Design for Mobile Workshop

From Headphones to Microphones
Visitor-led mobile experience design for museums
Nancy Proctor, Smithsonian Institution
Design for Mobile Workshop, 24 September 2010

Housekeeping
Questions & comments:
@nancyproctor
Hashtags: #mtogo #d4m2010
http://wiki.MuseumMobile.info

Agenda for Today:
8:30-9:00 Introductions
9:00-10:00 Theory:audience-led mobile content & experience design
- 30 min break -
10:30-11:45 Practice: key messages, audiences & their questions
- 15 min break -
12:00-12:30 From headphones to microphones: from I do the talking to you do the talking!

Introductions
8:30–9:00
Introduce yourself by name and affiliation;
Tell us your burning question or issue that you hope will be addressed today.

Part 1: Theory
9:00–10:00
Interpretation is essential
Why mobile?
A new approach to designing mobile interpretation and experiences
From headphones…
to microphones

Part 1: The Theory9:00-10:00Audience-led mobile interpretation design
6

Opening our eyes
7

Interpretation is as essential to the Museum as cutlery is to a banquet
Beth Lipman, Bancketje (Banquet) 2003 
8

If the Museum doesn’t provide it:
Some visitors may bring their own,
Some may eat only the finger food,
Some may choose another restaurant,
Many will go away hungry,
feeling uninvited and unwelcome.
Beth Lipman, Bancketje (Banquet) 2003 
9

Velcro
Teflon
http://www.slideshare.net/psamis/learning-in-museums-2008-intro-remarks

Tate Modern’sPrinciples of Interpretation
Interpretation is at the heart of the gallery’s mission.
Works of art do not have self-evident meanings.
Works of art have a capacity for multiple readings; interpretation should make visitors aware of the subjectivity of any interpretive text.
Interpretation embraces a willingness to experiment with new ideas.
We recognise the validity of diverse audience responses to works of art.
Interpretation should incorporate a wide spectrum of voices and opinions from inside and outside the institution.
Visitors are encouraged to link unfamiliar artworks with their everyday experience.

Why mobile?

In the Museum as Distributed Network…
13

…at least half of the Museum’s platforms are already mobile.
14

So if we want to meet our audiences where they are
And take them some place new…

Mobile is a great vehicle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8
16

But if we want to go beyond this:
We need to think outside the audio tour box

It’s NOT about the Technology
Fraunhofer Institute, Kunstmuseum Bonn: ‘Beat Zoderer’ exhibition (Listen project) 2003
Fraunhofer Institute, Kunstmuseum Bonn: ‘Beat Zoderer’ exhibition (Listen project) 2003

Thinking outside the audiotour box
Means thinking about content & experience

Recent Research & Resourceshttp://wiki.MuseumMobile.info/research
2010
Smithsonian studies of Mall and Zoo visitors
2009
CHNM survey on Museums and Mobile Adoption
Learning Times International Survey on handheld use in museums.
2008
Whitney Museum of American Art: Audio Guide Technologies Survey Final Report
2007
Matthew Barney: Multiplatform interpretation at SFMOMA
La Placa Cohen Culture Track 2007 (with Antenna Audio)

Who is your target audience?
Tied to mission & key messages
What are the desired outcomes? What do we want them to know, think and/or feel?
What platforms do they already use? How do they use them elsewhere & what excites them?
Traditional audio tours
Cellphones or smartphones
Podcasts
Mobile social media: SMS, Twitter, FB…

A Minority of Visitors Use Technologies in the Galleries
BUT they use technology everywhere else:
WWW = Whatever, Whenever, Wherever
2006 study by Randi Korn & Associates at SFMOMA

What do they want to know?
Question mapping in the gallery:
Semi-structured interviews
FAQs and comments cards
Questions posed to staff…

Collecting questions…
Online question collection:
Specialized Q&A services, e.g. AJOA
Comments on social media sites
Include audience research in order to segment
Go deeper with more experienced museum visitors
Where are visitors not being served by existing interpretation?

Organize & Filter
Group questions:
Thematically
By object
By location
Prioritize by mission and key messages
Prioritize questions that elicit great stories

Organize questions

Which content modalities?
+-+-+-+-+ Soundtracks
ooooSoundbites
xxxxInteractives
| | | | Links
^ ^ ^ ^ Feedback
§ § § § Social media
Narrowcast/
Offline or
Networked
Networked
only

Soundbite Sample

Soundbites
Are ‘atoms’ of information.
Commonly called ‘stops’ – or ‘starts’!
Facilitate going deeper on a specific object/subject.
Usually require a visual (actual object or image).
Can be collectable & portable to other platforms e.g. via bookmarking, saving or sharing.
Can be reused across the museum’s analog & digital platforms as well as those of third parties.

