The Press Gallery
Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House
2026

The Press Gallery is a permanent exhibition at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, exploring the history of the Parliamentary Press Gallery and its role within Australian political and public life from the 1920s to the 1980s.

Studio Starr developed the exhibition identity, interpretive system and spatial graphic design, shaping the visual and navigational language of a highly layered and content-dense visitor experience.

Developed in collaboration with exhibition designer Penny Hardy, the project brings together archival imagery, documents, artefacts and journalistic accounts tracing the people, events and political moments that defined the Press Gallery at Old Parliament House.

The graphic approach was developed to feel embedded within the architecture of the heritage-listed building and the unique interior of the journalists’ working environment. Referencing the character, materiality and atmosphere of the space, the identity combines a desaturated palette with typographic systems drawn from the vernacular of historical newspaper publishing.

Given the fragmented footprint and multiple entry points, the spatial graphic system was designed to support self-guided exploration and visual orientation throughout the exhibition. Large-scale image interventions, typographic markers and recurring graphic devices were positioned to create subtle navigational cues, allowing visitors to move through the space intuitively while maintaining a sense of discovery and continuity.

Interpretive hierarchies, object labelling and information structures were carefully calibrated across varied content types, including archival photography, political artefacts, documentary material, quotations and period technologies. The system established consistency and legibility while allowing the exhibition to retain the density, texture and atmosphere inherent to the working culture of the historical Press Gallery.

The result is an immersive and spatially integrated exhibition environment that situates visitors within the social, political and material world of Australian political journalism while supporting flexible and self-directed engagement across the experience.