Institute of Art Design + Technology Dún Laoghaire
Ireland’s campus for the Creative Industries

Elsa Murray 

BA [Hons] Production Design

Elsa has just completed her fourth and final year of Production Design for Stage and Screen (BA). Over these last few years Elsa has developed skills in researching, drawing, drafting, storyboarding and model making, as well as gaining practical experience in film and theatre, working alongside the National Film School and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Technical skills include AutoCAD construction drawings and 3D modelling in both AutoCAD and SketchUp, set model construction and visual renderings. Elsa is passionate about visual storytelling, researching and creating immersive worlds for audiences to enjoy.

Major Project 2023

Adapting Tom Stoppard's Arcadia for Film.

Arcadia's complex narrative examines relationships and quests for knowledge and discovery through the duality of place. The motivation behind choosing this text for the final project of my degree was the design challenges surrounding the duality of the space. Additionally, as this piece was written for stage performance, I was challenged to go about visualising what the greater space of Sidley Park could look like as to create a more dynamic visual story more suited for film.
For the technical aspect of this project, I focused primarily on AutoCAD plans, 3D renders in SketchUp and storyboarding. Alongside this, Arcadia presents an exciting opportunity to delve into the architecture and interiors of the 18th and 19th centuries and how I, as a designer, could gain a strong understanding of the expectations surrounding recreating period spaces while also modifying them to appear in a 21st-century era.



BA Extended Thesis 2023

Exhibition Design: The Importance of Visitor-Oriented Design within the Museum and Exhibition Space

This thesis examines exhibition design as an integral mode of communication for the visitors experience and how it can make these experiences more immersive.
This topic explores the societal influences on these cultural spaces through theories of the construction of cultural hegemony, the dominating cultural beliefs and ideas of society, alongside a deep dive into the history and perceptions of exhibitions, from 16th-century curiosity cabinets to the modern metropolitan museums they’ve evolved into today.
The historical breakdown of these spaces allows for the exploration of exhibitions and museums as mediators of information through their design choices, as the designs of these spaces are one of the primary methods of conveying the narrative of the presentation of the object. These findings are explored within the scope of contemporary exhibitions of the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington, London, where the design choices are examined from a visitor experience perspective.
Furthermore, the design choices are explored within the narratives placed upon these exhibitions as they reflect the cultural hegemony of the society they’re situated in.
These investigations are made with reference to various sociology and design theories in order to provide a nuanced analysis of exhibition and museum design as a complex and multi-faceted form of visual storytelling.