This project focuses on a specific period of design or technology history. We will identify appropriate technological interactions that allow patrons to feel embodied participation in a “museum exhibit”, enabling them to learn about the chosen period of history through immersion and participation. We will develop an integrated set of touchpoints ranging from large-scale to small-scale screen interactions, alongside physical or print media within a built environment. As a group, we focused on a music theme, specifically the electric guitar. We will build a museum-like experience with three touchpoints that share the evolution of the instrument by focusing on three main areas of change; sound, shape, and demo.
Our museum exhibit focuses on the electric guitar's evolution from the 1930s to the 1980s, a period we believe saw the most significant changes. We aim to engage visitors through three unique touchpoints: sound, shape, and a demo experience.
Visitors will first encounter our physical and educational touchpoint, which will showcase a timeline of electric guitar evolution displayed in a hallway displaying pictures of various guitar designs and famous artists, highlighting how the instruments' shape evolved over time. Then, there’s our visual and auditory touchpoint, featuring an interactive web experience that allows visitors to listen to guitar sounds from different eras. Last but not least, the demo touchpoint will offer an interactive experience where visitors can use communal tablets with a Figma prototype to virtually play guitar representations by touching the strings.
To build this exhibit, we conducted research on the evolution of electric guitars to provide an accurate experience for the audience. First, we wanted to understand more about the basics of electric guitars, identifying which era saw the most significant changes in electric guitars to excite visitors to our museum. How do the shape, sound, and other characteristics change? We collected articles and videos about the electric guitar to prepare for the design of probes.
We found that there are many different types of electric guitars, and we discovered several interesting models. We selected the time frame from the 1930s to the 1980s because that’s when electric guitars evolved the most. We also gathered extensive information about the history of each electric guitar and which famous artists played them. Overall, the articles gave us a better understanding of electric guitars, and the sounds and deepened our knowledge of them.
We conducted interviews with two different groups of users: one group with knowledge about electric guitars and another group with little knowledge about them. The goal of these interviews was to identify and understand the needs and interests of the museum users. We aimed to discover what captivates them and how we can go beyond the traditional museum experience. We divided the users into two groups to create an inclusive environment that excites both types of visitors—those who are new to electric guitars and those looking to deepen their knowledge.
Interview Protocol
After our