Ever wonder why a “small” at Starbucks is a “tall”? Once, you could order short, tall, or “grande” (Italian for “large”), but newbies just chose the middle: tall. The chain tried dropping shorts from the menu and adding a bigger size: “venti”. Guess what happened. …

Sure, it’s smart to plan using the “worst case scenario”. But that doesn’t work when the worst case is extreme. For example: We want to accommodate the largest exhibitions, so we plan all our galleries that big — but that size rarely comes. What to do? …

Exhibits are like Dr. Seuss machines.
They change minds. And, do you know what that means?
Our visitors – isn’t it sad, they don’t know
The facts about forks that we all love so. …

Since the QR code comeback, they are up for consideration in every project. And for some things they’re great. But before we put QR codes on every wall, let’s do a quick refresher. Here are 7 truths worth keeping in mind. …

What’s digital signage again? It’s the site-based screen media we use for promotion — as opposed to the media we use for edutaining visitors. There is one huge mistake everybody makes with digital signage. Want to avoid it? Here’s the tip: …

When the TSA needs to line people up efficiently in front of a checkpoint, they make a switchback path out of short poles and nylon straps. A switchback is a path where people walk one way, switch, walk the other way, switch, walk back, and so on. …

Floor plans commonly show walls, furniture, windows, and doors. Less common types are used to plan electrical circuits, lighting systems, and structural elements. Then there are the rare types no one knows about. Except now you do. …

MAAM ANNUAL CONFERENCE - COFFEE BAR. PHIL: My client is crazy! MONIQUE: Your donut looks good. PHIL: They have an awful touchscreen idea! MONIQUE: Mm. Worse than some I’ve heard?PHIL: Way worse, I know it! …

In museums and beyond, QR codes are having a comeback. They were invented a generation ago to track parts on Japanese assembly lines. US marketers tried to popularize them 10 years back. They flopped. Then two things happened. …

[NEW PODCAST] What if there were a better way? Are our concepts not good enough, because we’re not developing enough of them? What would happen if we merged “Agile” with “Waterfall”? We’ll ask PhD candidate Clare Brown. …

LED tiles come in different “pitches”. But what is pitch? Which is best? LEDs are teensy lights in black tiles that build walls like bricks. The fineness of the image depends on the spacing between the lights. That spacing is called “pitch”. …

ICYMI, last weekend U2 debuted The Sphere, a small moon coated with LEDs. Can’t tell LED from LCD? You’re not alone. We’re all pretending. The IT folks made the acronyms similar so we’ll be confused and accept the price tag. (Just kidding, IT friends!) …

What’s the A in DEAI, and why are the ADA guidelines not enough anymore? What’s intersectionality? If ADA isn’t our goal, what comes after? This is a must-listen episode, featuring two of the most important voices in museum accessibility today. …

This idea came up three times this week. Is there something in the water supply? Here’s the principle again: Curators base their careers on knowledge of the subject. Everyone else should base their careers on ignorance of the subject. …

All squares are rectangles — but not all rectangles are squares. And nobody goes around insisting on calling squares rectangles. Uh, let me explain. We can plan our exhibitions to be “experiences”. And we should. I do. But what are we, specifically, making? …

[NEW PODCAST EPISODE] How can exhibition teams help to decolonize design? What’s a supertoken, and why are cluster hires a better strategy? The new book offers answers to all these questions and more, thanks to author Dr. Dori Tunstall. …

How many different types of experiences should one interactive media element offer? Easy. One. A laptop can have hundreds of software applications in it. But exhibition interactives aren’t laptops. …

The most important takeaway of any interactive should get communicated even if visitors don’t interact. Quiz: what is the one thing every interactive element should do? (Hint: it’s the same as any other element.) Answer: communicate its main message. …

“Let’s go to the museum so we can use some touchscreens!” — Said No Visitor, Ever. Have you been in a newly-opened exhibition lately, filled with touchscreens worth millions, that nobody uses? I have. A big, famous one. We have reached Peak Touchscreen. …

UPDATED — Priceless objects studied by scholars (Neanderthal skulls, the Rosetta Stone) often can’t travel. So we make scientific-quality facsimiles for borrowing. These are “forensic” quality, identical in every detail, worthy of study. And as designers, we can exploit this idea. …