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Overview

Using SFMOMA archives as a source for content, select a past exhibition. You can also use another physical exhibition from a different organization with approval.

Create a microsite showcasing the work in that exhibition, using your research to inform the treatment of the content.

Exhibition Site

So far in the semester we have based our projects on our research, what do we want to do about it, how do we want someone to feel about it, but still fundamentally communicating our research.

For the final project we will be designing a microsite for a historical or upcoming exhibition at SFMOMA. The content will be information about the artists and visuals of the works on display; but our treatment will be grounded conceptually in our earlier research.

Think about the physical exhibition's relationship with the site documenting it. What does it mean to represent the work on the screen, do you build your site to work on a phone as a supplement to the exhibition, or as a standalone record of it. How does that form factor impact how the user engages with the work? What's different about accessing art from across the world on a phone versus sharing a physical space with something, for better or for worse?

Think about how your research relates to the artists work, and the website as an artifact. How do the themes of your research (AI art, energy and environmental costs of cloud computing, social media's corrosive impact on our attention or our discourse, etc) interact with the content? How does showing the art on a screen modify its meaning?

How can you make a website that highlights the information (location, date, time, descriptions, metadata, etc) about this exhibition while showcasing the content in an engaging way? Should it be legible? Formal? Ambient? Obtuse? How much do you want to editorialize the work?

Your research should inform your treatment of the content (and perhaps even the selection of it) but it need not be literally present on the final site if that is not relevant to your concept. At minimum your topic and research should shape your sensibility in how you treat your chosen exhibition.

Will you literally represent the in-person experience online as in the case of 404 Error: The Object is Not Online? Will your site allow the user to modify and recontexualize the work, like Below the Surface? Think about the physicality of your website as it will be experienced by the user – are their objects meant to be viewed IRL along with your website? Can you print your website out? Does your website supplement visiting the SFMOMA in person, or react to movement, time, or place?

Requirements

  • Showcases at least 3 artworks from a previous SFMOMA exhibition
  • Features descriptive text contextualizing the show and website
  • Investigate how design can influence what content means

References

Past Examples

Reading

Calendar

Week 11
    Monday November 6
        Project Assigned
        Pick an Exhibition
    Thursday November 9
        Wireframes Due
        Workday on Designs
Week 12
    Monday November 13
        Visual Design Due
        Begin building!
    Thursday November 16
        Workday
Week 13
    Monday November 21
        50% Build Review
    Thursday November 23
        Thanksgiving 🦃
Week 14
    Monday November 27
        Workday
    Thursday November 30
        Workday
Week 15
    December 4
        Final Due

Project

Step 1: Wireframes

Due Thursday, November 9

Research SFMOMA's past exhibitions and select an exhibition. Develop two website concepts for that exhibition. Produce a wireframe/sketch of each direction, beginning with the home page and one detail page.

Step 2: Visual Design

Due Monday, November 13

For the selected concept, present a visual design sketch of at least three pages/states. Pretend these are screenshots of your website. If I click through your design sketches, will I understand how this website exists online?

Step 3: 50% Buildout Review

Due Monday, November 21

Your site should be online with its content. Be prepared to show your visual designs as well as the site in order to give your peers a full understanding of your intent!

Final

Thursday, December 4

Present a final exhibition microsite.