A museum touchscreen can borrow from websites. But it can’t act like one. There are piles of reasons for that. For example, websites assume a “continuing user.” Museum interactives can’t. …

What’s a raisin muffin mostly made of? Raisins? Despite the name, a raisin muffin is mostly not raisins. It’s mostly muffin. Star billing goes to the less common ingredient. So, the Raisin Muffin Principle is: …

If we’re not studying our visitors, how can we fulfill our mission? Ryan Auster (Museum of Science, Boston) discusses “Improving Visitor Experience with Data” with MtM host Jonathan Alger (Managing Partner, C&G Partners). …

If something moves, it becomes important — whether we planned it or not. Why? Because we are built that way. We evolved to detect saber-toothed tigers in the bushes by peripheral motion, flashing light, and sudden sounds. In exhibitions, that means …

Maybe you’ve heard someone in a museum exhibition meeting say something like, "Let's run this through IPOP." (Especially if that someone came from a Smithsonian museum or affiliate.) And maybe you wondered: what’s IPOP? …

Today, the second moment when text-to-image AI can now help: mid-design pre-rendering. After the early concept phase, something important happens for any team using 3D software: the digital white model …

Last time, we looked at what AI text-to-image design tools can do well right now, and where they still fall short. With that in mind, we’ve found visual AI helpful at two stages in the design process. So far, just two. …

Welcome to Part 1 of “AI as a Visual Design Tool for Exhibitions” Week. MtM usually focuses on timeless topics, but this week is about what’s happening right now. So this article might only be reliable for about 45 seconds. Here’s the current situation: …

If you’ve ever looked at the data sheet for a monitor, projector, or LED wall for an exhibition … (not my best opening hook, but stay with me) … you might have seen a number followed by the word “nits.” This little word is important. …

If you ask exhibition teams what 3D software they use, you’ll get many answers. Our software world is mixed. But after a while, you start to notice the same names coming up. Three in particular: …

So how can you make a small image wall-sized without it looking low-res or inventing new pixels? Here’s an old-school trick: add controlled grain. You’re adding a mistake on purpose. But this actually makes it look better up close. …

“It has to be 300 DPI!” You’ve probably heard that phrase. But this rule about DPI (dots per inch) comes from offset printing: brochures and other things people hold at arm’s length. But a wall is not a brochure, and resolution is not religion. It’s just math.

Last time: the sneaky traps of designing big graphics on small screens. This time: what to do about it. Do any one of these five, and the situation will improve significantly. Do them all, and you’ll fix it. Here’s #1: Print It Out. Actual Size. In Color. …

We design giant wall-sized printed exhibition graphics … on little laptop screens. We pinch, zoom, pan, and reassure ourselves that everything will be fine once it’s printed at actual size. Will it? Eh, probably not. And this isn’t a beginner-only problem. …

Before the commercialization of electricity in the late 1800s, “parlor tricks” were a popular form of entertainment. They were tricks that you did, well, in a parlor. The more elaborate the trick, the more popular. And some are actually quite timeless. …

Ahem. The attentive reader may have noticed that we have just discussed media durations and video jukeboxes. But not media durations in video jukeboxes. Well, attentive reader, this one’s for you. Let’s get right into it. …

One of the most common forms of interactive in exhibitions is frequently used, but rarely explained: the video jukebox. It’s two of the most evergreen categories of exhibition experience — video and interactivity — in one. …

How long should our exhibition media be? Getting media duration right improves throughput, satisfaction and impact. Getting it wrong wastes production budgets and disengages visitors. Here are the basics for four common types. …

Last time, we discussed “When VR Works.” This time, let’s look at the other side: when it doesn’t. Let me be blunt. Sometimes it works very well, but most often, headset VR is not a good fit for museums. Here’s why: …

VR has moved from a novelty to a useful technique, but unevenly. Some museums report great success. Some find it expensive and operationally difficult. It’s not a debate. Like anything, VR works in some cases and not in others. …