I went to the Pitt Rivers Museum on Saturday, and noticed two things about their displays that I like.
They group objects together by function (e.g. musical instruments, writing and communication, clothing, sympathetic magic, religious iconography, etc) and include items from Europe among items from other cultures. This allows the museum audience to see how things have a similar function and morphology across all cultures (instead of marveling at the so-called "primitive" Other), and sets objects in a different context than if they were arranged by separate cultures, as they are in most other museums.
The labels are next to the exhibits, which means you don't have to cross-reference from a number next to the object to a list of numbers on a panel at the bottom of the case. (Sadly the Ashmolean has gone for the numbered labels system, which makes it very tiring to view objects there. The only exceptions are the galleries of paintings.)
Showing posts with label museum usability. Show all posts
Showing posts with label museum usability. Show all posts
Monday, January 14, 2013
Monday, November 14, 2005
Museum of Witchcraft
Museum of Witchcraft, Boscastle.
If anyone wanted to visit a museum with fascinating exhibits and really user-friendly labelling, this is the place to go. I find it interesting that a museum run by people with no curatorial training (as far as I know) actually has some of the best labelling I've seen. It's also run by an independent body and receives no public funds. Though some other museums helped after the floods by donating display cases and advice about conservation of the flood-damaged objects.
If anyone wanted to visit a museum with fascinating exhibits and really user-friendly labelling, this is the place to go. I find it interesting that a museum run by people with no curatorial training (as far as I know) actually has some of the best labelling I've seen. It's also run by an independent body and receives no public funds. Though some other museums helped after the floods by donating display cases and advice about conservation of the flood-damaged objects.
Monday, November 07, 2005
museum usability again
I sent this email to Jakob Nielsen...
And he replied:
I also sent a similar email to some museums I visited recently, and one of them responded to the effect that they will take my feedback into account when designing new displays. I also posted about it on the FISH list, and someone passed it on to the MDA forum, and I got an email from them asking if they could forward my comments to a museum accessibility mailing list. Hurrah!
From: Yvonne Aburrow
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2005 4:18 AM
To: Jakob Nielsen
Subject: Usability for museums
Hi Jakob
Recently I have become aware of an annoying example of poor usability and accessibility. It is the way museums label their exhibits. Frequently there is a number next to the object, and this refers to a panel with explanatory text. This is OK for small objects where there is no room to add captions next to the objects, but frequently it is employed for large objects, where the aesthetic value of the object is often seen as more important than its meaning.
Unfortunately this makes it very difficult for people with dyslexia to enjoy the exhibition, because by the time they have transferred their gaze from the exhibit to the interpretation panel, they have forgotten the number, and have to go back again. I myself am not dyslexic but frequently have this problem anyway! In one museum we visited, there was a costume exhibition, and the distance between the numbers and the explanatory text was so great that a lady who was both short- and long-sighted had to
change her glasses each time.
The solution is simply to place a short explanatory caption next to the object (e.g. 14th C English spoon), and a longer piece giving the context below or beside the display case.
If you feel like writing an Alertbox about this issue, I would greatly appreciate it.
Sent: Monday, November 07, 2005 4:18 AM
To: Jakob Nielsen
Subject: Usability for museums
Hi Jakob
Recently I have become aware of an annoying example of poor usability and accessibility. It is the way museums label their exhibits. Frequently there is a number next to the object, and this refers to a panel with explanatory text. This is OK for small objects where there is no room to add captions next to the objects, but frequently it is employed for large objects, where the aesthetic value of the object is often seen as more important than its meaning.
Unfortunately this makes it very difficult for people with dyslexia to enjoy the exhibition, because by the time they have transferred their gaze from the exhibit to the interpretation panel, they have forgotten the number, and have to go back again. I myself am not dyslexic but frequently have this problem anyway! In one museum we visited, there was a costume exhibition, and the distance between the numbers and the explanatory text was so great that a lady who was both short- and long-sighted had to
change her glasses each time.
The solution is simply to place a short explanatory caption next to the object (e.g. 14th C English spoon), and a longer piece giving the context below or beside the display case.
If you feel like writing an Alertbox about this issue, I would greatly appreciate it.
And he replied:
Thank you. It's a classic usability problem to place labels or instructions too far from the object they relate to, and it's also a classic warning sign of poor usability when you have to introduce an extra UI element (here the number) to connect/relate items as opposed to relying on direct mappings. Maybe one day I will visit a major museum with my usability hat on and write about it.
