Virtual Masterpieces: Innovation through Public Co-creation for Digital Museum Collections

In this study, we describe the results of a series of co-creation workshops in museums with the goal of designing future digital cultural collections. Ranging from exhibition teasers to comprehensive virtual galleries, digital collections are an increasingly prominent feature of many museum websites but remain a largely unexplored facet of the visitor experience. Building on research in museum experience design, which suggests that involving the public in the development of on-site museum spaces and technologies supports better engagement, we investigated how this translates into digital-only contexts. We invited members of the public (N = 12) to the Luxembourg National Museum of History and Art for a series of design jams to investigate how non-experts envision the future of digital interactivity with museums through a series of ideation and rapid prototyping activities. Our analysis of the workshops and resulting prototypes reveals the design space of digital collections across three continuums of experience: individual/social, creation/consumption, and complementary/standalone. We conclude with design implications, namely how museum professionals can apply these dimensions to the design and implementation of digital collections.

Automated summary

This study explores the design ideas of the public for future digital cultural collections in museums through a series of co-creation workshops. By involving non-experts in ideation and rapid prototyping activities, the researchers investigate how the general public envisions digital interactivity with museums. The analysis reveals the design space of digital collections across three dimensions: individual/social, creation/consumption, and complementary/standalone. The study concludes with design implications for museum professionals to apply these dimensions in the design and implementation of digital collections.