the Museum of American Finance and its project partners turn their vision into a space people could actually walk through, interact with and experience.
By combining large format printing, wall graphics and custom wall coverings, SEG fabric graphics, direct-to-substrate printing, dimensional signage, custom fabrication, AV integration and installation, BluEdge helped create an environment where the physical space supports the stories being told.
The Museum team was pleased with the finished displays and BluEdge's work, and the Turner Construction project superintendent was also pleased with the collaboration.
For BluEdge, the Museum of American Finance is a great example of what can happen when environmental graphics, exhibit production, custom fabrication and installation come together under one roof.
