Desiiiiiign Faaaaaaster

Well. I have something vaguely resembling a design brief. I think? I don't actually know what a design brief is. 

Goals and Objectives
The PARI museum will reflect both the rich historical and scientific wealth of the facility. PARI’s story is an excellent vehicle for the majority of this, although the story of the Space Shuttle encompasses approximately half of the museum’s space related collection and should not be overlooked. Furthermore, the geology section of the museum is hardly appropriate as part of either story and should have its own narrative. The main goals of the redesign therefore focus on the reorganisation of the museum to improve coherency and create a more dynamic arrangement of the museum’s materials. Additional goals are to introduce more interactive and engaging experiences and generally improve the aesthetics of the galleries.  

Anticipated Visitor Experiences
The visitor experience will incorporate more self-guided exploratory aspects, with the option of a more formal tour. The more dynamic galleries will be interesting enough that even a newcomer to the site will find plenty to explore. However, a returning employee from Rosman or a site with a similar role--a statistically significant type of visitor--will be able to return to PARI’s history and bring their companions with them. A guest will gain a sense of the same dedication to the site felt by those who work or have worked with PARI over the years. 

Intended Outcomes
The greatest outcome of the redesign would be an experience intriguing and unique enough to persuade a guest to return. The redesign will also foster curiosity concerning the themes of the galleries and open a guest to the idea of further exploration in those areas--something many parents visit the museum hoping to instil in their children. The galleries will be more intrinsically interesting and generally attractive, something for PARI to be proud of. 

It sounds kind of official. Which it probably ought, after three drafts. Is it what Steve wanted? Well...probably not. But, it's what I guessed at, since a design brief is supposed to describe the outcomes rather than aesthetics or specifics. It's a set of instructions for the designer to deal with.



Also: Yes, we have a catalogue! Is it complete? no. Is it at least mostly complete, stored in the servers somewhere and does Alex Armstrong know about it? Yes!  Is Alex here? ...well, no, but John said he'll work with me on cataloguing what's left. I had a feeling that we had something, and thank heavens, since we have a lot of rocks. So many rocks. So. Many. Rocks. 

Concept for part of the Space Shuttle area.

This would be my photoshop sketch of a possible space shuttle display. It doesn't incorporate everything space shuttle we have; there would need to be a bit about space shuttle communications opposite, possibly with a listening station. I also like the idea of a case that looks a little bit like a vending machine (similar silhouette) that is specifically devoted to space food--which includes stuff we can add to the collection along the lines of astronaut ice cream (they sell it at OP Taylors!), plastic fruit and veg, fake tortillas, that kind of thing. Heck, we could even throw in some camping food, which is basically the same as the stuff they eat in space.

Oh, and I'm supposed to have a storyboard for the whole museum experience and my edited design brief by 10am tomorrow.

I'm still not sure this job is possible. But I'll do my best. I can almost certainly edit the design brief and storyboard the Space Junk room by tomorrow, I have a working concept--although I don't think we're all using the same definition of storyboard--but Room Three and the Rock Room? Hah! Forget it. I don't even have the keys to Room Three. 

Note of the Day: If you come to visit PARI, please don't go stand under a radio telescope in use. Bits can fall off and hit you in the head. Not to mention our regular storms and the fact that you're then standing next to a huge lightning rod. Yes, we ought to put up ropes or a bullhorn or a sign or something, but the assumption was that you were smarter than that. Also please ask lots of questions. I know our museum kind of sucks, that's why I'm here!