Interactive Exhibits
Self, Made Exhibition, 2019
As part of the exhibition development team, I created several new interactive exhibits for the Self, Made: Exploring You In a World of We Exhibition. This temporary exhibition was open summer 2019 at the Exploratorium SF and the exhibition aimed to explore many aspects of identity including how the world sees us, how we see others, and how we see ourselves.
The exhibit development process included conceiving new ideas related to the theme of "Identity", and then developing physical exhibits through iterative prototyping. Early prototypes were shared at team meetings which helped steer and shape exhibits.
Creating an exhibit is a lot like managing a project. To be successful, it is key to keep checking-in with stakeholders to review prototypes. I also like to include graphics and editorial departments early in the project, although sometimes I take this on myself for quick iterations.
Another group I like to weave into my experience design process is Visitor, Research and Engagement. This group is equipped to watch visitors interact with prototypes and collect data on their use. This is critical in identifying where the exhibit might be improved. I find it extremely helpful they have their experienced eyes on our audience behaviors as they try newly designed experiences.
The following exhibits are now part of the permanent collection at the Exploratorium.
Assumptions About Gender
This is an interactive exhibit that encourages critically thinking about how we perceive the gender(s) of others.
GOAL:
This work is directly related to the subject gender and the goal is to challenge the oppressive nature of a gender binary and encourage thinking “outside the boxes” to embrace the inherent diversity of gender identity.
It aims to expand thinking beyond the binary masculine-feminine gender model and challenges how and why we interpret others’ genders the way we do. At the same time, it is very playful and approachable for visitors with all backgrounds of gender experiences.
OUTCOME:
After the exhibition, the team was approached by the American Association of Museums to write an article for their membership magazine, Museum, about the experience of taking on the topic of gender.
The project director and I then co-wrote the following article which details the bumps and successes we experienced along the way: Beyond Binary, Museum magazine, March/April 2020
Coffee or Tea?
This is a digital touchscreen experience that first asks the user about their food references, and then quizzes them about strangers' food preferences. At the end you see all the people who have the same preferences as you.
GOAL:
The goal of this exhibit is to illuminate how a snap judgment relationship may change once their true preferences are revealed. It aims to encourage visitors to explore questions like: Can we spot fellow chocolate lovers? What prejudicial stereotypes do we bring in trying to identify tea drinkers?
OUTCOME:
We collected 120 headshot images and food preferences from a wide array of people with different age, gender, physical appearance, etc. in order to create the opportunity to empathize with others who appear similar and different to ourselves.