BEYOND WORDS EXHIBITION

Illuminated Manuscripts in Boston Collections

Client(s): Harvard University, Boston College

Timeline: 6 weeks

Role: Lead UX designer

Deliverables: Online digital catalog and native iPad app

For the largest exhibition of illuminated manuscripts
in the United States, Harvard University and Boston College commissioned a complete digital archive and
native iPad app that grants viewers the ability to explore and investigate selected objects on display.    

Native app: The Opportunity

For this app, stakeholders requested an intuitive, easy to navigate interface that allows users to replicate the experience of paging through the actual manuscript. The iPad app would aim to compliment the book on display, while maintaining respect to exhibit display codes and ADA compliance.

Native App: the solution

App functions include:

• Side swiping through multiple pages

• Complete page scrolling index

• Detail page zooming viewer

• Object/lender information card. 

iPad Screens

After launching the native app and installing the iPads, I visited the exhibition and interviewed exhibit viewers about their experience using the iPads as a supplement to the display manuscripts and observed live interaction to pin point development and usability issues to be solved.

Digital Online Catalog: The Opportunity

In order for visitors to browse the full inventory of the Beyond Words manuscript collection, I needed to design a website that allowed for complete access and included faceted search and filtering options.

Digital online catalog: The Solution

The solution took the form of a digital catalog located on the Beyond Words Exhibit website.  All items included in the online catalog included tagged metadata that allowed for quick navigation and extensive filtering options including date, name of scribe and illuminator, institution collection, and origin location.

Beyond Words digital archive includes:

• Faceted search tools

• Object/lender information card

• Link to Harvard's Mirador viewing platform.