vMLK Experience – Research booklet by Emma Carter

TABLE OF CONTENTS 01

INTRODUCTION

EXPERIENCE ANALYSIS

VISUAL IDENTITY

APPENDIX

EXHIBIT EXPERIENCE × TASK ANALYSIS × PERSONAS × SCENARIOS

BRANDING × PRINT AND SCREEN MATERIALS × WIREFRAMES × STORYBOARD × MOCKUPS

INSPIRATION × MOODBOARDS × EARLY ITERATIONS × PROCESS

INTRODUCTION Upon completion of the production phase of the Virtual Martin Luther King (vMLK) Project, visitors to the North Carolina State University Hunt Library will participate in self-guided tours as well as instructor-guided and/ or public exhibitions of the six components of the vMLK project. Additionally, other libraries and museums will bring the vMLK project to their institutions for various types of exhibition. Finally, scholars, students, and members of the public will access features of all six components of the project through the project website.

EXPERIENCE ANALYSIS Our revised experience focuses on the flow of time as being nonlinearâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;there is no correct order through which a participant needs to navigate through thee exhibit to expereience it in full. Each aspect of the exhibit is strong enough to stand on its own, but also functions within the system of the exhibit as a whole. The opportunity for guests to choose their own route through the exhibit will help them determine what means the most to them.

EXHIBIT EXPERIENCE

WELCOME The library is generally quiet. Guests have the opportunity to pick up a map of the exhibit. The large MLK poster on the wall just beyond the Ask Us Desk is eye catching, and after picking up a map and/or checking out the poster, guests make their way to the Immersion Theater.

IPEARL IMMERSION THEATER The guests walk into the theater, the posters above the tablet give clear instruction on how to play the video. Guests enter and interact with the tablet, and with the instructions it is very east for them to pull up the Ice Cream Parlor video. Once they find it, it plays on the screen. Following the video, the visitor makes their way to the next touch point via stairs or elevator. At this point, guests may change the route based on their own preference.

VISUALIZATION LAB In comparison to the rest of Hunt, this room feels small and intimate. The chairs within the room are set up in rows, similar to church pews, mimicking the feeling of being inside a church. The speakers in the room are set up so that different audio files are played simultaneously. The freedom to walk around during the experience is made clear by signage and posters outside of the lab.

CREATIVITY LAB Half of this room is darker and filled with VR headsets, as well as tables with VR desktop experiences. In the other half, a timeline and whiteboards create a space for reflection. The guest enters the room and has the ability to choose which order they would like to have the experiences in between VR and reflection.

GAME ROOM Within the game room is context for the exhibitâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;models that the reserch team created, blueprints, photographs, and other information that may be of interest. The academic MLK Project video is also available to watch. This is the last part of the exhibit.

TASK ANALYSIS B

IPEARL IMMERSION THEATER 1. On the tablet in between the couches, the user will scroll through the menu on the left side of the screen and select the correct channel fo the Ice Cream Parlor video, which will be noted on the sign above the tablet. 2. Once the channel is selected, the user will scroll to the right until they can select the Royal Ice Cream Parlor video. 3. The user will then have the opportunity to enjoy the video before heading up to the fourth floor to the rest of the exhibit.

B â&#x2020;&#x2019; E, C

USING THE ELEVATOR 1. When the user decides they want to travel to another floor of the library, they are encouraged to use the elevators. The location of the elevators is clearly noted on the map. 2. Once the user navigates to the elevator, the signs both outside and inside of the elevator make it clear what content is on each floor. 3. From here, the user is free to select which floor they would like to go to.

ELDERLY COUPLE: JANE AND EUGENE BEND

PERSONA

SCENARIO

Jane and Eugene are an elderly, white couple in their 60s. Right now they live in Cary, but they are originally from Greensboro, so they remember some similar events happening but were not actively involved. After seeing an article in the News and Observer, they decided to come out to Hunt Library to see the MLK exhibition. Even though the two came to NC State, they are not very familiar with Centennial Campus or how to navigate through it.

