Maria Jose Velasco Zambrano

About

Previously a Communication and Product Designer and now a Design Historian, I’ve always been interested in the way we tell stories: Who are they about? Where do they happen? And what is the best way to share them? I’ve found in material culture, in the quiet power of everyday things, in how objects speak and how we choose to listen, a powerful vehicle for engaging storytelling.

It might not be a surprise that my love for history started in a museum when I was nine.  Surrounded by curious objects, I felt history come alive, not as something distant or abstract, but as something I could feel and follow. Since then, I have wanted others to experience that same excitement and connection to the past, which has led me to pursue a career in the museum industry.

During my time at the V&A/RCA MA in History of Design, my research explored how the most ordinary objects, especially those linked to food, shape the ways we relate to each other and the world. My dissertation, Paper Appetites, focused on menus: objects often dismissed as disposable yet loaded with intention. This study examined the agency of the menu within the dining environments of J. Lyons & Co., arguing that the menu is far more than a passive list of offerings; it is an active participant in shaping the social and aesthetic dynamics of the meal. Through this lens, my research contributes to broader conversations on the agency of objects and the socio-cultural construction of dining rituals. It offers a model for reading ephemera not merely as traces of consumption but as actors capable of shaping mood, framing behaviours, and reflecting the intentions and attitudes of the institutions that produced them.

More broadly, I am fascinated by how everyday objects reveal the complex social and power dynamics between the Global South and North. Often overlooked, these objects carry histories of colonialism, migration, and cultural exchange, showing how the Global South has been represented and transformed within Northern contexts. In my first essay, Fascination for the “Elsewhere”, I examined an 1848 French scenic wallpaper by Zuber & Cie that portrayed South America’s landscapes and people, revealing how this territory was reimagined and incorporated into European interior design, highlighting how exoticized visions of the “other” reflect deeper ideas of power, ownership, and identity.

With a background in exhibition design, archives, and art direction, I’ve worked across mediums to craft stories that are both grounded and imaginative. My aim is to make Design History feel alive, to explore its emotional depths, and to bring visibility to the people and experiences often left at the margins.