MCN2015

What does it mean to navigate a digital space? Museums have long considered ways in which we can guide people through our physical spaces. Since the first museum websites of the late 1990s, digital platforms have given us a set of new “spaces” for our visitors to explore.

In this session, we will discuss various digital experiences through the lens of how people move through them and how they are related—or not related—to similar physical experiences. How do we define these digital spaces and open them to our visitors? What will they do while they are there? What will their experience feel like? Who will they encounter? 

Greg Albers, Digital Publications Manager at Getty Publications, will consider the visual and physical terrain we cover when we read, the objects (words) we encounter there, the markers we use in mapping our way through long texts, and how journeys like these might be supported when we design texts for digital reading.

Emily Lytle-Painter, Sr. Digital Content Manager at LACMA, will share insights about observing exploratory and non-didactic visitor experiences in physical museums, and examine how museums might create atmospheric online spaces and invite visitors to spend time beyond simply seeking information.

Rob Stenzinger, UX Designer, Coder, Facilitator on Target’s EGI Team (Enterprise Growth Initiatives, the team responsible for building disruptive innovation ventures), will share several projects from the retail sphere and discuss how discovering the goals and intent of a guest can inform the feedback we offer in a digital space, which in turn provides a sense of place and accomplishment.

The session will be conducted as three short presentations, each followed by discussion and Q&A.