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WORK
PUCCINI.OPERAS / HALL.OF.ARCHITECTURE / AS.I.LAY.DYING / FLYING.V.DRIVING / LE.RENARD
OLYMPICS / TYPE.DESIGN / CMU.PRESS / KEEP.BOX / TEXTILES / SIGNALETIK
GESSNERALLEE / CARDS
Signage / Interaction / Print
DATE
May 2011
ABOUT
A proposal for improving upon the visitor experience at the Carnegie Museum of Art's Hall of Architecture, developed with Rachel Inman, Molly Nix, and Federico Rios.
The Hall of Architecture hosts the largest collection of architectural casts in the United States, and the third largest worldwide. Though the space is impressive, we found that visitors weren't remembering a lot about their experience. We worked with museum curators and staff to explore ways in which visitors could engage in a deeper, more meaningful way with the objects in the Hall of Architecture.
After an extensive research phase and early prototyping, we presented our final proposal for a system of changes in three key areas:
1. Presentation
We suggested re-painting the walls from its current muted green to a deeper, more saturated red for a stronger first impression. From there, we developed a formal color and typographic system that we applied to a revamped signage system, tailored to the different kinds of casts and groupings.
2. Interaction
We then developed the idea of using smart tickets as a way for visitors to "tag" their favorite casts and pieces. Through either RFID or barcode technology, visitors could swipe their museum ticket at each cast label to form a personalized collection of casts. From there, we imagined a set of interactive tables in the center of the space, where visitors could see the connections between the casts in their set visualized, highlighting common places of origin, style, and time period.
3. Extension
Finally, we proposed establishing a web presence where visitors could either re-create their experience, or access the casts in the collection similarly online.
My primary responsibilities included establishing the visual language, creating the revamped signage system, and putting together an in-depth process book that we gave to the museum summarizing our findings, outlining our proposal, and including recommendations for production and maintenance.
