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Designing Museum Experiences
Designing Museum Experiences is a “how-to” book for creating visitor-centered museums that emotionally and intellectually connect with museum visitors, stakeholders, and donors.
Museums are changing from static, monolithic, and encyclopedic institutions to institutions that are visitor-centric, with shared authority that allows museum and visitors to become co-creators in content creation. Museum content is also changing, from static content to dynamic, evolving content that is multi-cultural and transparent regarding the evolution of facts and histories, allowing multi-person interpretations of events.
Designing Museum Experiences leads readers through the methods and tools of the three stages of a museum visit (Pre-visit, In-Person Visit, and Post-visit), with a goal of motivating visitors to return and revisit the museum in the future. This museum visitation loop creates meaningful intellectual, emotional, and experiential value for the visitor.
Using the business-world-proven methodologies of user centered design, Museum Visitor Experience leads the reader through the process of creating value for the visitor. Providing consistent messaging at all touchpoints (website, social media, museum staff visitor services, museum signage, etc.) creates a trusted bond between visitor and museum. The tools used to increase understanding of and encourage empathy for the museum visitor, and understand visitor motivations Empathy Mapping, Personas, Audience segmentation, Visitor Journey Mapping, Service Design Blueprints, System Mapping, Content Mapping, Museum Context Mapping, Stakeholder Mapping, and the Visitor Value Proposition.
In the end, the reason for using the tools is to empower visitors and meet their emotional and intellectual needs, with the goal of creating a lifelong bond between museum and visitor. This is especially important as museums face a new post COVID-19 reality; only the most nimble, visitor-centered museums are likely to survive.
The companion website to Designing Museum Experiences
Links to additional visitor-centered museum informationDownloadable sample documents and templatesBibliography of sources for further readingOnline glossary of museum visitor experience termsDaily checklists of “how-to” provide and receive visitor-centered experiencesMore than 50 associated Designing Museum Experiences documents
Museums are changing from static, monolithic, and encyclopedic institutions to institutions that are visitor-centric, with shared authority that allows museum and visitors to become co-creators in content creation. Museum content is also changing, from static content to dynamic, evolving content that is multi-cultural and transparent regarding the evolution of facts and histories, allowing multi-person interpretations of events.
Designing Museum Experiences leads readers through the methods and tools of the three stages of a museum visit (Pre-visit, In-Person Visit, and Post-visit), with a goal of motivating visitors to return and revisit the museum in the future. This museum visitation loop creates meaningful intellectual, emotional, and experiential value for the visitor.
Using the business-world-proven methodologies of user centered design, Museum Visitor Experience leads the reader through the process of creating value for the visitor. Providing consistent messaging at all touchpoints (website, social media, museum staff visitor services, museum signage, etc.) creates a trusted bond between visitor and museum. The tools used to increase understanding of and encourage empathy for the museum visitor, and understand visitor motivations Empathy Mapping, Personas, Audience segmentation, Visitor Journey Mapping, Service Design Blueprints, System Mapping, Content Mapping, Museum Context Mapping, Stakeholder Mapping, and the Visitor Value Proposition.
In the end, the reason for using the tools is to empower visitors and meet their emotional and intellectual needs, with the goal of creating a lifelong bond between museum and visitor. This is especially important as museums face a new post COVID-19 reality; only the most nimble, visitor-centered museums are likely to survive.
The companion website to Designing Museum Experiences
Links to additional visitor-centered museum informationDownloadable sample documents and templatesBibliography of sources for further readingOnline glossary of museum visitor experience termsDaily checklists of “how-to” provide and receive visitor-centered experiencesMore than 50 associated Designing Museum Experiences documents
- GenresNonfictionMuseums
203 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 19, 2021
7 people are currently reading
1627 people want to read
About the author
Mark Walhimer
3 books31 followersMark Walhimer is an Industrial Design professor at Tecnológico de Monterrey and a museum consultant. Mark’s company, Museum Planning, LLC, specializes in the planning, design, and management of interactive educational experiences. Walhimer started his firm in 1999 to assist startup and expanding museums with museum master planning, exhibition design and museum project management. His firm has completed more than 40 projects worldwide for an international clientele that includes science centers, art museums, history museums, libraries, and corporations. Projects include Museo Interactivo de Economía (MIDE) in Mexico City, “Alcatraz: Life on the Rock,” traveling exhibition and Trans Studio Science Center in Bandung, Indonesia. Prior to starting his company, Walhimer held positions at Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana, California, the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, and Liberty Science Center. Mark is author of Museums 101 how-to guide for creating and organizing all varieties of museums.
Walhimer has a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and a master’s degree in industrial design and exhibition design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Walhimer has a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, and a master’s degree in industrial design and exhibition design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 25, 2022
This slim little book packs it all in- everything you could every want or need to design a fully focused/centered museum visitor (or library or any public non-profit) experience. Design thinking, placemaking, hospitality, data collectiong, emerging/immersive tech...
The next steps and resources will keep you going!
The next steps and resources will keep you going!
May 26, 2025
This book on museum planning is packed full of useful information and tools. It walks the reader through all elements of museum planning, from function and purpose to customer engagement.
This is structured well, and laid out in an easy to read format. It can become slightly repetitive at times, but in a neccessary way to drive concepts home.
My one personal gripe about this book is that the font used seemed quite small, and was a bit detracting from the reading experience.
*Please note that I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway*
This is structured well, and laid out in an easy to read format. It can become slightly repetitive at times, but in a neccessary way to drive concepts home.
My one personal gripe about this book is that the font used seemed quite small, and was a bit detracting from the reading experience.
*Please note that I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway*
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews