Granny, I was there… Innovationen von Insidern: digit@lfruit

Granny, I was there… Innovationen von Insidern: digit@lfruit

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M i n o l t a - Ko n i c a I d i g i t @ l f r u i t I p e r p l e x
27. November 2003
The daily Newspaper of the
Ecsite Conference 2003
Innovationen von Insidern: digit@lfruit
Museen und Ausstellungen, Multimedia, Fundraising
Unsere Erfahrung und Kompetenz
bei der Planung von Museen
und Ausstellungen, bei der Erstellung von Multimediasystemen,
bei der Finanzierung von Projekten sowie beim Besucherservice
im Ausstellungsbereich haben wir
in die Firma digit@lfruit eingebracht. Unser Angebot stellen wir
zum ersten Mal einer größeren
Öffentlichkeit im Rahmen der
MUTEC 2001 in München vor.
Konzeptionen wurden für Museen
im In- und Ausland entwickelt: etwa
für das Science Center in Madras,
das Museum für Naturkunde in
Bozen, das Deutsche ChemieMuseum in Merseburg und das Museum »200 Jahre Schlacht von.
Umfassende Erfahrung
Im Deutschen Museum und für andere Auftraggeber haben wir eine Reihe
von Dauerausstellungen sowie Sonder- und Wanderausstellungen geplant und realisiert.
Zu den Dauerausstellungen zählen:
»Bauklötze staunen«, »Glas«, »Textil«,
»Druck« und »Papier«. Sonder- und
Wanderausstellungen sind: »Geschichte des Kindergartens« für den
Zentralverband Katholischer Kindergärten, »Technik macht Spaß - Technik im Spiel« für die Fa. fischerwerke
und »Technik nach menschlichem
Maß« für UNICEF Deutschland.
Im Augenblick arbeiten wir an einem
Konzept für ein Science Center in
Merseburg im Rahmen des Deutschen
Chemie-Museums. Unsere Konzepte
und die fertigen Ausstellungen zeichnen sich aus durch: Ganzheitlichkeit
hinsichtlich Inhalten und Kommunikation, Erlebnischarakter, viele Möglichkeiten der Interaktion, Kombination von klassischen Interaktionen und
Multimedia, durch individuelle Zugangsweisen und eine intensive Betreuung durch geschultes Personal.
Auf Wunsch liefern wir die Konzeptionen auch als relationale Datenban-
Museum »Schlacht von
Hohenlinden«: Blick auf
die Soldatenwand
Von digit@lfruit stammen: Konzeption, Pläne,
Layout und Drehbuch
zum Multimediasystem
ken zur Kontrolle der Planungsabläufe.
Neue digitale Systeme
Seit Jahren arbeiten wir an der Entwicklung neuer digitaler Medien. Dabei streben wir eine Integration der
neuen Medien in Erlebnislandschaften mit Originalen, Dioramen und
Inszenierungen an. Aus unserer
Hand stammen Drehbücher für die
Multimediasysteme im Deutschen
Museum - teilweise auch in englischer Sprache-, für das MM-System
»Artur Fischer – eine Zeitreise« und
für das Museum »200 Jahre Schlacht
von Hohenlinden«.
Die Drehbücher liefern wir in Form
relationaler Datenbanken, die auf einer von uns entwickelten, einsichtigen Navigation basieren. Um die Applikationen den Erwartungen und
Wünschen der Besucher anzupassen
und einen benutzerfreundlichen Einsatz zu erreichen, haben wir Instrumente entwickelt, die Tests vor Ort
durchzuführen. Auf Wunsch führt
eine Gruppe erfahrener Tester diese
Untersuchungen selbst durch.
Seit Jahren entwickeln wir gemeinsam mit der Fa. perplex neue Systeme: digit@l classics = Kombinationen von Multimediasystemen und
klassischen Interaktionen - das erste
dieser Reihe in der Ausstellung Galvanik im Deutschen Museum zu sehen - oder digit@l companion =
multimediale individuelle Begleitsysteme oder Liveschaltungen.
In addition to experimental events,
we are also planning a completely
new type of multi-media game in
which groups will be able to play by
themselves or against each other. This
is what we mean by Interactive Offerings for Large Groups (IOLG). They
can be used by a relatively large number of participants or by groups. In
principle, people can also play individually (everyone against everyone).
