Viewing as Experience : Enhancing Information Interactions in Exhibit Spaces

How can traditional exhibit spaces, such as art museums or botanical gardens, leverage various media to enhance the viewing experiences? Visitors always wish they could take something away from visiting art museums, which is also the goal of curators. Yet current exhibit space does not fully support the needs from both sides. On one hand, the pre-canned information and uniform information artifacts are not able to satisfy diverse needs of visitors in the age of information and globalization. On the other hand, interpretive texts are written carefully to engage the viewers, but the way it is displayed does not effectively reveal the inner structure of the narrative. This thesis is to innovate the viewing experience to create satisfying interactions and increase knowledge gain within and outside of the exhibit space, with a focus on art museums. Zero Information Space is thus proposed as an alternative solution. It’s an experimental exhibit design that creates new viewing experiences. It pulls visitors into the space and encourages them to start personalized inquiry about the artworks and themselves. It is also a platform for curators to keep the balance between curated content and the diverse visitors. The design aims to bridge the gaps between the visitors, the artworks, the information and the space with various information services. These information services are designed around the six guidelines to create accessible and engaging information interactions.