Dana Allen-Greil

New Media Project Manager

National Museum of American History

allen-greil@si.edu

“Making Everyone a Winner: Universal Design of Multimedia,”American Association of Museums Annual Meeting, April 29, 2008

Topics Making the case for universal design Challenges and opportunities Project to create guidelines

Photo: Visitors interact with the “America on the Move” exhibition at the National Museum of American History.

MAKING THE CASE

Best practices and selected statistics to help you make universal design part of your institutional culture

Universal Design is a Process

1. Involve stakeholders in decisions.

2. Include media in interpretive planning.

3. Be realistic and consider ROI.

4. Plan for sustainability.

5. Collaborate.

Universal Design is for Everyone Diversity:

― Physical― Social― Cognitive

Audiences to consider:― Increasing number of older adults― Growing disabled population― Multi-generational social groups― Many more!

Audience: Older Adults In the next 20 years, we will see an

unprecedented increase in the number and proportion of older adults.

Proportion of older adults (65+) may double.

Sources: 2030 Vision: Anticipating the Needs and Expectations of Museum Visitors of the Future, Smithsonian Office of Policy and Analysis, 2007; The State of Aging and Health in America 2007.

The U.S. Population in 10 Years

Born Generation Size In 2018 will be…

1946-1964

Baby Boomers , 1/3 of current adult population

76 million 54-72

1965-1980

Generation X, about half the size of the Baby Boomers

46-50 million

38-53

1981-2000

Generation Y/ Millennials, larger than the Baby Boomers

80 million 18-37

2000+ Generation Z TBD 17 and under

Trend: Growing Disabled Population About one in five people in the United States has a disability or impairment that

causes limitations in activities. Socioeconomic trends and other factors have contributed to the

growth of a disabled population:― Aging― Rising obesity― Medical advances

that prolong life

Sources: “Change in Chronic Disability from 1982 to 2004/2005,” PNAS 103, no. 28 (2006); “Disability Status and the Characteristics of People in Group Quarters,” Feb. 2008. U.S. Census Bureau. National Center for Health Statistics, National Health Interview Survey. “Change in Chronic Disability from 1982 to 2004/2005,” PNAS 103, no. 28 (2006).

Audience: Multi-generational Groups

Source: Results of the 2004 Smithsonian-Wide Visitor Survey. Smithsonian Institution Office of Policy and Analysis.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Issues to consider when implementing multimedia devices in your museum

Multimedia Opportunities Digital multimedia can provide:

― Improved access to artifacts― Electronic approximation of the real― Increased mobility of information― Customization to user preferences― Distribution to multiple platforms and media

types― Audio for the visually impaired― Captions and ASL for the hearing impaired

Mainstream technologies are not designed for museum visitors as a primary audience. How are museum visitors impacted when we adopt technologies from the marketplace?― Adopt/adapt responsibly― General guidelines― Technology-specific standards

and integration with assistivetechnologies

Use of Mainstream Technologies

Case Study: iPods Challenge: iPods and other MP3 players

are meant to be heard (ideal for people with visual impairments), but often require good vision to use them effectively.― Opportunity: Add audio and/or

voice menus, audio metadata for tracks, audible controls (feedbackwhen control is clicked)

Source: “iPod accessibility,” Simply Blog, July 30, 2006. http://web.mac.com/simplytom/iWeb/SimplyTom/Home.html

Challenge: Complexity

Devices will continue to get more complex to operate. This is especially a problem for people with cognitive disabilities and people who have cognitive decline due to aging.

Source: "National Council on Disability Explores Emerging Technology Trends and Provides Strategies for Change," December 27, 2006. Photo: (left) Philips 1500 VCR; (right) Philips DVD Remote.

Challenge: Size

The shrinking size of products is creating problems for people with physical and visual disabilities.

Source: "National Council on Disability Explores Emerging Technology Trends and Provides Strategies for Change," December 27, 2006. Photo: (left) Dr. Martin Cooper, father of the mobile phone (fcc.gov); (right) “Zoolander” (2001).

Challenge: Touchscreen controls Increased use of

digital controls (e.g., push buttons used in combination with displays, touch screens, etc.) is creating problems for people with blindness, cognitive, and other disabilities.

Source: "National Council on Disability Explores Emerging Technology Trends and Provides Strategies for Change," December 27, 2006. Photos: (Top) Microsoft Surface; (Bottom) McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum interactive

Challenge: Handheld devices New/unfamiliar

technology for visitors Maintenance

concerns (content and hardware)

Social isolation Hands are occupied Can distract from

exhibition and artifacts

Source: "Museums in Transition: Emerging Technologies as Tools for Free-Choice Learning." Science Museum of Virginia and Gyroscope Inc., November 2006. Photo: sign language presentation for Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.

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PROJECT TO CREATE GUIDELINES

Results of a June 2007 study on the state of guidelines for universal design of digital interactives

Digital Multimedia in Museums Number of Exhibitions

with Computer-Based Interactives

Mobile Digital Interactives― (136 respondents)

Source: Allen-Greil, Dana. Survey Report: “Guidelines for Designing Computer-Based Interactives in Museums,” 2007.

What Should Guidelines Do? “Guidelines should aim to both set

standards for accessibility, and inspire creativity in curators, developers, and media designers.”― survey respondent

Source: Allen-Greil, Dana. Survey Report: “Guidelines for Designing Computer-Based Interactives in Museums,” 2007.

State of Guidelines in Museums Only10% of museum practitioners have

implemented guidelines for computer-based interactives.

A slightly more promising 17% of exhibition or multimedia designers that serve cultural institutions reported having adopted such guidelines.

Source: Allen-Greil, Dana. Survey Report: “Guidelines for Designing Computer-Based Interactives in Museums,” 2007Photo: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, America on the Move exhibition..

Concerns about Guidelines

Source: Allen-Greil, Dana. Survey Report: “Guidelines for Designing Computer-Based Interactives in Museums,” 2007.

A Call for Collaboration Working together we can create and share

best practices, examples, and guidelines that will encourage practitioners to create multimedia experiences with a universal approach to design.

Please contact me at allen-greil@si.edu with questions, good examples of universal design in multimedia, or other comments.

Selected Resources American Association of Museums Everyone’s Welcome Association of Science and Technology Center’s Accessible Practices

http://www.astc.org/resource/access/ Center for Universal Design http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/ Center for Applied Special Technology http://www.cast.org CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media http://www.wgbg.org/ncam Digital Interactives Guidelines Project www.digitalinteractiveguidelines.org/ Disabilityinfo.gov Museum of Science Access web site,

http://www.mos.org/exhibitdevelopment/access National Center for Accessible Media. http://ncam.wgbh.org National Park Service http://www.nps.gov/access/ Smithsonian Guidelines for Accessible Exhibition Design (1996)

http://www.si.edu/opa/accessibility/exdesign/ Trace Research and Development Center http://trace.wisc.edu United Nations enable Project http://www.un.org/disabilities/