Designing Museum Experiences.
A how-to book for creating visitor-centered museums that connect emotionally and intellectually with visitors, stakeholders, and donors.
Designing Museum Experiences leads readers through the methods and tools of the three stages of a museum visit — pre-visit, in-person visit, and post-visit — with the goal of motivating visitors to return and revisit the museum in the future.
Museums are changing from static, encyclopedic institutions to visitor-centric organizations with shared authority, where museum and visitors become co-creators of content. The book gives museum teams the tools to make that change: personas, journey mapping, empathy mapping, and more. It also addresses the challenges museums face in reopening after COVID-19.
Inside the book.
- The Visitor-Centered Museum. From institution-first to visitor-first. Empathy, shared authority, and co-creation.
- The Three Stages of a Museum Visit. Pre-visit, in-person, and post-visit. Designing each touchpoint with intent.
- Tools for Understanding Visitors. Empathy mapping, personas, audience segmentation, and visitor journey mapping.
- Designing the Experience. Service design blueprints, system mapping, content mapping, and stakeholder mapping.
- The Visitor Value Proposition. Creating meaningful intellectual, emotional, and experiential value. The visitation loop.
Also by Mark Walhimer: Museums 101, the essential guide to museum planning.
“The reason for using the tools is to empower visitors and meet their emotional and intellectual needs, with the goal of creating a lifelong bond between museum and visitor.”
Designing Museum ExperiencesEvery museum begins with a conversation.
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