MASS’ Post

Bobby and I were coworkers back in the day, teaching interaction design workshops together. If you’re in SF on August 6th and want to join an in-person workshop about the intersection of generative AI and design, check this out. Bobby tells me, “this is essentially for folks who are relatively new to generative AI...a chance for designers to think together about where and when it makes sense to lean on these tools in the design process. We're design thinking experts, not AI experts, so we give people a chance to insert generative AI into a design challenge in strategic points and reflect/discuss/build their own point of view.”

We invite you to 'In Flux’, the Service Design MA Exhibition from the Royal College of Art. This year's theme captures the dynamic nature of our world, and the service design discipline's role in navigating it. We are in flux, constantly adapting to evolving technologies, socio-cultural contexts, and environmental realities. This exhibition showcases the work-in-progress of our graduating students’ final projects. The exhibition is structured around a series of questions that act as thematic axes. These questions delve into the ways service design is in flux, and the role designers play in this changing world. Through their projects, our students explore topics such as the impact of AI on design practice, the ethical considerations of designing for behaviour change, designing for, with, and within diverse cultures, and the very essence of service design itself. In Flux is our invitation to join us in exploring the critical questions shaping the future of service design while reexamining its foundations. Join the conversation, interrogate, and co-create the future of service design in a world of constant change.

Loyalty and Self-Investment: The Bold New Beauty Standard – Are You Ready to Commit? "Unlock your digital memories"..... Decades ago, platforms like Google, LinkedIn, and Apple began as simple tools of the early internet. Today, through relentless self-investment and evolution, they’ve grown into beautifully personalized, relatable giants. This morning, over coffee and rusks, I found myself wondering: What innovations, trends, and ideas await us in 2025? As an avid researcher and upskiller, I’ve been navigating endless technical changes. But today, I decided to dive into something different—creativity. That’s when I stumbled down a rabbit hole: Web Design Museum. I love that we now have a museum dedicated to web design! It’s fascinating to see some platforms I’ve been loyal to since the early 2000s—still thriving today. Others, once trending, faded away because they failed to adapt. This made me reflect on the power of loyalty—sticking with something, improving year after year, and staying committed to an audience. In the age of AI and rapid innovation, web design continues to remind us of the lasting beauty in evolving with the times.

An art museum is more than just a place that displays artworks. A hospital is more than a large building where people receive medical care. Designing or optimizing a museum or healthcare environment requires a nuanced understanding of user needs and of how people navigate and interact in these spaces. Institutions and enterprises want their visitors to feel welcomed and to have an intuitive sense of how to move about, their staff to be equipped for success, and their facilities to operate efficiently. But a thorough understanding of these needs and dynamics is a tall task for many organizations. To support its design teams and clients in these endeavors, HGA has built up an in-house, interdisciplinary research group with backgrounds in anthropology, architecture, engineering, data science, evidence-based research, innovation methodologies, and process improvement. The Design Insight Group (DIG), as it’s called, conducts studies and compiles and analyzes vast datasets for clients in a range of markets. Its findings are used to inform design solutions. Stated more plainly, DIG’s purpose is to help clients know themselves and the people they serve better. Read more about DIG: https://ow.ly/QsCH50TTxig

Tonight at Joyce Gordon Gallery 6-8pm! The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service (BPINS) was not just a newspaper—it was the voice of a movement. Founded in 1967, it quickly became one of the most powerful tools of the Black Panther Party, disseminating information to millions, telling the truth about the injustices Black communities faced, and offering a vision for liberation that reached far beyond Oakland. The newspaper connected communities globally, amplifying the Black Panthers’ call for freedom, justice, and self-determination. Into the ARchives: The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service honors the legacy of this revolutionary publication, showcasing rare artifacts from the Billy X Jennings’ "It’s About Time" Black Panther Party alumni archive. The exhibit brings the newspaper to life in new ways, blending history and technology. Curated by Elijah Bean alongside Augmented Reality Curator Damien McDuffie and AR Designer Zaire Moore, this exhibition transforms the traditional gallery experience. Visitors will explore augmented reality layers that reveal hidden stories and bring key moments of the Black Panther Party’s history into the present. The augmented reality (AR) experience in Into the Archives Vol. 4 transforms static archival materials into dynamic, interactive narratives. Through AR, the Black Panther Party newspaper comes to life, allowing visitors to engage with the content in new ways—scanning pages to unlock hidden layers of history, videos, and voices from the past. What was once ink on paper is now an immersive, multimedia experience where articles, photos, and illustrations expand beyond the page, offering deeper insights into the stories and struggles of the Black Panther Party. This approach turns archival documents into rich, living artifacts that bridge the gap between past and present.