When the couple first arrives on Centennial, they are able to follow large university signage pointing towards Hunt but become stressed when they encounter the cluster of parking lots in front of Hunt. Eventually they find a spot and the stress dissipates. Once they enter Hunt, they are able to follow the clear signage to the elevator behind the yellow stairs to get to the second floor, where the exhibit begins. Once they get to the turnstiles, they walk through and notice the Ask Us desk, where they can pick up a map of the exhibit, as well as the large poster that indicates they’re in the right place. The signage leads them to the Immersion Theater, and the posters within the theater enable them to start the video on the tablet. They sit on the bench at the back so they can rest their backs. Once the video is finished, they look at their maps to find the elevator to head up to the fourth floor, where the next experience they are interested in is taking place. They find the Visualization Lab

thanks to more signage and the tiles outside the room and are able to enter the lab before the next auditory experience begins. Once they finish the auditory experience, they head into Creative Lab next door to see the timeline and reflect. They read the information on the timeline, reflecting on what their lives were like during the Civil Rights Movement and writing on the whiteboard panels. They decide to forgo the VR experience as the goggles don’t fit over their glasses, but they feel as though they’ve had a sufficient experience within the Visualization Lab. They head down to the third floor, spend a few moments in the Gaming Lab learning about the context for the project, and head back out to the elevator. Once they get back downstairs, they decide to go to Common Grounds for some ice cream. They think about their experiences and about how much North Carolina has grown since 1960 as they enjoy their ice cream.

STUDENT: ELIJAH HILL PERSONA

SCENARIO

Elijah is a 19 year old Black second-year mech engineering student that happens to be studying in Hunt, working on a Statics problem set due tomorrow morning he’s trying to get ahead on.

Elijah sees the first large poster next to the Ask Us desk from the chair he’s working in and decides to take a break from Statics. He heads into the Immersion Theater, where he has no problem using the tablet as he’s pulled videos up before. As he watches the video, it piques his interest further—he considers how close Durham is to Raleigh and the fact that the speech isn’t something he’s familiar with. As a result, he decides to invest more time in the rest of the exhibit.

audio files, and becomes excited about the opportunity to have more than one experience with the speech. Once he gets inside and the experience starts, he spends some time walking around before sitting down. He is able to vocally respond to the speech, and is encouraged to do so by the responses of the congregation within the audio file; this enhances his experience a lot as he feels as though he’s actually in the church participating with Doctor King.

He has no difficulty navigating the library—he is very familiar with where all the staircases and rooms are, so he navigates up both flights of stairs to the Visualization Lab. He doesn’t particularly enjoy going up two flights of stairs from the Theater, but it doesn’t deter him from interacting with the rest of the exhibit. Upstairs, he notices the panels outside of the Lab—they excite him about the experience he’s about to have as he waits outside of the Lab for the next experience to start. He reads the poster outside of the Lab and is interested in the difference between the

Once he finishes listening to the speech and heads into the Creativity Lab, he gets excited about the VR experience, and uses the headset. As he engages with the content, he considers a minor in history; there are so many stories he’s never heard before. He writes this on the whiteboard in the reflection space.

He knows Hunt pretty well—he lives in Wolf Ridge so he studies there often. Originally, he’s from Baltimore, so he doesn’t have the same familiarity with the Civil Rights movement as some folks in more affected areas in the deeper south. His previous education didn’t have that deep of a focus outside of the events that happened in Washington DC, so he is interested to learn more.

After the Creativity Lab, he decides to forgo the Game Lab—he feels as though he’s already had a fulfilling experience and he is anxious about getting back to his work.

VISUAL IDENTITY Our design intervention is focused on creating a better flow through the exhibit for any guest that comes through. Signage is bold and easy to read, the branding is consistent and stands out in Hunt Library, making the experience more accessible, and printed content is eye catching, informative, and concise. Our design solutions arose from pain points that centered around navigation of the library. The lack of signage, confusing flow, and intimidating atmosphere are all direct subjects of our design proposal.

