“Designing Museum Experiences” is a comprehensive guidebook that delves into the art of creating visitor-centered museums. In this captivating resource, readers will discover how to forge emotional and intellectual connections with museum visitors, stakeholders, and donors.
The book recognizes the evolving nature of museums, which are transitioning from static and encyclopedic institutions to interactive spaces where visitors and museums collaborate as co-creators. It emphasizes the importance of dynamic and multicultural content that evolves alongside facts and histories, thereby allowing for multiple interpretations of events.
By exploring the three stages of a museum visit – Pre-visit, In-Person Visit, and Post-visit – “Designing Museum Experiences” equips readers with effective methods and tools to motivate visitors to return and revisit the museum in the future. This visitation loop aims to provide meaningful intellectual, emotional, and experiential value to every visitor.
Drawing inspiration from user-centered design methodologies widely used in the business world, this book guides readers in creating value for museum visitors. Consistent messaging across all touchpoints, including websites, social media, museum staff interactions, signage, and more, fosters a trusted bond between the visitor and the museum. Various tools such as Empathy Mapping, Personas, Audience segmentation, Visitor Journey Mapping, and Stakeholder Mapping help enhance understanding, empathy, and motivation among visitors.
Ultimately, the goal is to empower visitors and fulfill their emotional and intellectual needs, fostering a lifelong connection between the museum and its visitors. This becomes particularly crucial as museums navigate the post-COVID-19 reality, where only the most adaptable and visitor-centric institutions are likely to thrive.
To complement the book, a companion website offers additional visitor-centered museum resources, downloadable sample documents and templates, a bibliography for further reading, an online glossary of museum visitor experience terms, daily checklists for providing and receiving visitor-centered experiences, and over 50 associated documents related to “Designing Museum Experiences.”
