Facing the Future
Natural User Interfaces and
Transmedia Spaces in Museums

Experience Design
> Passive, Active, Interactive, Immersive
Environmental Design
> Scenographic, graphic, material selection
> Inclusive Design
Media Design
> Mixed and transmedia
> Digital, analogue, tangible, natural, interface design consistency, usability,
accessibility
Design Prerequisites

Corey
Design intent and overview.

. 150 years of Canada’s human rights history
. key debates, topics, issues over time
. 5 zones (eras)
1867-1914: Foundations and Dislocations
1915-1960: Transformations and Interventions
1960-1982: Towards the Charter
1982-Present: Human Rights in a Contemporary Canada
Past and Present: Defending Sovereignty
Rights of Passage

. Mandate: encourage reflection & dialogue
. Content: Relevance building
. Experience: Increase engagement
. Technical: Respond to our Design Prerequisites
Design Problems

Expressing the stories of the time, through the medium and material of the
time.
Use material and medium as storytelling vehicles.
Design Direction

Ask the visitor to perform an action to access the stories of the eras, in the
exact way those stories would have been presented and accessed
historically.
Design Direction

Ask the visitor to perform an action to access the stories of the eras, in the
exact way those stories would have been presented and accessed
historically.
Use the media of the time to provoke the visitor into action.
Design Direction

1867-1914: Foundations and Dislocations
Material: Wood
Medium: Printing Press, newsprint, pulp posters, magic lantern
Rights of Passage

1915-1960: Transformations and Interventions
Material: Steel, Wood
Medium: Radio (broadcast audio)
Rights of Passage

1960-1982: Towards the Charter
Material: Plastic, laminate
Medium: Television (broadcast video, audio)
Rights of Passage

1982-Present: Human Rights in a Contemporary Canada (& Facing the
Future)
Material: Light
Medium: Light (digital, fiber, broadcast & response)
Rights of Passage

Past and Present: Defending Sovereignty
Material: 4 sacred plants/medecins (cedar, sage, tobacco, sweetgrass)
Medium: Oral tradition, the intangible
Rights of Passage

. Use material for environmental immersion (reflecting the era/context)
. Use medium of the time to present content of the time
. Use of material and media created passive, active, and interactive
experiences
To date:
> visitors use the interfaces (kids seem naturally inclined to interact)
> re-creation of the old media facilitates accessibility
> dwell time is 3x as long as it is in other galleries
Outcomes

The natural interfaces in this exhibition served the roles of creating active
and interactive experiences, increasing personalization, and reflecting the
transmedia storytelling approach now characteristic of the CMHR’s
exhibition style.
Natural Interfaces

The natural interfaces in this exhibition served the roles of creating active
and interactive experiences, increasing personalization, and reflecting the
transmedia storytelling approach now characteristic of the CMHR’s
exhibition style.
Address inclusive/universal design and accessibility in the seamless
integration of media installations within the fabric of the exhibition.
Natural Interfaces

1800s Newspaper

1930’s Radio

1970’s Television

Audio Beaded Projection

Facing the Future

Liz
Dress, maker aspect

For the digital experience in Human Rights in Contemporary Canada, we
wanted to capture the imagination of the visitor. Creating an environment,
multimodal in nature, that responded to a single input.
IOT Experience Design

For the digital experience in Human Rights in Contemporary Canada, we
wanted to capture the imagination of the visitor. Creating an environment,
multimodal in nature, that responded to a single input.
That input would be made up of three hashtags projected on the floor:
#reconciliation, #equality, and #environment
IOT Experience Design

Thank You
@coreytimpson
@pushdesignca
@lili_czarina