Miswak - Taking Care
Design, implement and evaluate an interactive tangible interface for cultural storytelling through co-creative practices.
CLIENT:
The Danish National Museum
ROLE:
Experience Designer, workshop facilitator, testing
TECHNOLOGIES USED:
Blender, Millumin, Qlab, Ultimaker Cura
Problem
The National Museum in Copenhagen sought to create an interactive exhibition that would allow visitors to meaningfully engage with cultural artifacts through technology. The chosen object, the miswak, had a rich historical and ethno-graphic background, but the challenge was how to convey this complexity in an interactive, educational, and engaging manner, particularly for younger audiences.
Reseach
The project drew on theories of informal learning and tangible interaction, emphasizing the need for interactive installations that combine physical and digital elements. Co-creation workshops were held with museum staff to design an installation that avoided isolating screen-based interactions, instead focusing on embodied and sensor-driven experiences.
Solution
A hybrid system was developed using pick-up sensor technology. Visitors could interact with 3D-printed objects, triggering audiovisual content that told different stories related to the artifact. The installation created a multisensory experience designed to attract and engage diverse audiences, encouraging them to explore the cultural and historical significance of the miswak through physical interaction.
Process
The development of the Miswak installation was an iterative, collaborative process shaped by co-design principles. Through extensive prototyping, hands-on testing, and stakeholder involvement, the installation evolved into an interactive experience that invites visitors to engage with cultural heritage in a tangible way.
Ideation & Concept Development
The project began with an exploration of how to make the story of the Miswak both informative and engaging. Through workshops with museum professionals, the central challenge was identified: how to communicate the rich ethnographic and historical significance of the Miswak in a way that encouraged visitor participation without relying on screens. Early brainstorming sessions explored various interaction methods, ultimately leading to the idea of using tangible objects embedded with interactive technology.
Design Development Phases
The Miswak installation was developed through iterative collaboration, blending technical exploration, interaction design, and physical layout.
Technical Exploration: Various technologies were tested, with pickup sensors chosen for their reliability.
Interaction Design: Prototypes and user flows ensured intuitive and engaging experiences.
Physical Layout: Spatial layouts were refined for optimal visitor flow and projection focus.
Testing: Iterative user tests informed key adjustments like clearer instructions and interaction states.
Prototyping
Several prototypes were created to explore how visitors might interact with the installation. Initial sketches, 3D renders, and physical mock-ups helped visualize potential layouts and interaction flows. Various sensing technologies were considered, including RFID and computer vision, but due to time constraints and reliability concerns, pickup sensors were chosen. These allowed visitors to trigger audiovisual narratives simply by lifting an object.
For each storyline of the Miswak, rooted in its cultural and historical heritage, we collaborated with the museum team to select six distinct objects to represent these perspectives. Each object was paired with a specific color scheme and activation sound, 3D modeled in Blender, and printed using a translucent white material. The first iteration prototype was evaluated and the insights defined the design as such:
Interaction Design and Technical Framework
The Miswak Installation bridges tangible interactions with digital storytelling, creating an engaging and intuitive user experience.
The system's interaction flow is designed to guide visitors seamlessly through the experience:
Idle State: The installation starts with ambient audio-visual elements to attract visitors' attention.
Preview State: When a visitor lifts an object, a short preview animation and sound cue are triggered, hinting at the associated story.
Story State: Holding the object for more than a few seconds initiates a full story experience through synchronized video, sound, and light. During this phase, interactions are locked until the story concludes, ensuring uninterrupted engagement.
The system integrates physical and digital components to facilitate the interaction:
Input: Visitors interact with tangible objects embedded with pickup sensors.
Processing: Sensor signals are transmitted to a computer running QLab and Millumin software, which processes and maps the interactions.
Output: The system delivers immersive storytelling through synchronized video projections, audio cues, and dynamic lighting.
This design approach ensures that each interaction feels seamless, engaging, and accessible to all audiences, highlighting the power of tangible interaction in museum contexts.
Digital prototypes experimenting with physical layout and lighting design
Evaluation and insights
The Miswak installation was evaluated through on-site visitor observations and feedback, focusing on engagement, usability, and impact. As part of the EU-funded Taking Care project, the goal was to explore new ways of exhibiting cultural artifacts through tangible interaction.
Key Findings:
High Visitor Engagement: The pick-up sensor technology facilitated an intuitive and immediate interaction, allowing visitors to explore the cultural significance of the Miswak through hands-on experience.
Narrative Impact: The interactive approach successfully bridged historical context with modern engagement techniques, making the experience more immersive than traditional static exhibits.
Co-creative Design Success: The collaboration between designers, museum curators, and developers ensured an installation that met both visitor needs and curatorial expectations.
Key Learnings from the Miswak Project
Tangible interactions enhance engagement – Simple, sensor-based interactions create immediate and intuitive connections with visitors.
Designing for diverse audiences – Different age groups engage uniquely; experiences should balance active and passive participation.
Storytelling through interaction – Keeping guidance minimal encourages curiosity and exploration, making narratives more impactful.
Co-creation improves design – Collaborating with curators, designers, and developers ensures cultural relevance and usability.
Iterate early and often – More user testing would have refined the experience; balancing technical feasibility with engagement is key.
The evaluation provided valuable insights into visitor behavior, interaction patterns, and digital storytelling in cultural institutions, influencing future approaches to interactive exhibit design for the museum.