Experience & Exhibit Design, Graphic Design
A Day at the Museum
Our task was to design a museum experience with multiple digital and physical touchpoints that allow patrons a sense of embodied participation. Our exhibit should focus on a period of design or technology history, be immersive and participative, and educational.
My Role
Researcher, Designer, Developer
Duration
Oct.2024 - Dec.2024
Documentation
Presentation
Overview
Music has always played a significant role in shaping culture and society, evolving alongside advancements in technology and changing tastes. Our project aims to bring this rich history to life through an interactive exhibit that transports visitors across different music eras. We'll showcase the technology, lifestyle, and fashion of three iconic eras- retro years, Y2K, and the modern age. Our goal is to make learning about music history not only informative but also accessible and enjoyable for a wide range of audiences.
Through a multi-faceted approach, we created an immersive experience that brings these periods to life, making the history of music feel dynamic and deeply connected to how people live and express themselves. As this was a team of 5 students, we wanted to use a large variety of touchpoints to create a museum exhibition:
Mascot to guide the audience
Informative Brochure
Showcased 3 devices (boombox, wired earphones, bluetooth headphones) + informative cards for each
Museum Website (JavaScript, HTML, CSS)
Personalized moodboards + playlists
Research
First, we researched about music technology and how it has evolved. Then, we delved deeper into the fashion, trends, popular songs, and more of three specific musical eras; retro (80s) Y2K (2000s), and modern era (2020s).
For primary research, we used cultural probes.With 6 total participants of various ages, we asked them questions, had them create moodboards and playlists to represent their experience from their particular eras, and had them create diary entries on what music meant to them and how technology (e.g. boomboxes) enhanced that experience.
Inspired by our research and the cultural probes, we decided to include these aspects in our final museum:
Display authentic experiences through the moodboards, diary entries, and playlists.
Build an interactive website that goes hand-in-hand with the exhibit.
Physical brochures that take the users on a journey
Informational cards about technology in each era
Mascot that can create a cohesive theme and tie it all together
A community moodboard where the users can add their own images!
Design
We went through 2-3 rounds of iterations for every element that was part of our museum. While we all split up to work on slightly different aspects (e.g. some created the mascot, some made the brochure), we had to ensure our designs were cohesive and worked well together. So our initial round of designs were a little disjoint, but we consciously worked on them to make sure everything flowed seamlessly into each other while also being able to stand as an individual product.
You can view all the iterations in our documentation. Here are some pictures of our final museum exhibit elements; description card of device (top left), quiz on our museum website (top right), and first page of brochure + mascot (bottom).
Results
Watch the video below to see what our museum may look like for you as a visitor!
Here are the links to any specific elements if you want to view them in more detail:
Museum Website
Brochure
Informational Device Cards
Playlist
Final Presentation
