Seventeenth International Conference on the Inclusive Museum

Abstract

This project details the process of generating recommendations for the implementation of specific haptic and captioning technologies in a sound and video art exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum to improve the museum experience for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing patrons. Various haptic technologies were evaluated by D/deaf and Hard-of-Hearing participants through a combination of structured user experience surveying and focus group sessions. Insights gained from this mixed-methods approach were then used to generate recommendations for specific vibro-tactile technologies for each artwork in the exhibition. Additionally, general design insights into designing more accessible sound-art experiences, such as the need for tailored haptic signal design instead of using native audio signals and considerations for caption design and placement, are also provided.