museum of movements:
here we are building a museum together
Interaction design,
Context-based design,
Interactive museum,
Prototyping,
Material exploration
tags
team
MoM Exhibition
Production Team
Tech & Programming
Assistance:
Lennart Czienskowski
context
Masters Thesis.
Malmö University.
2020.
duration
4 months
Numerous studies have confirmed that interactive exhibits in museums offer numerous advantages to visitors' experiences.
This project investigates strategies for enhancing the interactivity of the exhibition "Människor och idéer i rörelse" (People and Ideas in Motion), which was held at the Workroom of Rörelsernas Museum (Museum of Movements) in Malmö.
Due to COVID-19, the museum could not have the exhibition inside the Workroom. For this reason, this [distant] interactive exhibition took place in the space between the Workroom and the public space: on the windows. The artwork for this exhibition was created by Daria Bogdanska.
research question
How might we make this [distant] exhibition interactive?
background
The Museum of Movements
The Museum of Movements, a national museum focused on democracy and migration from the perspective of civil society, was being developed under the Ministry of Culture and the City of Malmö. A feasibility study published in 2017 emphasized the significance of creating a space that showcases diverse cultures and stories related to democracy, human rights, and migration, which are essential components of Sweden's identity.
The Exhibition
The interactive exhibition is located on the windows of the Workroom, creating a communication surface between the museum and the public. The exhibition's visual narrative, divided into five panels for each window, follows a non-linear storytelling format, emphasizing dialogue, communication, and oral history, and accommodating pedestrians approaching from different directions on the busy street. Here is a video of one of the group members advertise the exhibition.
My Role
I collaborated with a team of seven people, including content, press, and strategy specialists, an artist, a production specialist, and myself as an Interaction Designer, responsible for the interactive part of the exhibition. I had creative freedom to utilise the space and experiment with various technologies and interactive systems.
My aim when designing the interactive elements of the exhibition was to create a context and complement the main content of the exhibition, without taking the focus away from it.
design process
inspiration
Research & Fieldwork
The initial Research and Fieldwork stage consisted on observations and conducting interviews to get a better undersigning of the space. This phase served as a way of understanding my design space and as well to empathise and begin to understand the public that will see the exhibition. A vital conclusion from this stage was to define technology as a main material.
ideation
Ideation Phase 1
The ideation phase consisted initially in the testing of different technologies that could potentially work through the windows of the Workroom. At this stage, two technologies were considered: the first one were QR codes, and the second one were capacitive sensors with and Arduino, that could be activated by movement through the windows. Low-fi sketches of the sensors were assembled and tested through the windows to make sure they would work through the glass. Additionally, QR codes were placed on the windows for a week with a short questionnaire in order to see if passerby visitors would interact with them.
A testing session was carried out in order to see which of the two materials would prompt engagement from participants. The QR codes did not yield any results, and participants were unsure of how to use them. On the other hand, all participants interacted positively with the capacitive sensors. Below, two of the six participants.
capacitive sensors user testing session
Findings
1
2
It was decided that the capacitive sensors were going to be the technological material for interaction.
Only two of the five window panels were suitable for the implementation of the sensors.
Ideation Phase 2
The second ideation phase was marked by the moment the artist, Daria Bogdanska started with the team. The purpose of the interactive elements of the exhibition was to create a context and complement Daria’s art without taking the focus away from it.
Following a number of interviews and upon seeing the artist’s sketches, a number of fascinating details in her sketches were apt for being potentially integrated to the interactive elements. These were:
Outcome
The idea behind the surprise boxes was to use incorporate light in order to complement Daria’s art without overshadowing it. What was intended with these was to not provide all of the visual content to the public, but instead encourage the visitor to be curious, to explore and find the hidden contents of the exhibition by interacting with the sensors.
The boxes were to be completely black, hiding two key drawings of the exhibition. Once the sensors were triggered, and the light would turn on, the content would appear.
Two elements were chosen to implement the interactive-ness of the exhibition: the diamond boxes and the bricks. It was also adamant to chose the output modalities, which was intended to be multi-sensorial. Two concepts were thus created:
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Surprise boxes, which used the diamond boxes and had light as an output
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Resonating windows, which used the bricks and had sound as an output.
1
surprise boxes
surprise box iterations gallery
2
resonating windows
The idea of incorporating multi-sensory output, beyond just visual, into the exhibition was considered ideal for adding variety to the interactive content. Two speakers were used per sensor (and window panel), and each had different audio material, which consisted of:
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Recording of a short video about the museum in which they narrate the history of the museum and their future projects.
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In order to avoid only Swedish audio material, the canonical phrase of the exhibition was used: här bygger vi ett museum tillsammans (here we are building a museum together). This phrase was first recorded in Swedish and then translated and recorded by native speakers to six different languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Arabic and Polish.
The sensors were placed behind the bricks in Daria’s drawings.
implementation
overall process gallery
Final Result
In total, four sensors were used:
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2 sound sensors
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2 light sensors (surprise boxes)
The main criteria for the sensor placement was that they had to be incorporated to the art, and not disrupt her art. The sensors were marked with wavy hands printed in vinyl cutter.
