First week - Rotunda museum visit/ Group meeting for presentation Daniel Arce

Last week our group was briefed on the work we would have to complete for the term. Our objective is to create a group installation for the Rotunda museum, which will help to provide an entertaining learning aid for visitors wishing to learn about the charms on show.

On Wednesday 5th October, we were assigned our groups and shown some of the charms which corresponded to the particular topics we would have to theme our interactive exhibition on. Our group decided on the theme of witchcraft as the charms seemed of mutual interest to all of the group.

After choosing our charm theme, we visited the Rotunda museum in order to get some ideas about the type of interfaces already in use. I had an attempt on 3 of the interactive installations. The menu systems on each appeared to be quite similar in that they were all very clear, straight forward and used simple button navigation via the touch screen. One of the more interesting approaches used in a particular installation during the learning phase was being able to flick through pages in a newspaper by using the touch screen. Each of the installations appeared to follow a similar approach; Information stage of reading and/or listening to videos of an expert discussing the topic at hand, and then a testing stage where users were quizzed based on the information covered. Although the installations came across as effective in terms of interface design I couldn't help but be a little disappointed with the sober, standardised, often unappealing feel of the overall style. I suspect younger visitors would generally pass on the chance to quiz themselves simply because the design style and the means of educating the user for the quiz stage seemed a little too generic and unengaging. This is just my viewpoint anyway (and may have been coloured by the fact that at that time I thought my laptop had been stolen!).

Overall, I found the visit to be quite informative. I'd really like for our group to make something as clear and easy to use as the Rotunda installations, whilst also attempting to engage users over a wider age range to learn about this rich culture of charms. I suspect this may be easier said than done..

Dan