For Your Eyes Only

Imperial War Museum 2007-2008

The Imperial War Museum in London are producing an exhibition to celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth and have asked Casson Mann to design it. ‘For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond’ is a compelling insight into the influences behind the creation of one of the world’s most famous secret agents. The exhibition will run at the Imperial War Museum from 17th April 2008 to 1 March 2009.

The exhibition looks at Fleming’s life through the lens of biographical influences on the Bond novels; notably how Fleming’s wartime experiences shaped plots and characters and provided a stage for the action to take place on. The narrative of the exhibition is focussed on allowing the visitor to get to know the man alongside his more famous creation and to see the links between the two. Casino Royale, Fleming’s first book and the most recent Bond film, bookends the exhibition, illustrating its defining status in Fleming’s life and the continuing Bond legacy.

Casson Mann chose to create a sequence of stylised rooms to represent different stages in Fleming’s life. These are conceptual placeholders, representing but not mimicking the time and place, and acting as content vessels. The exhibition uses software and interactives to playfully illustrate the content or to offer different ways of looking at familiar ideas – a little black book, a roulette wheel and the world’s first interactive showcase for visitors to explore spy gadgets.

Other exhibitions that Casson Mann have designed for the Imperial War Museum include the Churchill Museum and Camouflage .


Client: Imperial War Museum
Size: 420 sqM
Casson Mann’s role: Exhibition Designer

Team: Branding and Graphic Design: Imperial War Museum

The exhibition is open from 17th April 2008 to 1 March 2009