Designing Effective Exhibits Using WWW-based Technologies 1
Designing Effective Exhibits Using World Wide Web-based
Technologies ASTC Conference, October 26, 1996
Paul M. Helfrich, Ph.D.The Franklin Institute Science Museum
215-448-1210 [email protected]
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How do I define exhibit design?
From a variety of perspectives:• Our Customer (User)• Instructional Designer (Content Developer)• Graphic Designer (labels, panels,
computer screens)• Exhibit Designer (3D / Space Designer)• Evaluator (front end, formative, summative)• Exhibit Support Technicians (Maintenance)
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What is the CyberZone Exhibit?
a @2,500 sq. ft. exhibit opening 1/17/97 at the Franklin Institute Science Museum, Philadelphia , PAan introduction to the Internet for families and school groupsfour primary areas:• introduction (2 kiosks / Panels)• Internet surf stations (13 kiosks)• communication - chat, email, homepage (6 kiosks)• Albert M. Greenfield Cutting Edge Gallery
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The Happy User Perspective
attract power - looks cool, I’ll try it.
holding power - it is cool, I like it!
take-aways - meeting educational goals• “Aha! Now I understand how ‘xyz’ works.”
• the user is now motivated to find out more on the topic or concept post-visit
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The Unhappy User Perspective
attract power - looks cool, I’ll try it.
holding power - how the $#!@! does this thing work? It’s too slow, boring! Too much text, boring! I’m hungry, etc.
take-aways - unhappy users rarely get to this point.
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The Instructional Designer Perspective
hypermedia design vs. linear computer exhibit design issues:• depth - no more than three levels vs.
infinite web surfing
• navigational cues - hyperlink colors, button shape / size / location, start, back, stop, help commands
• home page - point of departure and return, table of contents
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The Instructional Designer Perspective
defining educational goals for exhibits:• define audience - family groups? school
groups? single user?
• define content age level - beginner, intermediate, advanced vs. K-12, adult
• define educational goals in writing!– e.g. the user will explore one or two concepts,
things, processes, etc.
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The Instructional Designer Perspective
instructional design strategies:• labels, content panels
• close-captioned video segments
• interpretive staff support
• take-aways - print outs, brochures
• pre-visit, post-visit info available on local web site = new opportunities!
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The Instructional Designer Perspective
computer interface design issues:• primary goal = make transparent to user!– attract power / holding power
• instructional labels - online vs. hard copy• color selections - color blindness in 10% of
male population (red on green)• video / screen font resolution - is it
readable?• screen button size = an adult thumb
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The Instructional Designer Perspective
hypermedia web design issues:• the museum floor is often a noisy,
distracting environment • text-based, graphics enhanced “book” vs.
multimedia enhanced (video, sound, graphics, text, animation) “video game”–Grades K - 5 are very visual and aural, don’t
spend time reading on the museum floor–Grades 6 - Adult don’t read as much either, but
will if it’s interesting
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The Instructional Designer Perspective
browser issues for exhibit surf stations:• functionality - frames, java, colors, tables,
HTML 3.2, 2.0, 1.0 compatible• ‘plugins’ to support various new media
(realaudio, shockwave, quicktimeVR, etc.)• home page button - user orientation and
navigation• kiosk mode - no user access to operating
system
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The Instructional Designer Perspective
other technical issues:• unsavory material filter (Surfwatch, others)– pornography, hate-speech, criminal activities,
illicit drugs, racism
• access speed <1 second– response time, touch screen vs. mouse /
keyboard– proxy server - local cache of most frequently
used sites– auto time-out feature - return to attract screen
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The Graphic Designer Perspective
traditional 3D space design issues:• readable color combinations
• readable font sizes and combinations
• sizing images
• all the above support educational goals
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The Graphic Designer Perspective
custom web page issues:• hyperlink “traditional” colors– blue = unvisited, purple = visited
• new hyperlink color schemes– ??? = unvisited, ??? = visited
• speed rules! – <30K size limit per graphic– <60K for the entire page!
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The Exhibit Designer Perspective
floor space issues:• visitor flow - disparate experiences vs. a
guided, thematic tour
• what is the visitor capacity in the space?
• is there adequate ventilation?
• adequate lighting / shading? (the sun is a dynamic light source)
• sound design - sound cones vs. !#@$!
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The Exhibit Designer Perspective
kiosk design issues:• ergonomics, human actors, ease of use– is your user(s) standing or sitting?–wheel chair accessible?
• visually related to rest of the space?
• integration with graphic treatments
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The Exhibit Designer Perspective
kiosk design issues:• adequate ventilation for computers &
monitors• access for support technicians• cable labels• hardware schematic inside kiosks• wire / cable management - network
connections, power, mouse, speakers
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Summary
Good hypermedia exhibit design is defined by our customer = the User
Instructional, Graphic, Exhibit Designer, Evaluator, Support Technicians all work together in creating effective exhibit design
Hypermedia vs. traditional linear computer design; the WWW opens a new chapter for museums...
