Our mission is to support you to educate audiences, provoke conversations and inspire change through creative storytelling and innovative design.
Founded in 2000 and re-launched in its twentieth anniversary year, we are a team of architects, designers, content developers and marketers with extensive experience of working within the cultural industry. We are a small, family-run business able to work flexibly, sustainably and collaboratively with all teams. We work with you to understand the complexity of your needs and turn ideas into intriguing designs which educate, provoke and inspire audiences.
Meet the Board of Directors below and please get in touch with Katrina at katrina@metaphor-design.co.uk with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!
Kara Dickinson
BArch; MArch; PG Dip. Arch; ARB; RIBA
Creative Director
Kara is a qualified and registered Architect and is responsible for leading the design team, building strong clients relationships and efficiently managing all projects. She started working at Metaphor in 2012, joined the board of directors in 2018, and relaunched the company with Katrina at the start of 2021.
Kara has wide-ranging experience of working on projects in listed buildings, with multi-disciplinary design teams, HLF funding processes, complex client organisations and multiple stakeholders. Kara’s strength is in developing strong working relationships with the client and consultant teams.
She recognises the importance of working closely with the curatorial team to deepen her understanding of the Museum’s objects and their stories, which she then skillfully feeds into the design to create meaningful visitor experiences.
Katrina Dickinson
BA (Hons) Spanish and Management
Managing Director
Katrina is the Managing Director leading the practice alongside Kara Dickinson. Katrina is responsible for the operations management of the company, implementing growth strategies and marketing for both Metaphor and its projects.
Before joining Metaphor, Katrina worked across multiple roles involving marketing, business development, project management, event coordination and community engagement in the private, public and third sectors across the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
Her experience leading complex teams, managing multiple stakeholders and anticipating client demands is invaluable in coordinating projects and ensuring projects are delivered on budget, on time whilst also exceeding expectations.
Stephen Greenberg
Non-Executive Director
Our values:
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We listen and challenge
We are committed to working closely with you to produce bespoke designs that challenge preconceived ideas and make a lasting impact on visitors
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We are storytellers
We understand how powerful storytelling can be in engaging visitors therefore they are integral to all our designs
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We support and collaborate
We go above and beyond to help you achieve your goals and work with specialist partners where we see fit to enhance your projects
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We design with the environment in mind
We produce sustainable designs which minimise our impact on the environment and maintain design quality that stands the test of time
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We are inclusive and diverse
We are committed to; treating all staff fairly, creating an inclusive culture in the workplace, ensuring equal opportunities for all and supporting staff to reach their full