The design of an interpretive device for museums

The design of an interpretive device for museums

De Rooij, M.

Van Mourik, F. (mentor)
De Rijk, T.R.A. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Industrial Design

2009-12-11

This graduation project was done for Guide ID: A company that specialises in the development and production of audio and multimedia guides. Their products are sold to museums, visitor centres, zoos, etc. Museums are the main customers of Guide ID and the project has therefore focused on them. The assignment for this project was to design a new product for Guide ID that enhances the museum experience of visitors. The project especially focused on two aspects of the museum experience, namely personalisation and interpretation. Personalisation is a strategy employed by museums to respond to individual visitor interests and preferences, which can then be linked to their collection and/or activities. Interpretation is about the understanding of museum objects. Audio and multimedia guides like wall labels and catalogues are used to provide this interpretation and help visitors to make meaning of museum objects. With these aspects in mind, the ARGO was designed. The ARGO is a handheld application that makes use of the Augmented Reality see-through-effect to link interpretive content to museum objects. It enables visitors to actively engage in the stories of museum objects, follow their interests and choose the depth of their interpretive experience. In addition the product is able to help visitors navigate through the museum building with the help of virtual signs. This not only helps visitors to find the different museum facilities but also enables them to find specific objects within the museum. The application is distributed via the Internet and can be downloaded on the visitor’s own smartphone.

interpretive device
museum
multimedia guide
Guide ID

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:02ce26e9-47bf-457a-a9f5-a7bdba6b5f7a

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2009 De Rooij, M.