This document summarizes Marco Mason's research on digital media design practices for museums. It discusses how design for museums involves constant collaboration between experts from different fields. It also examines the use and value of prototyping in the collaborative design process, noting that prototypes can help generate ideas, improve communication, catch mistakes early, and test interactions. The document reviews case studies from several museums and provides references on design theory, process, and the role of prototyping.

1. Prototyping and Interdisciplinary Collaboration
in Digital Media Design Practice for Museums
MMaarrcco oM aMsoanson

2. marcomason.mit.edu

3. Institute of emerging Issues
NCSU
Gallery One, CMA
Behind the Scenes, MFA
Infinity of Nations, Smithsonian Inst.
Native American Voices
Penn Museum
Tenement Museum, NYC

4. Credits
Case study - Institute of Emerging Issues at the NCSU, Raleigh NC
IEI team
Wendy Burkland, Melinda Walke Anita Brown-Graham
Second Story Interactive Studios
David Waingarten and Brad Johnson
Chris Dewan Daniel Meyers, David Brewer, Thomas Wester, Michael Godfrey, Sorob Louie,
Jennifer Dolan, Kirsten Southwell, Norman Lau, Alex Cho, Marc Lehman, Jinu Yang, Swanny
Mouton, Sam Jeibmann, Philippe Laulheret, Matthew Fargo, Donald Richardson
Gallagher & Associated
Sujit Tolat, Cybelle Jones
!
Case study (gathering data) - Gallery One at the CMA, Cleveland
CMA team
Jane Alexander, Caroline Goeser, Seema Rao, Jennifer Foley Meghan Stockdale , Elizabeth
Bolander , Andrea Bour, Niki Krause, Mary Suzor, Thomas Barnard
Local Projects
Jake Barton
!
Case study (under analysis) - Behind the Scenes at the MFA, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts
Barbara Martin, Jenna Fleming, Lynn Courtney, Elliot Davis, Erica Hirshler
Richard Lewis Media Group
Richard Lewis, Stephanie Stewart, Diana Bonfilio.
!

5. Credits
The 47th
Ann Karash Kimura
Small Design
David Small, Jenna Fizel
!
Case study (gathering data) - Infinity of Nations at the Smithsonian Institution
Earprint Production
Jason Reinier and Catherine Girardeau
Smithsonia Institution
Daniel Davis
Independent consultant and designer
Sandy Goldberg
!
Case study (under analysis) - Native American Voices at the Penn Museum
Penn Museum, Philadelphia
Kate Quinn , Yuan Yao, Lucy Fowler Williams, Allison Francies, Kevin Schott, Courtney O’Brien, Jenn
Reifsteck
Bluecadet Interaction
Josh Goldblum, Troy Lachance, Aaron Miller, Kim Quinn, Mark Llobrera, Stacey Martens, Aaron
Richardson, Victoria Jones, Paul Rudolph

6. Credits
Case study - Tenement Museum - NYC
Tenement Museum
Annie Polland
Nick Capodice
Potion Design studio
Philip Phillip Tiongson
Abby Palmer
Jonathan Bobrow
!
Interviews for the preliminary research
MIT Museum and MIT Museum Studio team (Allan Doyle, Seth Riskin, Deborah Douglas), Ed Rodley ,
Caroline Burke, Dana Mitroff Silver, Peter Samis, Patrick Newbery, Adam Broidy, Nathan Shedroff,
Chris Noessel ,Graham Plumb, Susan , Peter Samis , Keir Winesmith, Nina Simon, Chia Shen.
!
!

7. Digital media
design
practices
FORMALIZED
KNOWLEDGE
The research objective
“We aim for the theory but we are actually looking at the existing
digital media design practice for heritage institution.”
We aim for the theory but we are actually looking at the existing
digital media design practice for heritage institution

8. Significance
theoretical reflection on design is necessary
to transfer knowledge.
- education setting
- Scientific community (PhD)
- Museums practitioners
- Designers & Design practice
FORMALIZED
KNOWLEDGE

11. design areas & skill
design activities
prototypes,
artifacts and
documentation
design process
members and collaboration

12. design areas & skill
members and collaboration
design activities
prototypes
artifacts and
documentation
design process

13. Designing through Collaboration
Digital media design for
heritage institutions involves
constant negotiation among
many experts in different
fields, and visitors as well.

