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Article on Information
Design
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models | processes |
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In this section |
When describing the process that they follow, informants described more than a series of events, they described a sequence of choices. Each museum exhibition is the product of hundreds of choices: choices about the exhibition topic, themes within the topic, objects to display, the look of display cases, the number of words used in label copy, and so on. For example, when preparing the exhibition on computer networks, the staff at the High Tech Museum chose to focus on humanities themes. The staff could have just as easily have focused on technological issues. Similarly, the staff at the Industrial History Museum chose to develop its exhibition on work life in the 1900s as a simulation of a factory in which visitors don work gear and assume specific work roles. The staff could have just as easily taken a more traditional approach, perhaps recreating work scenes with actual artifacts and telling the story of work life through labels and audiovisual programs. During the first phase of analysis, I identified the many types of issues considered in the design process.
During the second phase of analysis--axial coding--I looked for broader themes among these categories of data. I observed that decisions fell into one of these four categories:
During the last phase of analysis, selective coding, I focused on the relationship among these components. Choices made early in the process focused on goals. The next set of choices focused on using resources and techniques to achieve goals. Choices made later in the process focused on specific ways of addressing constraints that affected the ability to implement plans. Although one of the four components dominated a decision, staffs seemed to address each of the four components during each choice. I concluded that the design process is a sequence of decisions involving each of the four components. Different components dominated decision making at different points in development process.
Figure 1 shows the interaction of the four components in the design process.
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Resources Goals Constraints Techniques |
Figure 1: Interaction of Components in Design Choices for Object-Based Learning in Museum Exhibits
The next several sections describe each of these components in detail: their purposes, their sub-components, their characteristics.
Goals are principles to be achieved through the decision process and that must be realized before any choice is considered complete. Design goals are broad beliefs that guide the work of designers and, for the most part, are universally accepted by museum professionals. Design goals were remarkably consistent among the museums I studied.
Design goals are to a project like the picture of a completed dish is to a cookbook. They define the end product of design. Design goals are considered in each decision in the process. They guide the choice of subjects and the themes of topics presented within exhibitions. They also guide the choice of content and the techniques used to present and explain content to participants. Design goals are solely used by designers; they are not intended for formal presentation to visitors. They might not even be included in the formal plans and design documentation for an exhibition.
Design goals contrast with content goals. Content goals are what we instructional designers call instructional objectives and describe the skills that visitors should be able to perform after viewing an exhibition. Although each of the exhibitions had content goals, as one informant commented, "If visitors learn anything specific, that’s icing on the cake." Designers are more concerned about changing attitudes than imparting specific content. Trained to believe that every instructional program must begin with written behavioral objectives, the lack of importance to museum exhibit designers initially troubled me.
In museums, two categories of design goals exist and both are dominant patterns. A dominant pattern is one observed in all three of the museums studied. It contrasts with a weak pattern, which was only observed in one or two museums. These two categories of design goals are:
If design goals are like the picture of a finished dish in a cookbook, then resources are like the list of ingredients for a specific recipe. Design resources are the materials--both physical and intellectual--used to present an exhibition.
Design resources are mix and match elements. Designers combine them in various ways to present information in an exhibition much as chefs combine spices and ingredients in various ways to create dishes.
Exhibit design teams use four general categories of resources. These resources include:
Issues associated with content include:
Objects have several uses. Because visitors expect to see objects in museums, they were used in each of the three to meet these expectations. At two of the museums, objects also served as "plot points," items that play a major role in telling the "story" of the content. For example, in the Urban History Museum, a series of three related stones tell the story of the city’s emergence from a native American site to a mill town to a transportation hub.
Issues associated with using objects include:
Issues associated with the use of media include:
Both the Urban History and High Tech Museums display nineteenth century fire alarm boxes. In the Urban History Museum, the box sits on a tall pole, which stands next to a horse-drawn fire engine. In the High Tech Museum, the box sits in an enclosed case, the first of many older objects used to tell the history of modern telecommunications networks.
One object; two presentations. These differences result as much from the use of different design techniques as from differences in the content of the exhibition. Design techniques are strategies for achieving both the design and exhibit goals using the resources available. If goals are like the pictures of a finished dish and resources are like the list of ingredients, then techniques are like the instructions for combining ingredients in a recipe.
Two types of techniques characterize museum exhibit design. These techniques include:
Each museum studied made use of these techniques. Other storytelling techniques, which were only observed at one or two museums each, include repetition of key points, the use of large-sized objects and color to attract visitors’ attention, and the use of a conclusion.
Other types of interpretation techniques, which were only observed at one or two museums each, include objects, experimental interpretation techniques, and presentations tailed to a given segment of the audience.
Design techniques represent solutions to problems, affect the choice of design resources, are flexible, and are documented. Criteria for choosing design techniques include the professional discipline in which the team member works, personal preference, tips and techniques from other disciplines, and empirical evidence.
If goals are like the pictures of a finished dish, resources like the list of ingredients, and strategies like the instructions for combining ingredients, constraints are like the notes at the end of a recipe that explain the "ifs, ands, and buts" needed for the dish to turn out as pictured.
Constraints are outside influences that affect the ability to build an exhibit as planned. Constraints determine whether plans for an exhibit are:
The factors affecting the ability of a design team to implement an exhibit plan include:
These constraints are typical of constraints in any type of project. However, certain aspects of these constraints seem unique to the museums.
Consider schedule. The time available to open exhibits varies widely, but because all of the three exhibits studied were permanent ones, the time frames were at least a year. The initial planning for "Without Boundaries" began 4 years before the exhibit opened, the initial planning for "Network Earth" began 6 years in advance, and the initial prototype for "The Canning Factory" opened 5 years before that exhibit opened. Despite the long lead times, each team faced a time crunch just before opening, when each team worked evenings and weekends. Some people even worked through the night. The Director of Exhibits at the High Tech Museum explained that the crunch is typical before the opening of any exhibition. The staff at the Urban History Museum agreed.
Consider budget. Exhibits are funded in two phases: planning and implementation. In the planing phase, staffs research the content for a proposed exhibit, choose a focus, and develop a detailed description of the exhibit. The detailed description has two parts, a storyline that describes the key elements of the visitor experience and blueprint of the exhibit space. Design teams consult a panel of experts throughout the planning process. During implementation, exhibit design teams build the exhibit planned during the earlier phase.
Finally, consider skills. As one informant noted, the level of skill that a team member possesses is as important as the skill itself. The original designer of one of the exhibitions studied had limited experience with museum exhibit design. As a result, designs were incomplete and the other members of the exhibition design team did not have the information needed to complete their tasks.
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(c) Copyright. 1998. Saul Carliner. All rights reserved.
