Thesis - Teknisk Design

Oskar Karlsson, Petter PolsonMaster Thesis 2011 at Chalmers University of Technology• Good that signs and text looked as old as the rest of the visual elements. Looked like they matched each other.• The Japanese Spider Crab’s size and spectacular appearance fascinated and caught attention.• To see the animals in their context was interesting and added to the understanding.• The use of colours and fonts in the exhibit about Caribbean fish enhanced the display.• The exhibit about mushrooms was unclear. The text was too small and difficult to read.• The section on how amoebas reproduce was explained in a clear way with a clear chronology. There was no need for text to understand.• The big “tree” that showed how different species are related to each other was very informative. “Man’s” branch was coloured red which madeit easy to spot and follow. Interesting to see which other species are closely or remotely related to us.• The many tiny handwritten signs were hard to read.• The exhibit about smaller birds was perceived as very cluttered. They had jammed very many birds in the same cabinet which made it hard tofocus on a single one. This was a shame since they were all very interesting and unique.• Putting an image or a painting behind an exhibit created a sense of depth which made you feel as if “you were actually there yourself”.• The section about how lighthouses can affect birds flight trails and ultimately lead to that birds die gave a very sad feeling. Felt guilty.• Some displays were situated very high up on the wall in narrow corridors. Most of the time you didn’t notice them at all. To look at them you hadto bend your neck in an unpleasant way.• In the main hall there were goat’s horns on the wall to symbolise variation. This was perceived better than the exhibit with all the little birds.• In the exhibits on animal phenomena’s models of the animal was combined with photos, graphics and text. This was a different approach thanthe exhibits about the animals themselves.• The exhibit about mites in houses caused a slightly disgusted feeling. This caused longer viewing time however.• The wooden floor and the rest of the interior harmonised with the exhibits of skeletons of whales and dinosaurs. Felt like a “typical museum”.• An exhibit where you could listen to whale sounds didn’t function properly. No sound could be heard which caused frustration and confusion.“Did I do it wrong?”Visualisation Centre, 2011-04-28From interacting with the installations and observing other visitors during the tour in the centre following observations were made.• Lego cityThis installation visualizes the city of Norrköping in white Lego. By projecting different colours on houses, rivers and thestreets, different messages could be communicated. This enables several “layers” of information in the same model whichmakes it more space efficient.Since the visitors recognized the city, they became more engaged in the exhibit and listened to the information presented bythe guide more carefully. It would be possible to use something similar with London in the USC.Not all messages they tried to communicate with this technique came across as intended. Different messages require differentcommunications to reach the receiver.• Virtual autopsy table99