Workshop 1

We came together on Thursday 27th February to have our first prototype workshop. We have been designing and making things separately for a while and today we brought our individual ideas together and developed them into something more solid.

1. Audio Visual Installation We wanted to do something a little bit different with the video projection installation. The video will be depicting snapshots of Nano Nagle's life. The timeline below shows the timeline of the major events in Nano's life. We want to show little glimpses of Nano's life and so perhaps not all of this information is particularly important.

Through content experiments we have established that there are a few key points that we want to get across in the video installation.

1. Nano teaching
2. Secrecy and illegal
3. Nano tending the sick
4. Walking with a lantern (lady of the lantern)
5. Founding the presentation sisters
6. Nano getting sick

(storyboard is currently being finalised!)

We decided that just having a normal projection might be a bit boring so we are currently looking into projection mapping. We are considering using multiple projection surfaces in different shapes and sizes.

This is an example of what it might be.

Each of the blocks will be projected onto with a different scene in order to create a more interesting projection approach. By workshop no 2 we will have our video content recorded and we can do some prototype testing with these types of projection surfaces.

2. Text Installation We have been brainstorming for a while how we would make the text installation. In the workshop we tried many different techniques. The concept behind this installation is that the words would be hidden or somehow encrypted in the overall piece and using light certain words or phrases would be illuminated to reveal hidden information.

Originally we were playing with the idea of blocking out certain letters so that when the light shone through only certain letters would be illuminated. We want this piece to be quite large (the scale of each letter can be seen in the second picture.

The second idea was to use the same technique used in this word clock.

(http://www.instructables.com/id/Sleek-word-clock/?                                                                                    ALLSTEPS)

This was created by printing an inverse version of the letters onto acetate and illuminating certain ones from behind with LEDs. (see pictures for our first attempt prototype)

We printed a series of letters with hidden words onto acetate. The only problem with this was that the black ink was not quite black enough and so next time we will print out a couple of sheets and stick them together.

Using black card we cut out pockets for behind the words that needed to be illuminated. This way light would not spill out and illuminate other letters.

We then placed LEDs in to the pockets. Unfortunately we were limited to using red LEDs which did not work very well for illuminating the words. Also because the black ink on the acetate was not dark enough the LEDs shone through thus distorting the letter and losing the effect.

We plan on remaking this prototype as we think this is the best method to create the text effect. However instead of using one sheet with multiple letters printed on it we are going to create a line of individual letters, each within their own container. They will be positioned in a line rather then a block along the wall. The additional information will still be found underneath the larger letters.

3. Map Installation

We didn't do much for the map installation in this workshop. We have a prototype with working LEDs and that will be connected to a potentiometer (which will be hidden in the lantern) which will trigger them. This video shows a animated version of what the map will look like.

                       

 We want to create a network of lines which start in Ireland and stretches out across the world like a spider web. We have ordered some neon tubing and LEDs so the next workshop will be all about the map!

Beginning design prototypes

This week I looked at playing around with different material and creating some basic design ideas. The purpose was to get a better understanding of what the project might look like, find any faults in the design and look for an possible developments that could be made. 

I first looked at the map. After looking at some ideas for the map. Having the map on a free standing map as the plan at this stage is to have it in the court yard. 

What seemed to look best was having the countries in different colour and slightly raised. I created a small scale model at first.

One issue noticed was a problem relating to having it stand alone(as apposed to hanging on a wall), which was getting it to stand upright. We need to figure out a way to anchor it to the ground. This then raises a problem in terms of its portability, will it be able to be placed anywhere. The next step with the design of the map is to look create larger prototype and test this on potential users. We must also look at what lighting might be most suitable as this could effect the design. 


I then looked at the text installation. Here I used card to create a small prototype (only three letters). I wanted to see what it looked like to eliminate certain letters. I also wanted to look at what size the letters should be.
The letters are about 10 inches in height. I used the Caslon font. Having asked a couple of people's opinions they agreed that this size was suitable. 

The other issue to address was lighting one letter at a time. This was a simple matter if having a divider between each letter to avoid the light spilling over. Problems that arose from creating this prototype was the light itself. It needs to be more dispersed. I looked at covering the letter in lightweight paper, which made the light disperse evenly, however this would cover up the letters, defeating the purpose of having multiple letters hiding the sentence. A possible solution would be to have the lightweight paper inside the letters, as in just in front of the light, this would ensure the light was dispersed and hid any technology visible.  

 
What we need to look at next is creating a prototype with more letters and see is this too cluttered and still legible. We also need to look at how brightness of the room effects the light level. 

