Portland Museum of Art

At the start of 2017, the Portland Museum of Art underwent a significant reinstallation of their permanent collection. To highlight specific aspects of the collection, the PMA collaborated with iBec to create five interactive multimedia kiosks.

Kiosk UX Design + Development

The kiosks range in size from iPads to large touch screen televisions and cover specific museum exhibits, from a large scale mural to the history of the museum itself. In addition to the development of the kiosks, iBec worked closely with the museum making technology decisions, assistance with user experience design and helping with on-site installation.

Interactive Exhibits

Bucking the trend of the traditional look-but-don’t-touch museum mindset, the PMA aimed to bring their key collections to life with tools that would allow you to learn more by inspecting the art up close. All kiosks were created with interaction in mind through the use of touch displays, allowing museum visitors to zoom in on a detailed view of a painting with a pinch, or compare modern and ancient tools with a swipe.

Results

Bringing these tools to the museum has allowed visitors young and old to appreciate the museum’s collections in a more direct and hands-on way. In a traditionally stodgy and sterile no-touch environment, these interactions help viewers make strong connections to what they are seeing in ways that may not have been possible otherwise.