MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE
Designing an exhibit to celebrate the culture of Astoria, Queens
RESEARCH | PRODUCT DESIGN
With the goal of unifying a diverse community, bringing pride to the residents of Astoria, and communicating the unique history of the museum, MOMI leadership decided to construct an interactive exhibit driven by the voices of the community.
I partnered with MOMI to conduct design research, facilitate ideation and prototyping sessions and teach the MOMI staff the fundamentals of design thinking.
Project Highlights
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LED 4 CULTURAL PROBES
Constructed in-museum codesign probes to capture visitors experiences of MOMI, as well as Astoria, Queens to inform exhibit design.
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CONDUCTED 30+ INTERVIEWS
Conducted interviews with key MOMI stakeholders, such as board of directors and staff, as well as, key community leaders in Astoria, Queens.
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COMMUNICATED INSIGHTS
Developed guiding insights based on research, presented back to MOMI leadership and staff in a way that sought real-time feedback and exhibit ideas.
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FACILITATED 3 PROTOTYPING SESSIONS
Led all-staff prototyping sessions based on their ideas of the exhibit. In the process, taught the fundamentals of design thinking.
Understanding the heart of Astoria
I started the design process by hosting a series of co-design sessions and immersive cultural probes in Astoria, Queens, with the goal of understanding what the community members most loved about the community.
Framing learnings for ideation
I created research artifacts to share with the MOMI team, including research reports and comprehensive insight documents.
These insights were the foundation for co-design session I facilitated with a group of 15 MOMI team members. This session materials and output are confidential.
IMPACT
As a result of this engagement, the museum staff were able to engage with visitors and the surrounding community in a new way – with tools and processes to bring their voices into future exhibition designs. In addition, at the completion of this project, MOMI had a set of five exhibition ideas and functioning prototypes to bring to life over the coming months.
“People in Queens are authentic and community oriented. It is warm and open here. The best thing about Astoria are the people at the park on a beautiful spring day.”
MOMI Visitor