African voices: An On-line exhibit for the Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Abstract
The purpose of this project is to develop a network-based interactive
model for disseminating information contained in a museum exhibition.
This will encompass developing a logical navigational design, translating
the exhibit content into an effective information layout and relating it to
the user through a cognitive interface.
Specifically, my intent is to develop and construct the foundational struc
ture and supporting elements of a website for the African Voices project,
an exhibition in the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington, DC.
The goal of the website is to provide users with the information they
would gain by the direct experience of visiting the exhibition, albeit on
screen. This information will be delivered with a visually stimulating,
cognitive approach. The user interface will include graphical elements
which are intrinsically African, but couched in a familiar navigational
design with text labels to reinforce meaning. This will add a learning
dimension to the on-screen experience. Instead of generating arbitrary
iconographic navigation symbols and applying an external meaning, I
intend to use culturally established graphical icons which already contain
meaning and apply them to the navigational design. I also intend to
incorporate African graphic patterns and coloring as motifs in the design
elements of the project.
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