AI exposure: Set and Exhibit Designers
Design special exhibits and sets for film, video, television, and theater productions. May study scripts, confer with directors, and conduct research to determine appropriate architectural styles.
Reading this score
computed36.3% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Set and Exhibit Designers at the 63th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.1 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 27 tasks it averages 2.00 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Research architectural and stylistic elements appropriate to the time period to be depicted,..., at 86.7%. The least is Coordinate the removal of sets, props, and exhibits after productions or events are complete, at 6.7%. A gap of 80.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations, this one is less exposed than the median of 38.5% across the group's 40 roles, with 21 scoring higher. Being in an exposed family does not make a particular job exposed, and the reverse holds too.
What would move this score. Of 27 tasks, 18 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 8 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take systems being given deeper access to the organisation's own records and history, which is already happening. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
27 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research architectural and stylistic elements appropriate to the time period to be depicted, consulting experts for information, as necessary. | 86.7% | 13.3% | 0.0% | 4.43 | exposed |
| Read scripts to determine location, set, and design requirements. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.76 | exposed |
| Provide supportive materials for exhibits and displays, such as press kits, advertising, publicity notices, posters, brochures, catalogues, and invitations. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 2.62 | exposed |
| Develop set designs, based on evaluation of scripts, budgets, research information, and available locations. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.86 | exposed |
| Attend rehearsals and production meetings to obtain and share information related to sets. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.57 | exposed |
| Examine objects to be included in exhibits to plan where and how to display them. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.84 | exposed |
| Estimate set- or exhibit-related costs, including materials, construction, and rental of props or locations. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.67 | exposed |
| Confer with clients and staff to gather information about exhibit space, proposed themes and content, timelines, budgets, materials, or promotion requirements. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.52 | exposed |
| Collaborate with those in charge of lighting and sound so that those production aspects can be coordinated with set designs or exhibit layouts. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 4.33 | exposed |
| Confer with conservators to determine how to handle an exhibit's environmental aspects, such as lighting, temperature, and humidity, so that objects will be protected and exhibits will be enhanced. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.58 | exposed |
| Prepare preliminary renderings of proposed exhibits, including detailed construction, layout, and material specifications, and diagrams relating to aspects such as special effects or lighting. | 43.8% | 18.8% | 37.5% | 4.76 | exposed |
| Prepare rough drafts and scale working drawings of sets, including floor plans, scenery, and properties to be constructed. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.80 | exposed |
| Select set props, such as furniture, pictures, lamps, and rugs. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.16 | exposed |
| Design and produce displays and materials that can be used to decorate windows, interior displays, or event locations, such as streets and fairgrounds. | 31.7% | 18.3% | 50.0% | 3.00 | exposed |
| Select and purchase lumber and hardware necessary for set construction. | 31.7% | 18.3% | 50.0% | 3.50 | exposed |
| Assign staff to complete design ideas and prepare sketches, illustrations, and detailed drawings of sets, or graphics and animation. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.79 | exposed |
| Acquire, or arrange for acquisition of, specimens or graphics required to complete exhibits. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.44 | exposed |
| Submit plans for approval, and adapt plans to serve intended purposes, or to conform to budget or fabrication restrictions. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.62 | exposed |
| Design and build scale models of set designs, or miniature sets used in filming backgrounds or special effects. | 23.8% | 13.8% | 62.5% | 4.05 | untouched |
| Plan for location-specific issues, such as space limitations, traffic flow patterns, and safety concerns. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | 3.56 | assisted |
| Observe sets during rehearsals in order to ensure that set elements do not interfere with performance aspects such as cast movement and camera angles. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 4.39 | untouched |
| Inspect installed exhibits for conformance to specifications and satisfactory operation of special-effects components. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 3.76 | untouched |
| Incorporate security systems into exhibit layouts. | 7.1% | 5.4% | 87.5% | 3.00 | untouched |
| Direct and coordinate construction, erection, or decoration activities to ensure that sets or exhibits meet design, budget, and schedule requirements. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 3.77 | untouched |
| Coordinate the transportation of sets that are built off-site, and coordinate their setup at the site of use. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 3.67 | untouched |
| Arrange for outside contractors to construct exhibit structures. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 3.36 | untouched |
| Coordinate the removal of sets, props, and exhibits after productions or events are complete. | 6.7% | 18.3% | 75.0% | 2.83 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.13 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.26 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.24 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 0.70 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.00 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.19 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.