Matt Kirchman is the Founder and President of ObjectIDEA and serves as the Creative Director of planning and design for all projects. He holds a Master of Science degree in Experiential Education and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communication from Northern Illinois University. For over 20 years, the interpretive design field has afforded him the opportunity to exercise his philosophies and methods in both schools of thinking.

Prior to forming ObjectIDEA, Matt was an exhibition developer and Director of Interpretation at several exhibition planning and design firms in Boston. He brings an in-house perspective to the planning process by calling on his experience as a staff designer for the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and as a naturalist and educator for outdoor schools, parks, and museums across the United States. 

Matt was one of two independent consultants invited by the American Alliance of Museums to assist the organization in identifying the benchmarks for interpretive planning that AAM will use to accredit its member institutions. Samples of Matt’s interpretive design work are published in Noah’s Art: The Graphics of Zoos, Aquaria, Aviaries and Wildlife Parks, and journals for the Society of Environmental Graphic Design (SEGDdesign) and the American Association of Museums (The Exhibitionist and Museum News). His contribution to the design of the National Museum of Australia is published in the monograph, Tangled Destinies: The National Museum of Australia. He has lectured at conferences for the American Association of Museums, The National Association for Museum Exhibition, New England Museum Association, and Museums Australia. Matt collects museum visits and keeps a database record of each and every one. His current collection numbers over 300 visits from Bangkok to Boston; New Zealand to New York.

Gail Zwerling is an Exhibit Developer. She joined ObjectIDEA in 2019 while completing her Certificate in Museum Studies at Tufts University, where she focused on exhibition planning and development. While in the program she performed internships at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston during which she deepened her experience in interpretive development and museum operations, and honed her skills in exhibit evaluation.

Gail brings an extensive background in project planning and execution to ObjectIDEA. She is a mechanical engineer with a previous career spanning over twenty-five years in engineering management, primarily in the development of medical and life sciences instrumentation. Before joining ObjectIDEA she worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts developing exhibitions showcasing futures in medicine.

Gail is excited to be working in a field that has always interested her, and that builds on her love of history and art. Her extensive skills have been put to good use on a number of diverse projects for ObjectIDEA, including a wayside signage program for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation; an interpretive master plan for the Emily Dickinson Museum; and an exhibition development and design project for the Worcester Historical Museum.