Monday, October 24, 2005
trip to York
Arrived in York on Friday night after a nightmare train journey (though we met some really nice people on the train), and discovered an excellent Chinese restaurant, the Happy Valley on Goodramgate that serves traditional Chinese food. I had squid in Hoi Sin sauce and Nick had chicken in Hoi Sin sauce. Our sleep was disturbed by mad women screeching and shouting on the stairs from 4 to 6 am. Grr.
On Saturday, after breakfast in a lovely café called the Pantry, we visited Clifford's Tower, a Norman tower on a very large motte mound. This was the site of the massacre of the Jews of York in 1190. They committed mass suicide and set fire to the wooden tower in which they had taken refuge from the ravening mob outside. A few surrendered on the promise of safe conduct and baptism, but the mob killed them anyway. The current stone tower was built as a replacement. Sad story. It was hoying it down with rain, and we got soaked, but went next to the Merchant Adventurers' Hall, a medieval guild hall, a splendid half-timbered place, which still has all the heraldic flags of its guilds. After that we went to York Minster and its crypt. I was again struck by the very Kabbalistic-looking painting of the vision of St Cuthbert on the roof of the small modern chapel at the west end of the Minster. In the afternoon the weather cleared up, so we walked the entire length of the city walls. After that we really needed a sit-down, so we went to the Snicklegate Inn, and thence once more to the Happy Valley Bistro, where Nick had Taiwan sizzling steak and I had Udon noodle soup.
On Sunday, we had breakfast in the Pantry again, then walked along the river to the Yorkshire Museum and its gardens. It was raining again so we didn't spend much time in the gardens. The museum was interesting but there was the usual problem with numbered captions, which made it very tiring to identify all the objects. However they have some really good stuff in there, like the Middleham Jewel, and their Viking and Anglo-Saxon and Roman collections. After that we visited the Treasurer's House, a bizarre confection of styles and periods assembled by an Edwardian gentleman. Then we went to Barley Hall, a reconstructed medieval house. This was great fun as you could dress up in the costumes and play with things. Later we walked to Dick Turpin's grave and then had dinner in the Happy Valley Bistro again. This time we had a Chinese Satay hotpot - a big wok full of hot soup and lots of fresh things to cook in it. Delicious. That's the first time in my life I've ever eaten in the same restaurant three nights running!
Today, Nick went to a work meeting with a colleague, and I went shopping and bought most of my Yule presents in Shared Earth. I also got a really nice bag which was reduced to 2 pounds - what a bargain! The train journey back was better than on the way up.
On Saturday, after breakfast in a lovely café called the Pantry, we visited Clifford's Tower, a Norman tower on a very large motte mound. This was the site of the massacre of the Jews of York in 1190. They committed mass suicide and set fire to the wooden tower in which they had taken refuge from the ravening mob outside. A few surrendered on the promise of safe conduct and baptism, but the mob killed them anyway. The current stone tower was built as a replacement. Sad story. It was hoying it down with rain, and we got soaked, but went next to the Merchant Adventurers' Hall, a medieval guild hall, a splendid half-timbered place, which still has all the heraldic flags of its guilds. After that we went to York Minster and its crypt. I was again struck by the very Kabbalistic-looking painting of the vision of St Cuthbert on the roof of the small modern chapel at the west end of the Minster. In the afternoon the weather cleared up, so we walked the entire length of the city walls. After that we really needed a sit-down, so we went to the Snicklegate Inn, and thence once more to the Happy Valley Bistro, where Nick had Taiwan sizzling steak and I had Udon noodle soup.
On Sunday, we had breakfast in the Pantry again, then walked along the river to the Yorkshire Museum and its gardens. It was raining again so we didn't spend much time in the gardens. The museum was interesting but there was the usual problem with numbered captions, which made it very tiring to identify all the objects. However they have some really good stuff in there, like the Middleham Jewel, and their Viking and Anglo-Saxon and Roman collections. After that we visited the Treasurer's House, a bizarre confection of styles and periods assembled by an Edwardian gentleman. Then we went to Barley Hall, a reconstructed medieval house. This was great fun as you could dress up in the costumes and play with things. Later we walked to Dick Turpin's grave and then had dinner in the Happy Valley Bistro again. This time we had a Chinese Satay hotpot - a big wok full of hot soup and lots of fresh things to cook in it. Delicious. That's the first time in my life I've ever eaten in the same restaurant three nights running!
Today, Nick went to a work meeting with a colleague, and I went shopping and bought most of my Yule presents in Shared Earth. I also got a really nice bag which was reduced to 2 pounds - what a bargain! The train journey back was better than on the way up.
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