About the research project
Museums have started to embrace a trend that sees human-centred design practices embedded within their work. Human Centred Design is booming in those innovative industries where digital transformation requires new competences and capabilities, and novel ways of thinking, experimenting, and making the design effective for the user. This demands that the needs of those people are understood and met in a direct way. HCD can offer powerful practices to understand visitors and design for visitor experiences in which human, physical, and digital elements work together in an ecosystem; this in contrast with a more technology-driven approach to design.
The research project “Designing in the Digitally Mature Museum: Refocusing Design From Technology To Human Practice” aims to advance our understanding of human-centred design practices within museums that are moving toward a digitally mature condition. It is generously funded by UKRI through an AHRC fellowship.
partners
This project is generously supported by a number of project partners that underpin the academic, practical and professional facets of the research. As this research is academic in nature but firmly embedded within real-world practices, we rely on these partners to help ensure the rigour as well as the relevance of the project across these diverse audiences.
case studies
We are very proud to be working with a wide range of museums and cultural heritage organisations on the project. The qualitative research documents the exciting work that these museums are doing and allows us to reflect on its significance in a landscape where practices are shifting to allow for people to become central in how museums operate. To all the case studies that have participated so far we are very grateful for the time and expertise they have shared with us and we look forward to sharing the results with them in due course.