Survey Results Analysis - Lanterns

Using surveymonkey.com we conducted a survey in order to ask people what they thought about lanterns both aesthetically and functionally. The survey consisted of five questions and a total of 22 participants took part in the survey. In order to address what people considered a lantern to be and what people considered pleasing to the eye we gathered a series of pictures of different types of lanterns from the web. We narrowed this selection down to five distinct lantern types (shown in fig.1) and asked the participants to choose which lantern they considered to be a traditional lantern and which they found most pleasing.

Fig.1

Fig.2

The results are shown in fig.2

Fig.2

Over 60% of people consider the first image to be a traditional style lantern.

The next few questions concentrated on the design and functional features of the lantern, asking them why they considered image one to be a traditional lantern. A range of responses were collected and analysed in order to determine what features should be included in the lantern so that people will recognise it. The most dominant answers included:

• Handle (64%)
• Light Source (55%)
• Glass Chamber (36%)
• Candle (27%)
• Shape (22%)

Other answers which we will take into consideration when designing the lantern are the fact that lanterns are portable (18%). Our concept consist of stationary lanterns which are switched on and off by the user but not moved. The survey clearly shows that people consider a handle to be a key feature in the design of a lantern and doesn't this imply that you can pick up the object and move it? Will the fact that one cannot move the lantern have an effect on how the user interacts with it or responds to it. Further experiments into this should be made using physical lanterns as testing subjects. It should also be considered that although the lantern is the starting point of the installation it is only used to trigger content and so other elements play a part in the users interaction with the piece. This should be reflected in further experiments.

Other answers included varying brightness (14%) with some kind of dial or twist function (14%).

The final question considered the aesthetic value of the lanterns and how people responded to it. The participants were asked to choose the lantern most pleasing to the eye (based on Fig.1). The results are shown in Fig.3.

Fig. 3

Here the majority considered the third lantern to be the most pleasing. This raises more questions towards the design of the lanterns. Should they be pretty and inviting, should they look like a common lantern, how historically accurate should they be? Research into similarly designed projects should be conducted in order to determine the importance of aesthetics vs. accuracy in heritage projects.

Observational Studies

Due to the fact that the South Presentation Heritage site is under development, observations and analysis of visitors within the space was not possible. However when the way people move within the space and between exhibits is very important and would have a significant influence on the design of the installations. In order to conduct observation studies I visited four different heritage centres.

1. The Edmund Rice International Heritage Centre, Waterford

The Edmund Rice International Heritage Centre is dedicated to Edmund Rice, founder of the presentation brothers order. The vision of the centre is to tell the story of Edmund Rice in an interactive way that challenges people to engage with the mission of Edmund Rice in the contemporary world. The nature of the Edmund Rice Centre is extremely similar to the site at South Presentation Convent. The heritage centre at South Presentation is intended to be a multimedia heritage site while still respecting the history and spiritual nature of the site. The Edmund Rice Centre also aims to do this so studying the way it deals with and displays content could be extremely beneficial to our design research. Unfortunately the site is not a major tourist attraction, there were no visitors to the site on the day I visited and so I relied on my own observations.

fig 1

When you first enter the centre there a simply interactive stand (see fig 1) on which you can see all the different sections of the site and images of what exhibitions are on display. I thought this was extremely useful as the site is non-linear and so there is no set path for the visitor to follow. This stand allows you to navigate the site virtually and so you can ensure you do not miss anything. In the first section of the exhibition there are subtle indications of which direction you should go next in the form of quotes projected onto the floor along a corridor (see fig 2). This is very effective as it is not forceful in any way but rather tempts you in a certain direction. The problem was that these subtle hints to the direction you should take through the exhibition did not exist anywhere else in the site. Consistency with design and functionality is extremely important when designing exhibitions as you do not want to waste time teaching a visitor to do something each time they come to a new exhibition. However this stand was only at the entrance to the exhibition and so as you moved through it was extremely easy to get lost. If these stands had 

fig 2

existed throughout the exhibition navigation would have been much easier and 
less frustrating.

fig 3

The centre aims to not just be a history exhibition and so incorporates modern day information about the presentation brothers aswell as the story of Edmund Rice. This is something that will be incorporated into the South Presentation Convent site aswell. In the Edmund Rice Centre the two elements of the story are mixed together in most exhibitions and the result is quite confusing. For example in the futuristic media room (see fig 3) text panels on the wall tell the story of Edmund Rice and how Waterford was at the time he lived are placed beside screens showing real world events. The two mediums clash with each other making the space far too busy.

fig 4

The centre is media heavy, unnecessarily so in some places. For example at the centre of the futuristic media room stood a huge structure which showed the date and time (the time was wrong which is just a small thing but really took away from the exhibition) (see fig 4). This structure had absolutely no function bar telling the date and time and although the style of it was in keeping with the room it had absolutely no relevance to sites theme. The unnecessary use of technology had a negative effect in my opinion and led me to become bored and uninterested in the exhibits. Because of this I skipped over several exhibits simply because I did not want to waste time interacting with these installations for fear that they would not garner anything worthwhile. 