Soundtrack Sample

The Soundtrack
Recalls original ‘linear’ audio tours.
Provides a sequential narrative and contextual information: tools for understanding the principles of the displays, both in the gallery and beyond.
Immersive, but may be divided into a number of connected segments.
‘Downloaded’ for audiences on-site and beyond.
Like a good album, book or catalogue, should be possible to enjoy over & over again…

Soundtracks & Soundbites Combined
32

ArtBabble: the ideal interface
http://www.artbabble.org/video/meet-william-christenberry

Identify soundtracks & soundbites

Architecture Tour
History of the building, style, architect
----------+--------------+------------------+--------
O O O
Tiles Skylights Ironwork

Folk Art Tour
Why is folk art, art?
----+-------------------+------------------+-----------
/ / /
O O O
Lures Memory vessels Glad you dead…

How best to tell the story & create the atmosphere?
Monologue:
Artists & curators
Staff
Related experts
Professional narrators
Reinactments/ plays
Interview
Dialogue
Vox pop / comments
Music

Who best to tell the story?
Knowledgeable or insightful – trusted
Relates to the mission or key messages
Good communicator with target audience
Engaging voice
Confident manner
Makes it relevant
Facilitates the desired outcomes

The audiences’ conversations
Comments and questions (audio/text/links)
Search-research-share
Bookmark/Email/SMS to self
Collect (MyCollection, ArtStream)
Share (Twitter, Facebook, SMS)
Forum
Voting (show the polls!)
Quizzes/games (multimedia/SMS)
Mobile giving

The right vehicle for your content

Platform considerations
Users’ own devices or supplied on-site?
Can you support network connectivity at your site?
Can you support multiple platforms?
What kind of location-based/content triggering solution do your visitors & experience need – really?
Can you manage user-generated content?
What do your sponsors/funders require?

Mission:SI: Increase and diffusion of knowledge.AA: Be the resource and facilitator for experiencing, understanding and engaging with American art in the US and the world.Objectives: Repeat visitors; Membership sales; Integration into the curriculum

Break 10:00–10:30Please have a meaningful object & pen/pencil when you return for Part 2…

Part 2: The Practice10:30–11:45Key messages, target audiences & their questions
44

What are our audiences
looking for?

10 min
1. Identify your target audience(s)
Falk’s Identity Segmentations
Explorers
Facilitators
Experience seekers
Professionals/Hobbyists
Rechargers
Virtual visitors
Non-visitors

Are you an Explorer?

Are you a Facilitator?

Are you an Experience Seeker?

Are you a Pro/Hobbyist?

Are you a Recharger?

2. Record your questions about The Museum of Meaningful Things
20 min
The Museum’s Mission: Enable meaningful conversations & build ad hoc communities & collaborations around personal objects & their stories.
Install your exhibition
Record your questions
Ask the curator

10 min
3. Identify the key messages
Please list 1-3 main ideas visitors will take away from visiting the site or exhibition. What objects or didactic components of the presentations will help them learn this?
Describe the rationale and originality of the presentation. Is the site or exhibition bringing new scholarship to the field, exposing an under-recognized subject, etc.? Why is this presentation important now?
Please note other interpretive components at the site that should be considered (labels, docent tours, audio tour, in-gallery videos, interactive feature, blogs, etc.). Are you aware of existing media created by other organizations that address the key messages/topics of this presentation? How does mobile fit into the interpretive mix?
SFMOMA's "Interpretive Goals Questionnaire”
http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/samis/samis.html

3. Who will speak to these questions?
10 min

10 min
4. Put the experience in context
On-site or Online visit
Visit life cycle: Before, During, After
Special context: At home, In school, On the go…
Networked or ‘on board’?
Other interpretation, information or services available?
Museum-authored
User-generated
Third parties

5. Choose your platform
15 min
Users’ own devices or supplied on-site?
Can you support network connectivity at your site?
Can you support multiple platforms?
What kind of location-based/content triggering solution do your visitors & experience need – really?
Can you manage user-generated content?
What do your sponsors/funders require?

Break 11:45–12:00

Part 3: From Headphones to Microphones
12:00-12:30
Let’s hear you!
From “we do the talking” to “we help you do the talking.”
http://picasaweb.google.com/anup.rao/HaifaAkkoIsrael#4954285426665324562

Opportunities to continue our work:
http://museummobile.info/ wiki, blog & podcasts
MCN Conference Oct 27-30, 2010, Austin, TX http://MCN.edu
Mobile Content Standards Summit 27 Oct, at MCNhttp://wiki.museummobile.info/standards
http://tatehandheldconference.pbworks.com
Koven Smith: http://kovenjsmith.com& http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/smith/smith.html
SFMOMA (Peter Samis & Stephanie Pau): http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/samis/samis.html & http://www.archimuse.com/mw2009/papers/samis/samis.html
Nancy Proctor: ProctorN@si.edu @nancyproctor http://MuseumMobile.info
With many thanks to Kate Haley-Goldman for help with this method!

Here’s one I made earlier…
Idea by Grzegorz Klaman Wyspa Institute of Art, Gdansk, Poland

Mobile is personal
andsocial

Think outside the audiotour box
From headphones to microphones

Oxygenate! Joanna Rajkowska 2006-7

Wyspa Institute of Art

Idea by Grzegorz Klaman Wyspa Institute of Art, Gdansk, Poland

Design for Mobile Workshop

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