Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

We describe how we involved two different groups of users with mild cognitive disabilities to be part of our design team along with experts in special needs education. Our aim was to design technological solutions to provide museum visitors with rewarding and memorable experiences even if, for any reason, the traditional clues available in a museum were not accessible and/or did not make sense to them. By combining observations in situ, focus groups, and reflections stimulated by photos and memory-triggering narratives, we collected a number of interesting anecdotes to drive ideation and pave the way to early prototyping. We describe a brief study where informative material was prepared in a suitable form to cater to visitors’ abilities. This was then administered by educators in order to train visitors, ahead of their tour of a specific exhibition. The effect that this had in terms of participation and its implication on the design of new technological solutions is discussed. We also analyse the costs and benefits of involving users with different abilities as co-designers and argue how an ability driven approach can help producing more accessible and effective technological solutions for all.