FINDINGS

• Consistency in design, functionality and structure are extremely important.
• Form should follow function - elements should not be included just because they can be
• Over use of technology has a negative effect

2. The Titanic Experience, Cobh, Co. Cork

fig 5

The Titanic Experience in Cobh is a multimedia exhibition telling the story of the Titanic using audio visual technology, cinematic shows and touch screen technology. South Presentation Convent aims to utilise technology as much as possible in its heritage centre and so studying how The Titanic experience does this is a relatively small space would be beneficial. The Titanic Experience has two layers; a semi automated guided tour and an interactive media room. Before starting the tour you are given a ticket with a name on it (see fig 5). At the end of the tour you could search for your name on a list and find out of you survived the disaster or not. This is something that you can bring home when you finish the tour which was a nice touch.

fig 6

For the first part of the tour you are directed through some rooms which have different exhibitions displayed in them. This part of the tour is extremely structured, as soon as the video presentation is finished you are moved by the tour guide into the next room. For the second part of the tour you are left to explore a large media room with many different interactive exhibits (see fig 6). The majority of them are touch screen based which are ideal for showing information however can become quite tedious at times and does not add to the over all embodied experience. Although the exhibition is as media heavy as the Edmund Rice Centre the space utilised technology in a much clearer way. 

I visited the heritage centre with a group of six students from Cork 
Institute of Technology and after

fig 7

completing the tour I conducted informal interviews with the group in the form of open discussion in order to determine their thoughts on the site. The main focus of these interviews was to discover what the visitor liked best about the exhibition, what part, if any, they did not like and if there was anything that they would change about the overall experience or anything that they would like to see added to the exhibition. I found that visitors liked the interactive media room best however with the huge amount of information available and the lack of a step by step structure they felt that certain elements might have been overlooked. Another element which was well liked was the peep hole photographs in the 3rd class cabin room (see fig 7). The best thing about these was the fact that they were left to be discovered by the visitor and once you found one you were excited to go any find the others. The lack of physical elements (besides touch screens) to interact with was also something that could be addressed and would add to the overall embodied experience. 

FINDINGS

• Interactive exhibits should be different in there interactive design while still be intuitive to use
• Visitors should be allowed to discover elements of the exhibition by themselves although subtle direction is also beneficial

3. Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork

fig 8

Blackrock Castle Observatory is a scientific research and public exhibition centre concentrating on the discipline of astronomy and situated in Blackrock Castle Cork. For the public the centre aims encourage interest in science, engineering and technology for all age groups. Through interactive displays the centre aims to teach its visitors about space while promoting a fun and engaging experience. Though the space is small there is a lot to see in the exhibition. The first thing the visitor is presented with is a large wall of information and images (see fig 8). Although this contradicts the rest of the design of the centre which is heavily media based because it is in a different section the design still works.

fig 9

Next The visitor comes across a series of alcoves each of which has four interactive buttons and a screen. Here the visitor can decide what informational videos they want to watch and sit and watch them (see fig 9). Although the centre is not linear and so you can move between exhibitions as you wish there is subtle indications of where you should go. This works very well as you feel you are not being herded around the centre but you also feel that you are not missing out on anything. Following the informational videos are a series of individual interactive stations where you can do a multitude of different things. There is also a comet chaser game (see fig 10), directed more towards

fig 10

large groups of younger people.

While at the Blackrock Castle Observatory I conducted an observation study of two groups, a group of primary school students and a couple. The school group was directed through the exhibition by their teachers and so how they moved within the space was quite structured. I noticed that the couple moved differently in different areas of the centre. For example at the text based information wall at the entrance they investigated the piece separately, during the informational videos they stayed together and in the section with the interactive stations they moved apart again but regularly called each other over if they discovered something interesting. The small space that housed the interactive installation was perfect for this type of movement. 

When the couple came to the informational videos the first time the school students were choosing and watching the videos. I noticed that the students would always gravitate to topics they were already familiar with or occasionally to something with a catchy title. While the students were watching the videos the couple moved past them and did not become involved. The option to choose what you want to learn had an effect on how they navigated through the museum.

I also noticed that the school children became extremely excited when engaged in the comet chaser game however the couple did no engage in this at all. The piece seems to be designed with children in mind and for larger groups. This meant that there was a huge part of the centre that the couple did not get the chance to engage with.

FINDINGS

• Different interactive techniques make for a more engaging experience
• The ability to personally interactive is important - people prefer to do it themselves than watch others - interactions should be quick
• Exhibits should be designed with as wide an age range as possible

All of these findings will influence the design choice we make for this project.