Project Profile: New-York Historical Society Museum

September 5, 2012 by Dave Haynes

All photos: www.bengancsos.com

Here’s a look at how content and industrial design can work well together and take a project up a few knotches in quality.

The newly renovated New-York Historical Society Museum – which presents the long and rich history of that city, now uses digital around the facility to inform and guide visitors.

I like the content design choices, which are simple and fit the environment. It seems silly to have to point this out, but notice the word count is very limited, the fonts are big and clean, and the images large and uncomplicated.

And I like the integration of the screens into fixtures and counter headers, and the use of near seamless monitors with glass edges.

However, you can see in the images the mighty challenge presented by ambient lighting and polished, reflecting surfaces.

The museum is using YCD Multimedia’s C-nario Messenger to manage and drive the various video walls across the museum. In a news release, YCD says the screens are “displaying useful information about the museum’s offerings and Historical Society activities, such as information about exhibits and artists, prices, wayfinding, etc. The unique video walls, arranged in various shapes, such as totems and rectangulars, are located at various key points such as the admission counter, near elevators and the theater entrance, and other places. The video walls serve as a very useful information tool for visitors, and are fully integrated in the renovated museum’s architectural concept.”

“The unique shapes and implementation of the video walls reflect the innovative redesign of the museum, adding modern high-tech elements to traditional displays,” says Sam Losar, President of YCD USA. “The visitor-oriented concept of the newly renovated museum uses digital signage as a key communication tool, making a museum visit the best experience possible, while underscoring the museum’s support for innovation.”

That lovely content was done by Unified Field, once again reinforcing my sense that most of the best creative we see in this sector comes from companies operating outside the so-called ecosystem (mainly on museums).