EXHIBITION DESIGN FOR A
NATIONAL MUSEUM
NATIONAL MUSEUM
The Strong National Museum of Play is located in Rochester, NY. Originally a history museum, The Strong was incorporated in 1982 following the death of its namesake, Margaret Woodbury Strong. Today, it is a renown cultural museum, highlighting the development and love of play.
(from left to right) a render of the new entrance of The Strong Museum and a render of the Hasbro Game Park, the outside supplemental portion to Hasbro Board Game Place
THE EXPANSION AND MY INTERNSHIP
In 2018, The Strong began its 90,000 square foot expansion. This expansion would include many new exhibits including the Hasbro Board Game Place, located next to the Dancing Wings Butterfly Garden.
In May 2022, I was able to start my internship as a graphic designer. I was given the chance to design the centerpiece for the Hasbro Board Game Place exhibit: a wall-sized, interactive version Hasbro's Chutes and Ladders.
Two scans from my sketchbook during the beginning stages of the design process. On the left is research on games that are exhibited in the exhibit. On the right are possible tracks that could be used.
WHERE WE STARTED
I began with research on the games that will be explored in the exhibit. When meeting with the conservators and director of the exhibits team, it was decided that the interactive Chutes and Ladders would be used as a supplement to the outdoor Hasbro Game Park. As such, it would refer to the exterior exhibit's design. That's where Concept 1 comes from. On it, the player would move around a track that was influenced by each the different exhibit games. Concept 1 was deemed too close to the outdoor park, not distinctive enough.
Concept 2, on the other hand, focused on a more modern interpretation of the game. It was inspired by subway tracks and focused on a more geometric motif. This concept was considered a beautiful interpretation of Chutes and Ladders but not necessarily a good fit for the identity of the museum.
Concept 3, was based on more generic game pieces used across all boardgames, not just Hasbro. The player would be climbing up the piece in which the winner would reach the top of the piece first. This, out of the three concepts, was the strongest and we began to move ahead with development.
The three original concepts of the Chutes and Ladders interactive.
THE LIMITATIONS
As always, there are restrictions. The interactive was the centerpiece but there were still cases to display other artifacts. There needed to be a 5 foot space to the left of the interactive. On the other side, another artifact case needed to be accounted for. In the center of the wall, an airflow grate existed. This grate could not be covered and as such had to be built around.
Lastly, the pieces of the interactive could not extend too far up the wall. The main audience of the museum are children, meaning that we had to account for their line of sight. Even so, the museum hosts viewers of all ages so we didn't want them to crane their necks unnecessarily.
The chosen colors and their hexcodes.
COLORS WITHOUT CONNOTATIONS
When it came to colors, I chose bright ones in order to attract the most people but also to add an element of fun. I wanted to make sure that the colors didn't appeal to a certain gender.
There was also a consideration for accessibility. I wanted to make sure that all the colors were easily readable from each other. I ran the design through COBLIS, a simulator that applies a filter to show how color deficiencies affect colors. This way, I can confirm that there is enough contrast for everyone who might come into contact with it.
The first two versions within the development of concept 3. There were six versions overall.
TAKE THE GOOD, LEAVE THE BAD
From the original concept rendering, I included the game board background for Concept 1. It's a nod to the physical game boards from people's childhoods, a way to connect the new modern interpretation to the original.
The background also includes a slight gradient to draw attention to the center of the board as well as a pattern to create depth.
Between Versions 1 and 2, there was the opening off the track so that it didn't feel so squished on the wall. The background elements of the pawns and the dice shifted as well in order to frame the track better.
Different placements of the chutes and ladders were explored in order to figure out the best gameplay. The exhibits team decided to keep one chute and one ladder to keep gameplay exciting. That way the person in second place always has a chance to jump ahead.
The final version of the game board.
THE FINAL AND THE PRODUCTION
The final version came in with a height of 15 feet. It was now time to move into production. The exhibits team took the fabrication of the tiles and track as well as the electrical engineering of the lights that would light the track.
Other items would be outsourced. The wallpaper was produced by Takeform in Medina, NY while the phenolic panels of the "Winner," "Start," "Chutes and Ladders," and Hasbro logo, were produced by iZone in Texas.
The two in-progress versions of the panel shown in the green and the final control panel shown in the blue.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
In order to make it interactive, the audience had to be able to control the use of the board. This was done with a control panel that would be placed in front of the board. The design of this control panel top went through a few iterations, testing which color combination ratio worked best.
I wanted to make it its own unique piece while still being part of the system.
From left to right: electrical engineer, Tom Kaminski demonstrating how the lights on the chute will work, prototyping the lights on the board to denote Player 1 and Player 2, the phenolic pieces ordered from iZone.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
The expansion is open! You can come to The Strong Museum yourself to see the interactive and the surrounding exhibit that I helped develop and install.
If you'd like to discuss more of the projects I have at The Strong please reach out!