Making the punishment fit the crime: Integrated interactive systems in the Museum

When we place an application into a museum, we change it. The context, the conditions of use, the place it has in the unfolding drama of a museum visit, its relationship to the site, all these conditions subtly or grossly reshape our designs. So we need to consider, from the beginning of the design process, how the application will be embedded in and resonate to a particular environment. The complexity of the site means we need to make applications that reflect the diversity of use and occasion in the museum. Programs suitable to the classroom may be totally inappropriate for a public place. And even within a museum, programs should vary according to site and function: electronic displays can bring theatrical dazzle to a space, diverting the eye and breaking the monotony of consistently-scaled replicas, while smaller-scale exhibits can provide another kind of local magic. In short, we have to think of the museum as an encompassing and unified environment in which all the elements - exhibits, electronic applications, administrative networks, and links to the outside world - form a consistent and unified system. This paper explores the variety of f om interactivity can assume in the museum and how to adjust those f om to their specific contexts. It also addresses the problem of designing applications that work in crowded and demanding public spaces.