Course Info

Design, Context, and Experience, N.C. State University

Graduate Teaching Assistant with Dr. Ham and Professor Townsend

Outcomes and Objectives

Contribute design expertise to the NCRM's efforts to implement VR into museum experiences.

Provide research and analysis of best practices in the placement of VR in museums and public spaces.

Highlight the strengths and weaknesses of VR compared to other exhibit approaches to story telling.

Develop design ideas and strategies for the installation of a VR exhibit in the NCRM.

Design Process

RESEARCH — Understanding the historical significance of the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike was an important part of the design process. Many of the students knew a lot about Martin Luther King, but very few of them knew about the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers and the events that led to the assassination of Dr. King. So at the commencement of the project, the students were provided with numerous resources including, interviews, articles, documentaries, and images of the Sanitation Workers strike, Dr. King and of exhibitions at the National Civil Rights Museum. After reviewing these resources thoroughly, they then began to really grasp the significance of the project and the contemporary implications of the Sanitation Workers Strike.

INTERVIEW — Throughout the design process, the students held remote interviews with NCRM staff to discuss a range of inquiries. Discussions included user experience at museums, branding, ticketing, and the physical space where the final deliverable would be exhibited.

Design Proposals

The students submitted a total of seven design proposal to the National Civil Rights Museum. Final deliverables included a booklet describing each of their concepts, a physical model created with foam core board, and a digital model created using Fusion 360.

Design Outcomes

EXHIBITION — In celebration of Black History Month, the students' design proposal was exhibited at NC State African American Cultural Center. Two articles were published about the students' design proposals in the Technician newspaper and the College of Design newsletter.

CONFERENCE PRESENTATION — I presented an overview and final outcome of the I AM A MAN VR Experience exhibition design at the Conference on African-American & African Diasporic Culture and Experience (CACE) in February 2018. The CACE is hosted by the African American and African Diaspora Studies Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.