14. What types of Prototypes?

15. What types of Prototypes?
!
Idea, Appearance, Content, Functionality, Interactivity, Spatial
structure
* Lim, Youn-Kyung, "The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of design ideas."

16. What types of Prototypes?
credit: Dana Mitroff Silver http://designinginsights.com/work/getty/
- Rethinking artwork object labels with a prototype at the Getty Villa. Image © P.M. Carlson

17. What types of Prototypes?

18. What types of Prototypes?
http://exhibit2011mobile.wordpress.com/gallery/

19. What types of Prototypes?
credit: Bluecadet Design

20. the value of prototyping in
collaborative design processes

21. the value of prototyping
for example:
to generate many ideas, quickly!
to help communication amongst design and museum team members
to catch mistake early on in the process
to test a system of interactions
Background picture, credit: Dana Mitroff - Design Insights

22. Rational Problem Solving
*Dorst, K. (2006) Understanding Design, BIS Publishers.

23. Rational Problem Solving
problem(s) Solution
*Farrell, Robert, and Cliff Hooker. “Design, Science and Wicked Problems.” Design Studies 34, 6 (Nov 2013): 681–705.

24. wicked problems
design problem
Solution 1
Solution 2
Solution 3
Solution x
*Rittel and Webber. “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning.” Policy Sciences, 4 (1973): 155-169.

25. co-evolution problem/solution
problem
Solution
*Dorst and Cross. “Creativity in the Design Process: Co-Evolution of Problem–solution.” Design Studies 22, 5 (Sep 2001)

26. co-evolution problem/solution
*Dorst and Cross. “Creativity in the Design Process: Co-Evolution of Problem–solution.” Design Studies 22, 5 (Sep 2001)

27. co-evolution problem/solution
Problem/Solution Problem/Solution Problem/Solution
*Dorst, K. (2004) The problem of design problems – problem solving and design expertise. Journal of Design Research, 4(2).

28. Case studies
http://www.secondstory.com/project/browse/featured-work/iei-commons
http://www.clevelandart.org/gallery-one/interactives
http://bluecadet.com/work/native-american-voices-the-people-here-and-now
http://www.potiondesign.com/project/shop-life/
http://smithsonian-webstrategy.wikispaces.com/Infinity+of+Nations+App
http://www.mfa.org/americas-wing/article_behind.html
http://designinginsights.com

29. References
Preece, Jenny, Yvonne Rogers, Helen Sharp, David Benyon, Simon Holland, and Tom Carey. Human-computer interaction.
Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd., 1994.
Saffer, Dan. Designing for interaction: creating innovative applications and devices. New Riders, 2010.
D. Mitroff Silvers, E. Lytle-Painter, A. Lee, J. Ludden, B. Hamley and Y. Trinh, From Post-its to Processes: Using
Prototypes to Find Solutions. In Museums and the Web 2014, N. Proctor & R. Cherry (eds). Silver Spring, MD:
Museums and the Web. Published February 1, 2014.
McKenna-Cress, Polly, and Janet Kamien. Creating Exhibitions: Collaboration in the Planning,
Development, and Design of Innovative Experiences. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.

30. http://designinginsights.com/workshops/
Practical insights
http://marcomason.mit.edu/teaching/workshop-exhibit-2011-mobile
http://www.servicedesigntools.org/taxonomy/term/3
Warfel, Todd Zaki. Prototyping: a practitioner's guide. Rosenfeld media, 2009.
Snyder, Carolyn. Paper prototyping: The fast and easy way to design and refine user interfaces. Newnes, 2003.

31. a little bit of design theory
Dorst and Cross (2001). “Creativity in the Design Process: Co-Evolution of Problem–solution.” Design Studies 22(5)
Dorst, K. (2004) The problem of design problems – problem solving and design expertise. Journal of Design Research, 4(2).
Dorst, K. (2006) Understanding Design, BIS Publishers.
Farrell, Robert, and Cliff Hooker (2013) “Design, Science and Wicked Problems.” Design Studies 34(6): 681–705.
Rittel and Webber (1973). “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning.” Policy Sciences, 4: 155-169. Lim, Youn-Kyung, !
Erik Stolterman, and Josh Tenenberg. "The anatomy of prototypes: Prototypes as filters, prototypes as manifestations of !
design ideas." ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) 15, no. 2 (2008): 7.

32. marcomason.mit.edu
mrcmason@mit.edu

33. Thank you