Iteration, Iteration

Angelina Coble with new desert tortoise test panels

If there is one thing I've learned working with Neal Hitch these past few years it is "iteration, iteration, iteration".  Did something work? How can it work better?  What can you tweak to get more interaction?  Did something not work? Why not? What can you change?

This week I designed the second generation of our test sign panels to see what people wanted in outdoor signage. I took all of the comments and feedback we received from visitors on the original roadrunner panels and made a set of panels that took these comments into account, while still asking visitors to think of what it was they liked in different signs.  

Some comments were the same across the test signs: everyone liked the habitat range maps, the footprint examples (despite my bad artist's rendition!), and some of the fun facts.  While most people were leaning towards the flip signs by the end of the first test, it was still mixed enough that I decided to test both single panel and flip signs again to get a larger audience feedback.  

Angelina Coble writing sign prompt

The biggest thing that I changed was to include audience prompts.  Apparently it wasn't obvious enough in the first round of test panels that we wanted visitors to give their opinions of the signs, or certain features they liked best about the different signs, even though we seeded comments on each of the boards to act as prompts.  So, this time I wrote out specific questions on the top of each sheet.  The hope is that this will further prompt visitors to give the opinions I'm interested in, that will play into future sign design.  Hopefully it will also help people to understand that they are being given options to choose which they like best, something that seems to not have always been clear in the first round.  Even when docents explained the roadrunner signs and encouraged people to write down specifically what they liked, often they would simply put "I like this one best", leaving it up to us to guess what it was they liked about a particular test sign.  Visitors who toured the exhibits on their own seemed less likely to write on the panels, suggesting further prompting was needed to encourage people.

Prompt for visitor engagement

 These early test signs are certainly basic in many ways.  I'm no graphic designer, and personally I think it shows.  I've mounted the panels on cardboard and people will use basic sharpies to write their thoughts on paper.  But I don't think that early iterations are necessarily about sharp designer looks.  They are about engaging visitors in any way possible, and encouraging both staff, volunteers, and visitors to think about the content they want in a finished product.  And then taking those comments, sharpening the test product, and trying it again until you've got exactly what people want.

Ceramic Re-housing Project

One side of IVDM's Visible Storage Exhibit. Local ceramic vessels

While there is probably no way to be completely "earthquake proof", we've been working to ensure that we minimize the risks to both our visitors and our collections.  Now that about half of the ceramics collection held here at the Imperial Valley Desert Museum are in a permanent Visible Storage exhibit, we can begin to re-house the remaining ollas.

When I came to the museum nearly four years ago, the collection of over 200 ceramic vessels (locally called "ollas") were all being held in a back storage room in climate controlled conditions.  The plan was to build an exhibit that would allow as many as possible to be put into an exhibit that would emphasize the importance of the vessels and ensure that the public benefitted from the collection through education and research.  The back storage room contains shelves bolted into the walls, each vessel was on a stand, and each shelf had barriers to prevent objects moving off the shelf in the event of an earthquake.

Gaylord archival fold-out box and padding

With almost half the collection now on display, this week we began a new project: putting the remaining ollas in safer housing.  We worked with Nancy Odegaard from Arizona State Museum and bought archival artifact boxes with slide-out trays and drop-out fronts.  Each of the smaller ceramic vessels would get a box, which would also be cushioned with non-reactive foam padding.

Edgar Bernal Sevilla applying label with photograph

Labels were made with not only information like the accession number, but also a photograph of the vessel.  Between images in the PastPerfect database and images on the labels, we are ensuring that minimal handling and moving of the artifacts will happen in the future.  Less handling and added cushioning increases the stability and safety of the vessels.  The boxes will also allow for more space-efficient storage, which will increase our artifact storage capacity as a whole.

Frank Salazar re-housing small ceramic 

Once back on the anchored shelves, shelf barriers are returned to cover the open sides of the shelf.  Until we can afford expensive shelving with fancy barriers or doors, this "poor museum's method" will increase the security and safety of those ceramics not on display.

New boxes on shelf, with labels, before shelf barriers. More space efficient & safer for ollas

The project is being done by myself; Frank J Salazar III, our Cultural Collections and Programs Manager; and staff member Angelina Coble.  Supplies for the project were funded through a National Endowment for the Humanities Preservation Assistance grant.