The definition of museum may be more specific to be as a place that has knowledge and let people access in.If the place or site that can serve that function can be defined as museum.
People come to visit the museum by many different motivations, thus when they leave, they will, of course, gain different things. Somehow, the data shows they have something in common:
things that supported their entering needs and interests
things that were novel
things had high emotional content for the individual
things that were supported by later experiences
Knowing people's motivation and gain has two intention:
Knowing visitors' intention is better help the public museum attract people to visit. A lot of museum spend much money on advertising, online website, identity design etc, know what people want is a precise way.
It can be served as the reflection when you thinking about the current design, since it is always the case that the strangers review of the design sometimes does not fit your previous assumption.
Background Research
Memory point: If people enter a museum to see many items, there will be few memory points. If the exhibits and you have more interaction and dialogue, you can give more memory and deep feelings.
Understanding exhibits: Through text and voice explanations, sometimes it is not possible to build understanding and perception with the exhibits. Unlike the oldest museum elders, the inheritors brought you to explain the background of the story, people are not able to go deep into the exhibits.
Find the balance between technology and tradition: Sometimes too many dazzling experiences will confuse people to think deeply, like the impact of fragmentation will make people lose deep silence. It is very important that people come to a physical space to watch the experience of a real historical exhibit. This kind of realism is a very good experience. You can't use technology to make it feel lighter. But it would be better if you could use technology to help make this experience better immersive and better.
Design Insight
<example 1>
Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942
The night is deep, and only one restaurant with the signature “Phillies” is still open, and the cool and industrial fluorescent lights illuminate the uninhabited streets and the closed street shops. Who is the hunter and who is the prey?
The first thing that caught my attention was the red-haired woman in front of the bar who focused on the eyeshadow and painted red lips. She thoughtfully looked at the sandwich held by her right hand and held her left hand on the countertop. Her bright red hair and her self-dressing clothes made me wonder about her motives for late night visits.
What disturbed me the most was the man who backing us. He sat on the other side of the bar in a low-key manner. Half of his body was already in the night, so we could easily ignore his existence. However, he was the center of the picture. . If you zoom in and watch the picture carefully, you can see the shadow on his suit jacket, forming a shape almost close to the eagle's head. What is his identity? Why do you go alone in the middle of the night?
<example 2>
Jan Steen, Celebrating the Birth
The picture is fixed in the house of an ordinary person, and everyone in the house is drinking, laughing, and discussing. Although we can't hear the sound in the painting, we can be infected by the lively atmosphere.
There is also such a young man in the real center of the picture, which has not been mentioned. Although he is similar to the color of the door, it is not easy to be found, but his position is the center of the picture. He hung an inscrutable smile and looked at the audience with a kind of "you know" expression, as if he was the winner of life. The true intention expressed in this painting has not been determined until 1893, after the painting was cleaned, the scissors were found above the baby's head, and the scissors symbolized the wearing of a green hat. More specifically, the man's finger appeared on the baby's head, as if the head had a long horn. The horns, in the animal world, from the antelope to the rhinoceros, to the deer, are symbols of strength, and because of its unique shape, it symbolizes the male genitals.