I noticed three overacting themes in the Second Story article: Digital Storytelling in Museums.

  1. The vision and the goals of an exhibit come first. Technology is just one of many ways to achieve that vision, so do not introduce it unnecessarily.
  2. There are three parts to a full experience: the visitor, the space, and the content, and all three need equal attention to achieve success.
  3. Simplify, simplify. This tends to be a mantra for any designer, and museum designers are no exception!

There were a few suggestions that somewhat contradicted these themes:

  1. “Have and vision” and “Break out of the traditional model of exhibit design.” The authors explain that the traditional model is a top-down approach, where designers focus on the big picture and then add technology as an afterthought. They suggested that instead, designers think about the smaller elements first, and then go from there, informing the design. To me, this seems to contradict “have a vision.” I completely agree that the vision should be flexible when new things are learned at the detail stage, but I can’t picture a successful design process when the smaller elements are the first focus.
  2. “Remove barriers to content and experience” and “Use multiple layers to present a story.” Perhaps I am interpreting these two too literally. In their description of “remove barriers,” the authors say to skip unnecessary introductions or instructions. Visitors want to experience the real content right away. They suggest removing the hierarchy of information to achieve this. I’m not sure then how one would use multiple layers if only the most important content is presented at the top of the hierarchy.