Before the multi-media event begins,
participants will be able to specify
which game to play and/or what
groups to form (e.g. men against women or old against young) which level
of knowledge to be adequate by means of a simple majority vote. In the
case of group projects, a group may
also choose to compete with a nonpresent group that has played the game before and saved its score. The
group may be allowed to select a particular level of difficulty (i.e. a previous group with a particular saved
score). The list of questions is the sa-
me as the one for the sample group.
In other words, a number of problems
or questions are defined for each category selected. The questions for the
group will be chosen at random from
a pool of questions. Conceivably, different levels will be created.
The following are currently being
panned:
• Multi-media periodic system (described below as an example)
• Multi-media time trip
• Multi-media detective work
• Multi-media factory.
A set of problems or questions is selected for each multi-media exhibit.
The answers ultimately lead to knowledge of the fundamentals of the periodic system, the working out of a time
scheme, the solution of a crime, or the
construction and management of a
virtual factory. All these offerings
exist in the form of treatments that
Granny, I was there…
Benefits, Merchendising and Controlling
Modern media open various
possibilities in effecting visitors in
museums and on exhibitions with
impressions lasting long after the
visit. In the past such activities
were limited to simple stickers and
pins. If a larger budget was available,
a museum newspaper (- magazine)
might get produced, being presented
and sold at the cash-desk.
For some time now, color laser
printing media have opened solutions
which before lay far beyond the limited
financial means of museums or exhibitors. In bundling, focussing and
developing different printing technologies, color laser printers have now
reached such high standards, they are
easily competing ‘on demand’ in
the small editions range with their
quality, speed and variability with the
standards given by screen-printing or
off-set. This applies in particular to
the print costs.
transfer foil – for ceramics, metals,
glass, synthetic material and of course
paper – even soap!
The Benefit of ‘On Demand’
Unlike the large quantities of readymade, with no options for individualisation, the color laser printer from
KONICA MINOLTA PS offers solutions
with the visitor being the center of
marketing.
They are continuously “On Demand”,
that is benefit depends only on need.
The souvenirs are produced on the
customer’s request in accordance
with his special requirements. This
can be a simple request for information at the POE right up to pins,
T-Shirts, cups, baseball caps and so
on. Everything is possible here.
Color laser printers, like the magicolor
series of KONICA MINOLTA PRINTING
SOLUTIONS (KONICA MINOLTA PS)
offer innovative solutions covering
merchandising in all their facets.
The KONICA MINOLTA PS magicolor
solution opens varieties for using new
advertising media, thus interacting
more with the visitor (customer) on
an indivdualized basis. Personal
greetings f.e. on a baseball cap could
show a picture of the visitor together
with the logo of the museum and be
sent to any place in the world.
Besides a normal print out at the
Point of Exhibit (POE), which provides
the visitor with additional information
on f.e. link lists or simply gives a
detailed description of the sample,
magicolor laser printers can print on
nearly any material with the friendly
assisstence of cooperation partners
like The Magic Touch. This is done in
an ingenious way by using special
Merchandising - expanding the
advertising effect
Museums unfold their educational
effect quite very often after the visitor
has left the exhibition - that applies in
particular to technical museums.
Under the strong impression of the
exhibition therefore there is a large
interest of the visitors to take home
they something which is directly
connected to what they had seen just
before.
It is shown obviously how successful
a museum could be marketed only
a few meters away from the ECSITE
exhibition at the “Deutsches Museum
Shop”. In connection with a Coffee
Shop the visitors are supplying
themselves after the visitation with
continuative literature to the visited
topics, but also with “hotchpotch” so
that emotional side, the heart of the
visitors is directly attacked.
Easy controlling with big success
The main advantage of the KONICA
MINOLTA magicolor solution lies in
its “Ease OF Use”. Being successful
needs only a PC or MAC, a magicolor
7300 printers and a special press with
appropriate transfer papers of “The a
Magic Touch”!
