DOMA
App Design &
Museum Wayfinding
My Role
UX Designer
Team
Personal Project
Services Rendered
Branding, Illustration, UI/UX
Design, Web Design, Motion Graphics, Digital Advertisement
Overview
The David Owsley Museum of Art regularly implements
new ideas and changes to its facility in order to ensure that
its exhibits are accessible to visitors. According to the STAR Institute for Sensory Processing, Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a neurological disorder that impacts 5 to 16 percent
of school-aged children today. It affects how one processes response with the five senses, being sight, sound, smell,
taste and touch.
The Solution
Cogni Connect is a sensory integration program for the
David Owsley Museum of Art, intended to assist visitors afflicted with varying levels of Sensory Processing Disorder. Sensory Processing Disorder affects how an individual processes responses with the senses such as sight, sound, smell, and touch. Cogni Connect simplifies DOMA’s features
by creating a wayfinding system that clearly labels areas around the museum, notifying users of potential stimuli
that could hinder or challenge their senses.
IDENTITY DESIGN.
The program identity concept aims to highlight the cognitive nature that encompasses Sensory Processing Disorder
by forming the simplified likeness of a human brain. The emotions of children with SPD will often overrun the
recognition functions of the brain. Emotions tend to overpower reasoning when the viewer takes in various forms
of stimuli. Subtle imagery of the heart was implemented to represent this fact, as well as to allude to the rational
and emotional relationship created between the viewer and artwork. The theme of community is also prominent
within Sensory Processing Disorder, symbolized through abstracted hands that cradle the form of the brain.
COLOR PALETTE & TYPOGRAPHY.
Children with Sensory Processing Disorder can be easily overwhelmed with brighter and more vibrant hues.
Cooler and muted tones such as blues, greens, and purples are favored for their gentle and comprehensive approach.
The colors violet and lavender were chosen to represent the primary identity of the program due to their
cool and inquisitive nature, which leads to lowered blood pressure and a comforting appeal to creativity.
The typeface Manrope bold was chosen for its clear legibility and overall appeal to accessibility.
APP DESIGN.
The Cogni Connect app features two significant functionalities: being a tool to assist in sensory wayfinding,
as well as to display simplified information about each artwork within the museum. The sensory wayfinding
aspect of the app displays the location of immersive stations that utilize one of the five senses, as well as
areas throughout the museum that house potential sensory triggers. The artwork gallery of the app features
a directory of all available pieces housed within each DOMA collection, with explanatory descriptions.
The app is intended to be downloaded and utilized on visiting patrons’ phones before their visit at DOMA.
This is an especially significant factor for visitors with SPD and parents of young children with SPD
because it allows for a way to review all areas within the museum that could potentially challenge
the senses, and effectively plan for ways to either engage with them or avoid them altogether.
ENVIRONMENTAL WAYFINDING.
Through the completed Cogni Connect wayfinding signage, areas around the museum that have potential for
housing interfering stimuli, such as bright lights or distracting noises, were noted and boldly identified through
precautionary banners placed between the rooms in question. Revised artwork placards were also created with
simplified descriptions of the art pieces and cohesive iconography.
SENSORY INTEGRATION.
Sensory integration kits are distributed to each patron at the start of their museum visit, which includes a tote
bag containing items and tools to be used in tandem with each sensory station. Items in question include
disposable gloves for touch stations, pens and crayons for sight stations, fruit snacks for taste stations, scented
stickers for smell stations, and headphones for sound stations. The sensory stations themselves are seated near
corresponding artwork and consist of activities that engage children by challenging them to utilize one of
the five senses. This can be visualized through examples such as providing coloring pages at sight stations
to help break down the visual colors and shapes found within certain pieces.
