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.