For the past month I’ve been working on a project to demo and evaluate a multitouch computing platform at the Ontario Science Centre. The MT2 Table was designed by IDEUM a specialty exhibitry and media company located in Corrales, New Mexico.
In addition to being personally pumped about getting to work with this new emergent interface technology, I’m also very optimistic about its potential for creating fun and engaging exhibits. It’s still early days, but we’re working to rigorously evaluate how our visitors respond to the content that we’re offering.
Preliminary findings suggest that designing successfully for multitouch differs significantly from how you might design for conventional touchscreen based exhibits. Specifically, interface design seems to work best when geared toward multiple points of interest. Given that there is 360° access to the computing surface, it also helps to dispense with privileging any single viewing direction. Instead, interfface should be kept minimal and legible from all angles.
Multitouch Application Demo
Unwrapping our the new MT2 Table
Intuitive multitouch interfaces appeals to all ages
I spent the better part of the Easter long weekend visiting on the the shores of Lake Huron in a small town called Kincardine. The chief industry of the area is nuclear power generation. Recently, there has been move to introduce wind generation into the power supply. In the farm land outside the town, dozens, if not hundreds, of windmills dwarf the surrounding landscape. These massive, engineered forms are of a completely otherworldly scale in comparison to the rest of the landscape.
Yes, it’s a 2D version of a 3D classic from the Moore Push-Pin Co. of Wyndmoor, PA. The push pin re-imagined as a single piece of corrugated steel. I don’t know why this has me excited enough to post about it. I think it must have to do with one of the basic needs of a productive design exercise: change should be predicated on appreciating utility, not simply change for the sake of it. In the case of the push pin, the design was changed to use less and fewer materials. The result is a simpler, more succinct solution to a very simple problem.
Every four months or so, the web teams from the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Ontario Science Centre, get together to talk web. This post is a summary of the third such meeting, which took place in the AGO’s beautiful new building. Seriously, if you haven’t visited yet, do yourself a favour and go. It’s a highly pleasurable experience.
The meeting marked the introduction of new format for the summit: the un-conference. So far, each organization has had their own unique take on hosting. But with the un-conference I think we’ve found a format that offers the highest value for the time spent.
The central idea to these gatherings is to give the web teams an opportunity to share ideas and get some outside perspective. We all spend a great deal of time working within the our respective organizational structures. Most of the folks that we do business with specialize in disciplines that don’t necessarily mandate web literacy. So it’s pretty great to get with a bunch of tweeps who all speak the same language. Having short, planned sessions gives just the right amount of structure to the interactions.
We saw four presentations. I’ve had a go at summarizing bellow:
Marty Spellerberg – Talking web pages
Marty took us through an interesting application for embedding video content on webpages – the talking webpage. Kind of like a talking exhibit or a virtual tour guide, the talking page includes a short 30-60 second clip of a staff member providing additional content and context for events such as tours or on-site activities.
On top of making the page content more accessible and interesting, I’m also really impressed by the thinking that has gone into the formatting of these spots. They’re essentially short, sweet vlog posts, comprised of a single shot, that introduce a character that you may encounter when you visit. Talk about leveraging some of your best assets.
If that wasn’t enough, we were also treated to a pretty hilarious idea that has all kinds of viral potential. Sorry I couldn’t find the link.
Jess Holmes – jQuery: write less, do more
I presented an idea that we’ve gotten a bit of millage out of at the OSC. The basic premise is that we can offer a whole lot of extra functionality to our clients by adopting javascript libraries. We used jQuery as an example. It’s not a new idea, but it’s a topic that causes non-web geeks to glaze over pretty quickly – so I jumped on the opportunity to yak about it to people who might listen.
Cheryl led an interesting discussion on Museums and gaming. Sorry Cheryl, I can’t remember the name of the individual or conference that you referenced. The major point is that gamers are a HUGE segment. What are we doing as museums and science centres to engage gamers on their turf? Currently, not that much. We’ve had a go in the past, but at the moment we seem to be focused elsewhere.
That isn’t to say that museums can’t produce excellent work. Here’s Launchball, the game that won Best of the Web at #MW2008.
Noman Siddiqui – The how and why of marketing cultural organizations in international web campaigns
Noman, a new addition to the ROM’s team, bravely took the initiative and led a conversation on the need to engage communities outside of our core audiences. He posses an interesting question: What, if anything, are we doing to invite/attract visitors who may still be outside of Canadian borders? By creating international online marketing touch-points we become clear destination choices early on in the trip planning experience. Is it simply time that cements the association of the Louvre with Paris or is there something more to it? We are still a little thin on ideas for how exactly this process might work, but there did seem to be consensus that something would be better than nothing.
CARS GO MOO
I’d be interested to hear how much everyone else liked this format. I, for one, would like to see the sessions extended a bit. Maybe I just need to do a better job of editing, but I definitely feel like I could have covered more ground with a little more time. Or maybe a gong show format where we dress up the managers in funny costumes and they cut us off when the session gets boring.
It would also be great to start to invite/include other organizations. We three are the biggest, but there must be other web teams out there that would see similar value in this type of experience.
Thanks again to all that participated and a special thanks to Ian, Kevin, Brian. It’s pretty great to have managers that are progressive and supportive enough to organize events like this.
One of those oft forgotten details that falls through the cracks when redesigning a site, the custom 404 page is an art form unto itself. Check out some of those who have tread this path before.