Already after a short introduction
to the print-procedures a museum
employee is able to obtain in impressing
results. The extremely short production
times are decisive for the success and
the high profit margins, which makes
the KONICA MINOLTA as well as The
Magic Touch solution so attractive:
An offer, which opens museums new
pecuniary resources and lets the
marketing actions of them become
successfully.
Alexander von Merzljak
We would be delighted to invite you at
our booth number M.
...here will be waiting for you a personalized newspaper.
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M i n o l t a - Ko n i c a I d i g i t @ l f r u i t I p e r p l e x
27. November 2003
Innovations from insider: digit@lfruit
Pro-Communicative Exhibitions
We have included our experience
and competence to plan and realize
museums and exhibitions as well
as modern multimediasystems
connected with classic interactives,
to carry out the fundraising and to
train the staff as communicators in
the company digit@lfruit. Our
aim is to build Pro-Communicative
Exhibitions in close cooperation
with our partner.
Pro-Communicative Exhibition
This type of exhibitions corresponds
to the new communicative behavior
that is based on new standards
of communicative and aesthetic
quality as well as the demand of the
visitors to obtain concrete, direct,
and vivid access to the world
around them.
Pro-Communicative Exhibition are
• places of information and enlightenment whose exhibition items
relate directly to the visitors.
• modern worlds of information with
a strong emphasis on entertainment
and leisure and adventure areas in
which the museum's originals play a
central role.
• holistic exhibitions, i.e. the aspects
they cover should relate not only to
science and technology, but also to
society, culture, the economy, and the
environment.
• places of genuine innovations
produced by the museum itself and
capable of being turned into brandname articles.
• open systems in which visitors are
free to choose for themselves and
to find offerings for social groups of
contrasting sizes (individual visitors,
small groups, large groups)
• areas with a multiplicity of media
and communication channels e. g. a
system of fully operational hands-on
connected to electronic media
and multimedia stations linked with
traditional media or the museum's
holdings.
Quality and Risk Management
System
When we plan and build new exhibitions of the described type our work
is characterized by the use of a
Quality and Risk Management
System on the base of the version ISO
9001:2000 by means of a relational
databanksystem.
Our system admits to record, to
document, to control and optimize
the complete procedures during
the planning and building phases
including the schedule and cost
estimation. The Quality and Risk
Management System has proved to
be effective. We can save time and
money and the quality of planning
and results can be evaluated and
optimized permanently.
The system is the base for the
communication within the planning
team in the museum and between the
team and the partner. The communication between the team members
who are always informed about the
state of planning and realization
increases as well as the motivation to
introduce new ideas. The professionalization improves considerably e. g.
by using the different applications
and the cooperation with experts on
other fields.
The inherent openness of the system
facilitates the outsourcing which
reduces the costs because all personal
resources must not be created in the
museum itself. The cooperation with
external partners can be organized
and controlled easily such as invitation
of tenders, placing of orders, bills etc.
For our industrial partners it became
apparent that we met deadlines, kept
terms and we were within the bounds
of our financial planning. In short:
They learnt that we do professional
work similar to their own but in
another field. Furthermore they
Visitor Information Systems provide the necessary overview
Visitors to museums, in particular,
expect a clear overview of the available
tours and exhibitions when they
enter the building. Often, however,
they have to resort to asking museum
staff or going off to explore on their
own. At times like this it would be nice to see an information booth manned by museum staff ready to provide
the requisite information.
Anyone attempting to resolves these
issues quickly finds themselves
facing a large number of complex
tasks.
Let's start with the obvious. Analogue
media is useless when it comes to
providing visitors with important
information. It takes up too much
space, quickly becomes outdated, and
provides no potential for interaction.
Modern, graphic media provides a
more attractive - and certainly more
impressive - solution for visitors.
Plasma or projection screens are not
only aesthetically pleasing, but can,
when used properly, provide all the
information visitors need about a
certain area. Not only must such a
system be intelligent enough to serve
up all this information, however, but
it must contain real information.
After all, impressive packaging with
no real content provides no added
value.
