Suburbia Touch Table

Multitouch Table
Minnesota History Center, St. Paul – 2015

The Suburbia Touch Table told the story of suburban expansion that has occurred since the mid 20th Century in the area surrounding Minneapolis and St. Paul. Using a considerable collection of aerial photography of the Twin Cities, the table allowed users to view change over time in the areas surrounding seven shopping malls, which represent diverse geographic regions around the Twin Cities suburbs. Users were able to select a mall by dragging its logo into a viewer, and then slide through five different years of that mall and surrounding area, as well as pan and zoom on each image. An additional layer displaying highway and landmark overlays could be toggled on and off as a point of reference and an info button brought in brief information about each era on the given map set.

The touch table experience was developed in collaboration with Ideum and the final interface was the result of several iterations of interface designs and user testing. The interactive was originally developed for Suburbia, a short-run exhibit at the Minnesota History Center. It also made a brief appearance in the Then Now Wow exhibit at the History Center.

Award:
Silver, Interactive Kiosks, 2016 American Alliance of Museums MUSE Award

Role:
Creative Direction, User Experience Design
(On staff with the Minnesota Historical Society)