SFMOMA Making Sense of Modern Art Kiosk
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) has a reputation for innovative interactive presentations designed to help the public appreciate and understand its collections and exhibits. SFMOMA asked Method to create an interactive program, to be made available through kiosks in the museum, to help museum-goers gain a richer understanding of the artwork.
Through interviews with museum visitors, staff, and docents, Method identified what information users would find useful when browsing or searching content - background on the artists, information demonstrating how different artworks relate to each other, and definitions of genres, among other issues. Another key insight came from interviewing docents, who used themes or topics as a way of talking about a specific group of artwork or artists. The finished application, Making Sense of Modern Art, cross-relates information about artists and their work to help users surface information from any data point: an artist, an artwork, a time period, a movement, or a medium. In addition, administrators can also create topics as an additional way to provide access to bright reproductions of art, data about the artists and their work, and multimedia presentations, drawn from the museum's award-winning productions. The clearly organized and easily navigable visual interface lets users find an interesting new path from any screen.
The kiosk bolstered SFMOMA's reputation for great interactive experiences, earning recognition in the Communication Arts Interactive Annual 2005 for superior information design, and in How Magazine's Interactive Annual 2005.