How, then, do we reconcile these two
requirements? The answer is actually
quite simple. We take elements from
both “new media” disciplines – online
technology (the Internet) and offline
technology (high-end multimedia
applications) - and combine them
into one system. Over the last few years,
online media has demonstrated how
quickly and efficiently information can
be managed and updated, independent
of place and time. These browserbased client-server systems, better
known as Content Management
Systems, allow flexible text and
graphics modules to be managed in
a central repository. The best thing
about these systems is the simplicity
of the user interfaces, which are
managed via a web browser.
If a member of the museum staff takes
on the role of online editor, he or she
can independently maintain and update all the information that would be
of interest to an exhibition visitor.
The relevant information then
appears - completely automatically on the desired display system in the
museum.
Say, for example, that an editor (a
member of the coordination team, for
example) enters all the information
relevant to a machinery demonstration
that takes place 3 times a week at
12:00 noon in the Deutsche Museum
into the system. This is then displayed
Finally this leads
• to the insight that they made a good
investment
• to a greater acceptance and
• to more freedom for the central team.
This will be a promising prospect
for the economic development of
museums.
Fundraising
In many museums in Germany and
in Europe the public grants were
reduced from year to year. Therefore,
the museum are forced to find
partners from the private industry.
Many museums are lacking in competence to organize the necessary fundraising. In cooperation with the
museums and the clients we work
on a conception for the marketing
which must answer the must essential
question of our partner which is the
return on investment in a convincing
way.
The most important instrument is
a presentation. As the Power Point
applications are well known we
recommend to invest the money for
a Macromedia Director presentation if
the likelihood of getting money is high
enough. We write the storyboard,
organize the production of such a
presentation. offer consultation and
training in order to prepare meetings
with leading personalities of the
private industry und support at the
use of multimedia hardware.
Fabian Knerr - Günter Knerr
Imprint
digit@lfruit
perplex gmbh
Gesellschaft für Museumsund Ausstellungsplanung
Fabian Knerr
Lindenstraße 20 · 85664 Hohenlinden
Telefon: (0179) 600 10 22 · (081 24)13 62
e-mail: gknerr38@aol.com
Gesellschaft für interaktive
Kommunikation und Design
Stefan Marshall
Rosenheimer Str. 145c · 81671 München
Telefon: (089) 45 9 2 80
www.perplex.de
e-mail: info@perplex.de
Konica Minolta Printing Solutions
From a Visitor’s Perspective
You know how it is. In every
entrance hall, foyer and information
area, the same chaos reigns:
haphazard signs, hand-written
notices, and internal memos on
coloured pieces of paper. Not much
of a view - and even less of a help.
can recognize that the exhibition
in progress will become a branding
adequate for medium- and longterm
marketing.
dynamically on a notification screen
with a headline, picture or video clip,
short description, time and meeting
point on a 2.5m x 2.5m back projection
screen in the entrance hall – along
with information on other presentations
and events. An overview of the
presentations currently in progress
and those taking place over the next
three hours enables visitors to create
their own agendas. The editor in the
Deutsche Museum can also use a
ticker to draw attention to the projection
screen. As well as providing visitor
information, the system also serves as
a potential advertising platform for
the Deutsche Museum’s partners and
sponsors. The system therefore allows
for the integration of advertising
materials.
The possibilities of an online Visitor
Information System go far beyond the
example of the Deutsche Museum. As
well as the projection screen in the
entrance hall, many more modules
are conceivable. For example, as
many information terminals as required can be installed throughout the
exhibition area. Visitors can use these
terminals to display precise maps
of the museum and the various
exhibitions, and to create personalised
agendas showing routes, highlights
and exhibits and print them out on an
integrated printer. The information
terminals are constantly synchronised
with the Visitor Information System’s
main database via a wireless LAN.
Installing such a system therefore involves no additional cabling. It is
also possible to upload exhibition
Alexander von Merzljak
Gustav-Heinemann-Ring 212
81739 München
Telefon: (089) 630 26 70
www.minolta-qms.de
e-mail: Alexander.merzljak@bpe.konicaminolta.de
information from the Visitor Information System to the museum's website through an extra module.
As the Internet continues to develop
at a rapid rate, so too do the opportunities for using online multimedia
technology.
We would be delighted to demonstrate the Visitor Information System that
perplex GmbH, Munich developed for
the Deutsche Museum at booth number M.
Stefan Marshall - Fabian Knerr - Günter Knerr