SEEK Headset

ROLES
Art Direction, Layout, Illustration, Logo design, Branding, Editing, Web design

PROBLEM
Art museum audio tours aren't accessible for the Deaf community.

SOFTWARE
InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, DreamWeaver

SOLUTION
The SEEK Augmented Reality (AR) headset lowers barriers to information about art, culture and society for Seattle Art Museum (SAM) patrons through interactive technologies.

BACKGROUND
SAM offers additional information to museum patrons which is available for special exhibits. Market research shows the success of products such as Hololens, and GoogleGlas that also use a graphic user interface in an Augmented Reality (AR) headset. SAM has already established a proof of concept by successfully provides audio tours to their patrons. Patrons with hearing loss have the option to carry around an unwieldy binder with pertinent information.

OBJECTIVES

• To make museum experience more accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing,
• To enhance a trip to the museum with additional information about artwork via graphic visuals on a headset,
• To focus on one specific special exhibit at SAM.

Personas

JAMES, 75
Native Seattle-ite. Retired Boeing engineer. Is a painter in his spare time. Has SAM membership and visits the museum 2-3 times a month. Is hard of hearing, and uses speech for primary mode of communication. His hearing loss has increased as he gets older, and he has increasing interest in the Deaf community.

WANTS
To learn about art
To be independent
To be an active member of his communities

NEEDS
Access to knowledge
Organized information that is easy to search
Messaging that enhances an experience without being a distraction

LIZ, 32
Speech Language Pathologist. Moved to Seattle 5 years ago. Hobbies include llustration and watercoloring. Enjoys free admission to museums on the first Thursday of each month. Was born deaf to one hearing and one deaf parent. Is an active participant of the Deaf community and uses ASL as her primary form of communication. Identifies as a linguistic minority.

WANTS
To have information be more accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing To be independent
To enjoy art

NEEDS
More visual cues to access information easily
Supplemental facts that are presented in an organized way
To document her museum experience

Visual System

The product branding, logo, and company name all support the existing branding of SAM. This visual design is also applied to the Graphic User Interface (GUI), shown here. The museum branding is modern, understated, simple and organized. It is always secondary to the visual art on display.