Case Study: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

The Challenge:
Create an optimum educational experience around certain artworks in SFMOMA's collection — one that could be delivered with equal impact on the museum's kiosk, on the Web, or on CD-ROM. The museum had a vision of creating a highly interactive user experience that showcased their rich library of multimedia assets.

The Solution:
As part of Idea Integration and working collaboratively with both SFMOMA and Perimetre-Flux Design to develop a series of interactive, platform independent mulitmedia programs. Beginning originally with small-scale prototype applications, this effort has resulted in three major releases: Making Sense of Modern Art (now installed as a permanent stand-alone gallery kiosk in the museum), Art as Experiment / Art as Experience: The Anderson Collection (kiosk installations, CD-ROM, and web versions created in conjunction with the Anderson collection exhibit), and Ansel Adams at 100 (kiosk installations and web versions created in conjunction with the Ansel Adams collection exhibit).

The solution to the challenge was a three-pronged approach using:
(1) Innovative Content Management, (2) Publishing, and (3) User Interface.

The web-based content management and publishing systems enables museum staff to combine their multimedia assets with rich storytelling. Idea engineered unprecedented achitecture and publishing system utilizes Microsoft ASP/VB COM, SQL Server 7, and Macromedia Generator. The user experience takes advantage of the dynamic nature of Macromedia Flash, DHTML, and Apple Quicktime to engage the user. This three-part solution produced an illuminating array of conceptual frameworks that enabled viewers to learn about art and explore relationships — encouraging multiple avenues of interpretation.

Highlights of all three programs include streaming video interviews of important artists, striking high-resolution images in an interactive context, audio commentary, engaging storytelling, and interactive activities. The content envelops the user in a learning experience as rich as a day in the museum, with some behind-the-scenes access not usually available in the galleries themselves.