For my analysis of a public space, I went to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and attended the exhibition titled “T.rex — The Ultimate Predator”.
 |
| No shortage of fossilized T.rex skulls to look at here! |
Overall, my impression of this exhibition is that it provides a textbook case of how to do things the right way when it comes to information design in a public space. I will touch on a few salient points explored by C. G. Screven in the article Information Design in Informal Settings: Museums and Other Public Spaces (Jacobson, pg. 131) but I must confess at the outset of my analysis that I am hard pressed to find ANY problems with this exhibition, or to suggest ways in which it could be improved.
To begin with, the exhibit itself is remarkably well documented from a wayfinding perspective. Romedi Passini, in Sign-Posting Information Design, notes the following of wayfinding:
“Wayfinding is distinguished from other types of problem solving by operating in an architectural, urban, or geographic space. It incorporates the mental representations of large-scale spaces (cognitive maps) that characterizes the older notion of spatial orientation. Cognitive maps, in this context, are part of information processing. They are, in addition to being records of direct environmental perception and cognition, possible sources of information for both making and executing decisions (Jacobson, pgs. 88–89).”
Large free-standing posters advertising the exhibit, and place-locating guides which highlight the exhibit, are located throughout the museum.
 |
| Assistive signage is found throughout the museum. |
There is something a little extra, though, that adds intrigue to wayfinding efficiency: large decals placed on the floor announcing the exhibit, and leading to it by way of a trail of T.rex tracks! I followed several of these trails and they invariably led me to the exhibit, even though I started as far from its location as I could managed — which resulted in a long and convoluted path that would have been very difficult to chart without the visual guide of the T.rex tracks.
 |
| Follow that dinosaur! |
Finding my way to the exhibit was easily accomplished despite my efforts to make that task as difficult for myself as possible. Entry to the exhibit was timed, with tickets being sold for specific entry times (in order to control the number of people in the exhibit at any one point.
The exhibit itself was remarkably well designed, considering the basic issues that any such presentation must contend with; for as Screven notes:
“Visitors do not have to pay attention but are free to attend, ignore, or distort the messages being communicated. In such situations, it is immensely important to design information systems that not only reflect the needs and characteristics of audiences but also attract and hold their attention (Jacobson, pg. 131).”
Interactive apps are available to visitors beyond the informative displays within the actual exhibition, and these are well advertised and available in different languages:
 |
| Online resources abound. |
 |
| A pamphlet for the exhibit, with a map and learning exercises. |
The exhibition itself is very well designed, from entrance to exit. As one enters, visitors are constricted to some extent by a relatively narrow section of the exhibit that outlines a basic theme of the exhibit — the life cycle of the T.rex — and presents the visitor with examples of the different kinds of display that will be encountered in the exhibition. Stationary displays of information are provided, but, a large shadow projection of an animated T.rex also draws each visitor’s attention as they make their way slowly into the main area of the exhibition. This entranceway section seems to serve several purposes; it acclimatizes the visitor’s eyes to lower light, modulates the rate of entry for visitors, and focuses visitors’ attention in the same way. As Screven again notes:
“One might argue that what an exhibition communicates has more to do with visitors’ entering attitudes, moods, and preconceptions than with its content and design…Ultimately, a display's ability to convey new knowledge and understanding is shaped by the interface between visitor dispositions and preconceptions and the exhibit’s content, delivery media, and format. If so, being informed about this interface is essential to designers hoping to communicate effectively with their publics (Jacobson, pg. 134).”
 |
| A taste of things to come: the entranceway. |
An added feature of the entranceway area is the presence of a live attendant who actively engages with visitors, answering questions and pointing out aspects of the initial displays that will be further elucidated with information available in the main exhibition area. This addition of knowledgeable people as attendants to the exhibition addresses an otherwise problematic issue that Screven draws attention to:
“People can learn little, if anything, if they do not pay attention. Even when they do attend, most visitors view objects, paintings, texts, signs, animals, exotic plants, and computers without benefit of someone or something to direct their attention to the salient points and explain what they are seeing (Jacobson, pg. 139).”
As for myself, I must confess that I found the presence of the live attendant in the entrance area a little problematic, in that the ongoing question-and-answer session that resulted slowed entry into the main exhibition area to a crawl; but upon further reflection, I realize now that this did in fact have the added benefit of moderating the pace at which people passed through the exhibit, affording them the opportunity to slow down and take in more of what was being offered than they might have otherwise, had they rushed in and then rushed out again. Screven makes the point that:
“The exchange between viewer attention and observation and the exhibit’s content form a loop that ultimately determines what message, if any, the visitor receives. The message is embedded in the larger information field that — given planning, organization, and evaluation — should enable viewers to receive and process the elements and relationships that comprise the message (Jacobson, pg. 138).”
 |
| Information design at its best: something for everyone. |
Inside the exhibition, a wide range of display types presented an abundance of information on the T.rex; but more importantly, this information was conveyed in ways that addressed the wide age range of visitors expected for such an exhibit. It is interesting that the initial theme of the exhibit presented in the entryway — that of the growth pattern for a T.rex — was in turn mirrored within a human context, by having information available in forms that would speak to different ages groups. Indeed, the few main themes covered by the exhibition were robustly addressed through a wide range of information design methodologies. Screven again addresses this issue as it confronts information design undertaken in such an environment:
“Initially, many visitors without significant background in an exhibit’s subject find its visual, social, emotional, action, and sensory aspects (objects, colors, shapes, movement, buttons, touch, smell, texture) more interesting and more fun than abstract information in text form (Jacobson, pg. 141).”
 |
| Animated shadow of a T.rex walking; touch a T.rex leg bone! |
And if, as Screven notes, the final arbitrator of an exhibition’s success is found as much in its economic as its educational outcome…
“Information designers will have to learn to link meaningful communication with entertainment and natural learning processes without sacrificing either gate receipts or educational outcomes. Over time, competition may advance the design of self-directed learning habitats until learning and cultural enlightenment — as well as fun — become by-products of all natural biological, cognitive, and social processes (Jacobson, pg. 184).”
…then it should be noted that visitors exiting this exhibition will find themselves surrounded by plush T.rex toys and other associated merchandise, as those leaving the T.rex exhibit immediately enter into a museum store dedicated to that exhibition.
 |
| Take a T.rex home with you. A little one. |
Interestingly, if I were to identify two hallmarks for success that characterize this exhibition, I would find myself being drawn to two themes that merged from the other analysis undertaken for Module 6 in this course, the “case study”: that of using a small number of unifying themes to simplify yet diversify the content of the exhibition, and, that of a employing a wide array of information design methodologies to covey information to as many potentially divergent consumer groups as possible.
 |
| Adults assemble a T.rex skeleton within virtual reality; Children play in front of an animated wall with a life-size T.rex! |
Works Cited:
Jacobson, Robert; 2000. Information Design. Cambridge: MIT.