This week, the MCN (Museum Computer Network) conference took place at the Spencer Museum of Art in The University of Kansas. Digital strategies were one of the main topics, and we decided to revisit AMT Lab’s top articles about how museums can enhance audience experience using digital technologies, from UX design to GIS. See the abstracts below and dive deeper to learn how to build and implement successful digital strategies for a museum. Museum Audience Engagement with GIS: https://lnkd.in/eKtrBVMJ Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can help connect museums with their communities and make decision-making informed and strategic. GIS maps have various applications, from representing a visitor’s interaction with the space to enhancing personalized visitor experience. Digital Stewardship: The Future of Contemporary Art Museums: https://lnkd.in/eTYzE_3G While contemporary art museums often focus on re-creating the physical experience of the museum online, there is a wealth of unexplored opportunities for creative digital engagement with art that is largely unexamined. Building a new Museum Ritual: Museum Digital Experiences: https://lnkd.in/ed2u5DGi This article examines 8 step-by-step suggestions for museums to implement well-rounded digital projects for their audiences that are specific to the online context. Audience Retention via UX Design in Museums: https://lnkd.in/eMHtQA6z As different types of museums (art, natural history, botanical, etc.) are problem-solving and experimenting with different UX designs, how is technology playing a role? The University of Kansas #mcn2024 #artandtechnology #artsandtechnology #artsmanagement #artmanagement #museum #museummanagement #digitalmuseum #digitalstrategy #audienceengagement #museumaudience #museumdesign

“[W]e endeavour to work to the principle that if any person finds they cannot engage or interact with what we are designing and producing, the correct word is ‘unusable.’ If we all start to apply that simple shift of perspective when asking: Is this design usable? — then we move to a mode of working that really works for everyone — an approach that all should be eager to develop further, continue to apply universally to our work, and share as a paradigm methodology.” Cooper, Walsh and Walsh This book focuses on the inclusive design of digital interactives for visitors and staff, one segment of museums’ larger program offerings. Access Smithsonian, the central accessibility office for the Smithsonian Institution, initiated this collection of essays in order to spur innovation, encourage information sharing, and motivate cultural organizations around the world to consider accessible and inclusive digital interactive design as an essential component of their greater DEAI efforts. Calvium’s Dr Jo Morrison contributed Chapter 14: Mobile Digital Wayfinding Tools: Enabling and Enhancing the Experience of Visitors with Different Access Needs, p321 Download free from the Calvium Resources collection: https://lnkd.in/epY-JJei Inclusive Digital Interactives - from Access Smithsonian Institution, The Institute of Human-Centred Design and MuseWeb #exhibition #inclusion #digital #museum

Have you ever felt: ...𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥? 💔 ...𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨? 🙉 ...𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭? 👎 I have—many times 🫤 Unfortunately, this experience is far too familiar among designers. Despite their critical contributions, designers often find their roles simplified to pixel pushing or making pretty things — but why is that? 🤔 In the September issue of 𝗗𝗲𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻, I dive into a few of the common reasons why design might be under appreciated in my article 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵. Here I also touch on a few ways designers can take steps away from the limitations of "make pretty" 💅🎨 Later this month on the Design Matters DK 2024 Conference in Copenhagen I'll also be expanding on this particular topic in my workshop 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗹-𝗣𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 — so if you want to hear even more on this topic, then I'll see you there! ✨ 📰 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲 https://lnkd.in/dhWyg7Z2 🌟 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 https://lnkd.in/dcWURxJ5 🎟️ 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 https://lnkd.in/detW5nGM #Design #DesignMagazine #DesignPublication #POV #DigitalDesign #DesignEducation

▶▶▶ The latest DeMagSign.io issue features an article by Sophie Tahran, Senior Design Director at Condé Nast, who reflects on Design Matters 24 in Copenhagen, sharing key takeaways that shaped her perspective on the conference. From tackling ethical AI and sustainability to fostering inclusive design practices, Sophie reminds us that this year’s event was a tribute to the decade past, how far design has come—and where it’s headed. Relive the highlights, lessons, and inspiring moments. ▶▶▶ Swipe right and read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gcvrNzdV #DesignMatters24 #POV #Reflection #InnovationInDesign #EthicalAI #InclusiveDesign

"From developing new visitor-centered offerings to redesigning museum staff meetings, using the Double Diamond [method] can save museum professionals time and frustration, and can inform the way we work and collaborate inside our institutions and with our communities." Learn why clashes between divergent and convergent thinking can hinder creativity, and explore a versatile problem-solving method that can help—plus, how museum professionals can use this in their day-to-day work. https://lnkd.in/e7j7tZEQ