Notes From Team 2

We Know What to Do
We Don't Do It Well
But We're Diligent As Hell

The Distinguished Members of Team Two (the crowd goes wild....)

Robin "Just Call Me the Bomb" Dowden
Kevin "The Serious But Fun Designer" Muise
Ryan "I Left My Nametag Somewhere and I'm Just Observing Anyway" Wallace
Justin "He Really Really Is Interesting, Even if He says He Isn't" Obara
Antranig "If You Can Hit the Exhibit You Can Have IT" Basman
Holly "Just Trying to Make Notes Interesting" Witchey

On this Page

Conversation

Kevin - Really this has to come from the perspective from people who come from museums, as designer I don't have specific goals
Robin – Based on something our curatorial dept. wants to do. Our curators want to do a salon hang, floor to ceiling objects, the visitors would be allowed to vote on objects on the wall that would appear off the wall in a small focus gallery, in the same room, on an adjacent wall.
Justin- How often do visitors return?
Robin-Depends on the institution. We have a high rate of repeat visits and we aren't a huge tourist destination. Cleveland is the same.

(Meanwhile....back at the table Kevin puts discarded post-it notes into the "cup of shame")

Question: Random items or specific collection.
Answer: The 100 works would be chosen by the curators

Does each work get a chance to have a campaign for why it should be voted for? (Each object has it's own marketing strategy---the mind boggles!)

Holly brief comments about permanent collections vs. special exhibitions in North American Museums
Would they be selected from a palette or from the whole collection? From a selection of pre-chosen works in this course.
Ten individual votes---for things we'd like to see moved.
Robin: we did a variation on this that was about decorating your home? Which is very different than I want to know more about this.

Selection that is physically visible---you would want a pre-canned search, wouldn't you? A reverse interaction. Tweet such and such to this address to see this exhibit.

How would you display information for individual works that are selected? We hadn't though about that being electronic.
Might be video or text panel---scrolling electronic label

I might see a Jackson Pollock painting what does it mean? Why was it made?
This is what I picked. This is why I picked it. This is what I want to know about it?
Choose something that's already been suggested or suggest your own?
If it's open-ended, then how do you enter information? If it's twitter it's clear? If it's a piece of paper it's written.
How do you present the results? Project them next to the item?

Kevin – You might have an idea of how something might be structured, yet a visitor thinks about it completely differently. There are these mind maps that we use to structure information. You might be able to take that information and provide some sort of story behind it. There might be a way to connect these items. On that same note. The Collier photographs and the Flickr and it allowed you to choose the categories to compare them---you choose two works and see dynamically how they are created. More work to dive into. (Sounds like a whole other idea).

Kind of tagging...tagging for next week...publishing a weekly tag..one tag is things available..the second tag is things chosen...kind of like favorites...most popular items....time based...every week there will be new "tags of the week." One permanent tag.
You can only vote for the works on the grid.

(Kevin) Discussion about display at new library---as books checked out the titles and relationships appear on the large screen....older the books the more faded they are
(Robin) Ben Rubin did a piece for the Minneapolis library--there is a digital readout of books checked out in library shaft--
Kind of neat, doesn't really help you because by the time you see it the book is gone but....

(Holly's phone rang and she missed some stuff)

Do we imagine this as an online experience or in the museum. In doing projects with museums---there is a huge rooms full of stuff because there is just not enough exhibit space. I'm not thinking about it when I'm home sitting at my computer but I am thinking about it when I'm in a museum.
Is there interface under each work of art? I guess it could related to stuff...reason for choosing...

Ideas

Benches and Binoculars

Goals:

Participatory --we want visitor to feel like they have a relationship with the institution. Staying connected.
Educational objective – visitor to make a choice, have their choice validated by choice being moved to the focus wall, and being interested enough to come back and learn more the following week.
Social – folks standing around talking about choices
User generated content-picking of stuff might engender the answers of "why is something selected.
Internal goal – knowing our visitors better by their choices
Image Goal – we are more accessible now you (the visitor) has a voice, we are about you and what you think matters to us
Focuses people on the permanent collection.

Technologies

touch screen, in-gallery kiosk, touch table
hand-held app for mobile device
web-based voting as well
sticky notes
ballot box

Interaction

talking amongst each other about works
voting on paintings
selecting from a list
visitor indicating why a work is chosen
validating choices

SPIN ART

(with Rubix cube interface for those who need more accessibility, or a giant Buddhist prayer wheel, etc. etc.)
Based on Dinner Spinner---select the variables and shake it and get random things

Goals:

Fun
Spontaneous
Discovery-based, exploring new things
Museum will get to know visitors better
Education objectives
Learning more

Art spinner – what are the variables-Time -- material -- subject matter-
Once you spin...you get a list of items that relate...comment...favorites...now where is it in the museum
What if the art shaker new enough to know whether it is internal or external---inside my shaker gives me what's on display, outside it gives me everything

Interaction:

Auditory feedback
Display information
Searching exhibited content
Outside searching all collections
Adding artifact to a map of the museum
Shake (accelerometer)
Selecting variables
Voice comments
Adding to favorites
Adding current object to a favorites list

Technologies:

Web and local intranet
iPhone
Wi-Fi

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