product ~ interaction ~ strategic design
2 MA (2022) - individual
master thesis
internal promotor: Paul Bailleul
external promotor: Hildegard Van de Velde
"With TUUR. you can experience more than you see"
TUUR. is an experience that improves the quality of museum visits for blind and visually impaired people. This experience also offers adds value for sighted visitors.
TUUR. is an inclusive audio guide that consists of four experience phases. A bone conduction headphone and a control device support the audio guide. In each room there is a collection cabinet that is part of the experience. TUUR. offers a unique museum visit in which the visitor actively participates and is given the freedom to determine for him- or herself which phases of the audio guide he or she participates in. In this master's thesis, TUUR. was applied to the Snijders & Rockoxhuis in Antwerp, but the concept can be implemented in any museum.
1. When the visitor arrives at the museum, he receives a bone conduction headphone and control device at the ticket counter.
2. In each museum room, the visitor is welcomed through the audio guide by a person who has a clear link with the room. This person gives a brief description of time and space and guides the visitor through the hall.
3. When the visitor walks past an artwork object, the visitor hears an introductory sound, a so-called 'sound catcher'. After this, the visitor can choose to walk on to the next work of art, or, if interested, to remain to listen to the informative explanation of the object. This starts automatically.
4. The visitor may choose to delve into the subject matter of the museum room by engaging in a conversation with some of the characters depicted on the artworks. By means of the audio guide, the visitor can answer questions that are asked.
5. The artworks and objects of the museum hall can be experienced in a multisensory way of experiencing in the collection cabinet. Together with his or her museum partner, the visitor can feel, smell and taste during this this interactive moment.
6. At the end of the museum visit the audio guide and headphones are handed in at the ticket counter. The visitor receives a QR code with which a piece of music, selected according to the personal preference of the visitor, that can be be downloaded via spotify. Once the music is listened to, the after experience starts.
