Our brief was to create a custom digital experience to augment an existing permanent exhibition at the Rochester Science Museum. Through this project we conducted extensive research, ideation, prototyping, 3-D asset development and a fully developed final product.
Team Members:
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My Role
I had a variety roles for this project. I coordinated the team and took part in ideation and art direction. I also created the visual design and experimented with interactions. I also coordinated with our developer, Gabe, to create the final product.
My Role
I had a variety roles for this project. I coordinated the team and took part in ideation and art direction. I also created the visual design and experimented with interactions. I also coordinated with our developer, Gabe, to create the final product.
Picking an exhibit
We visited the museum several times to pick an exhibit. We were immediately drawn to the Albertosaurus exhibit. It was in an open space at the end of the museum with lots of room and plenty of opportunities to expand. It did present some challenges, the original exhibit was very text-heavy and wasn’t inviting to read or engage with. The 3/4 scale skeleton is the draw of the exhibit but the supplemental information distracted from that rather than adding to it.
Goals
Discovery
Promoting discovery and interaction was our biggest goal. The essence of a museum is to discover new things in an engaging way. Our emphasis on 3-D interactions was informed by this goal.
Making the old exciting
A skeleton from the late cretaceous period could be hard to the children visiting the museum to grasp. Drawing them in with an immersive screen and 3-D experience is a way to make the old new and exciting.
Goals
Discovery
Promoting discovery and interaction was our biggest goal. The essence of a museum is to discover new things in an engaging way. Our emphasis on 3-D interactions was informed by this goal.
Making the old exciting
A skeleton from the late cretaceous period could be hard to the children visiting the museum to grasp. Drawing them in with an immersive screen and 3-D experience is a way to make the old new and exciting.
Ideation
With a focus on immersion and discovery we initially came up with an augmented reality experience but due to time and resource constraints we weren’t able to pursue it. We then turned our focus to a screen based experience to replace the board in front of the display.
Wireframe / Screen Design
After determining our goals and conducting our research we started exploring visually with information architecture and wireframing. Our initial explorations determined a horizontal experience would be optimal.
Prototype
I used Principle to create realistic mockups of the final design to experiment with interaction types.
Prototype
I used Principle to create realistic mockups of the final design to experiment with interaction types.
Albertosaurus 3-D Model
Special thank the Studio 252MYA and Fabrizio De Rossi for the creation of the Albertosaurus 3-D model.
Learnings / Future
This long process was difficult at times but we learned a lot about designing for children at their different developmental stages. Looking forward we hope to create more physical elements and signage to accompany the digital experience.