LOGOTYPE

COLORS

#B90500 C18 M100 Y100 K11

#F47B4D C0 M64 Y75 K0

TYPOGRAPHY Franklin Gothic URW Comp Book Franklin Gothic URW Comp Demi Franklin Gothic URW Heavy Franklin Gothic URW Medium 12

#B95800 C21 M74 Y100 K10

#F3CB4C C5 M21 Y82 K0

#011F44 C100 M88 Y41 K49

#1E2A5B C100 M93 Y35 K28

GRID

Comprised of 45° angles Based off of African American quilts, made by Gee’s Bend in Alabama

PRINT MATERIALS

WAYFINDING

INFORMATIONAL

MAP PAMPHLET

OUTSIDE

INSIDE

SCREEN MATERIALS

SCREEN ABOVE THE 4TH FLOOR STAIRCASE

TIMELINE IN CREATIVITY LAB

WELCOME SCREEN ABOVE THE ASK US DESK

WIREFRAMES â&#x20AC;&#x201C; MOBILE WEBSITE MAIN MENU

The landing screen is a placeholder while the content loads. The first thing the user sees is the menu.

MAP OF HUNT LIBRARY AND EXHIBITS

Navigation of the website is primarily though the hamburger in the top left corner of the screen and tapping on the titles the user is interested in. When navigating through the exhibit, navigational aspects become larger and more easily accesible at the bottom of the screen. To return to the main menu, tap the logo in the top left. Within the map of Hunt, navigation between information about floors is clearly noted with arrows.

HOME SCREEN

EXHIBIT BACKGROUND EXHIBIT DESCRIPTIONS AND INFORMATION

ANIMATION STORYBOARDS WELCOME SCREEN

1 2

This animation is played on a loop on the tiles above the Ask Us desk at the enterance of the library. Each row of text and other assets is on a continuous scroll at the 45° angle set by our grid, and utilizes the red within the color palette. The movement will draw a guest’s eye and reassure them that they are in the right place. It may also catch a student’s eye, perhaps insipiring them to take a quick study break to check out the exhibit.

SOUND EXPERIENCE This animation is designed to run in the five munutes prior to the 15 minute auditory speech experience. It includes a countdown until the speech starts as well as the typographic elements from all of the signage and screens.

1 2

3 4

PRINT MOCKUPS

IPEARL IMMERSION THEATER

ELEVATOR WAYFINDING

GAME LAB

VISUALIZATION LAB

CREATIVITY LAB

ARROW WAYFINDING

SCREEN MOCKUPS LEFT: ABOVE THE STAIRS FROM THE FOURTH TO THIRD FLOOR BELOW: MICROTILES OUTSIDE THE VISUALIZATION LAB

WELCOME SCREEN ANIMATION

INSIDE THE VISUALIZATION LAB

APPENDIX Find in this section some of the older iterations of branding our team created for this project. Each iteration helped us to develop the brand identity that now exists.

INSPIRATION AND MOODBOARD Exhibition Design: We felt like windows are a point to think more about reflection and being wrapped in a memory. We like the idea of window clings or vinyls. Additionally, due to the fact that Hunt lacks closed hallways, signage that wraps around corners may be helpful.

We also felt that these colors represent the colors of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s.

Color Selection: We felt like the bold colors of screen printing and letterpress were appropriate for the time period as many of the historical documents we found used them due to the limitations printing had at the time.

Franklin Gothic Heavy Franklin Gothic Compressed Demi Franklin Gothic Extra Compressed Type Selection: We felt like the Franklin Gothic Family is best for use in this project. It was used in many of the pamphlets and posters surrounding the Civil Rights Movement. It also has great variability between letterform widths in its different faces.

Perhaps a grid system like this could show some of the speech and also represent the patchwork of different events that made up the Civil Rights Movement.

Photography: we felt like photography is really important to this project and wanted to draw inspiration from photos taken at the time.

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TIMELINE

08 20

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AN HE D RIG DE H SI T RE

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19 60

EARLY ITERATIONS AND LOGOTYPES

vMLK Experience – Research booklet

Articles inside

INTRODUCTION

APPENDIX