Episódios

  • Hello Friends!

    We are taking a little break for the winter, working up some new offerings for you, and lining up some exciting episodes!

    Our first digital offering is almost ready for you!

    It’s the 5-Step process I’ve used when facilitating teams to design personalized ways to build more trust, encourage vulnerability and lead with compassion.

    We've created a robust, visual guide to help your teams follow those same 5 Steps.

    The guide helps you and your team identify resistances and barriers to voicing your own authentic voice, and then build actions and practices to support one another.

    Its particularly useful for teams

    grappling with sensitive subjects recovering from sudden expansion or contraction going through times of change and uncertainty or, any teams looking to explicitly build more trust

    If you're interested in receiving the FREE download of our robust visual guide '5 steps to Co-design More Trust in Meetings', here are a few ways to get access as soon as it's available:

    Follow Stef on LinkedIn, and 'ring the bell' so all my posts enter your feed.

    Follow Dig In UX on Instagram

    Request the guide by sending a message via our online form and we'll add you to our list of recipients.

    Have a wonderful winter, All!

  • When designing spaces, why is a feminist lens important?

    What might egalitarian social spaces look and feel like?

    How might museums, parks and cities be designed differently to include the needs of women, caregivers and girls?

    Historically, a male-centric perspective has been dominant in the design of spaces - particularly cities - which has led to a series of decisions and standards with long-term consequences on the experiences of others, including women and girls, people with diverse gender expressions, racial and ethnic minority groups, neurodivergent groups and other under-represented people.

    In this episode, we talk with Nourhan Bassam - a leader and innovator in the field of Feminist Urban Design. We discuss safety, ease of mobility, how the 'othered' groups may travel through and across spaces differently and more frequently. Impacts on indoor and outdoor museum, public and parks spaces include navigation, orientation, feeling and experiencing ease and safety.

    Some of these measures have been discussed and implemented in museum and cultural spaces, but there is still much to learn from applying a feminist lens the designs of museum buildings, museum experiences, public spaces, cultural spaces, and connection experiences like transportation and arrival to your site.

    Nourhan hopes by raising awareness about the barriers faced by women and the many othered groups, her work will inspire individuals, communities, and policymakers to take action and create spaces and cities that are safe, inclusive, and empowering for all.

    Nourhan LinkedIn

    Nourhan’s website

    Links to resources:

    Bell Hooks book, Feminism is for Everyone.

    Vienna applied gender mainstreaming 30 years ago

    Vienna, Aspern neighborhood

    Vienna and human-centered thinking

    Gendered mobility; The 15 minute city

    Barcelona’s super block (superilla)

    Safer Parks Project:

    Safer Parks final report

    Safer Parks Project, Dr Anna Barker, Leeds University

    Safer Parks merges with Make Spaces for Girls

    City of Milan, Sex in the City

    Milan Gender Atlas - identify accessibility resources

    Leslie Kern book, The Feminist City

    Book, Cities and Gender by Helen Jarvis, Jonathan Cloke, Paula Kantor

    Geo Chicas project, Las Calles de las Mujeres: Map of streets named after women in cities in Latin America and Spain, to make visible the gap that exists in the representation of female figures in cities.

    Safetipin - a social organization working to make public spaces safer and more inclusive for women. They collect data using mobile phone applications.

    Nourhan Bassam’s book, The Gendered City: How today’s cities continue to fail women - expected to be published Dec 2023.

    Connect With Us

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a Guest recommendation?

    Have a project in mind needing user-, visitor, or community centered research or strategy?

    drop us a line with your idea or inqury!

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  • How does close observation lead to empathy and compassion? This week, we’re honored to hear from Bonnie Pitman, a national leader in education and the public engagement of art, who has been a thinker and a doer on the bleeding edge of arts education and engagement for 40 years.

    After a long career in art museums, Bonnie is now working on ways to cultivate empathy and compassion through viewing art. Her Power of Observation Framework™ was developed in part to guide medical students using a process of close observation leading to a sustainable practice of empathy and compassion for their patients. In this episode, we hear multiple examples of how the Framework may be applied, as well as its uses in museum spaces.

    Through this work, Bonnie has also created a daily practice to "Do Something New", which invites the exploration and celebration of making an ordinary day extraordinary while dealing with her own chronic illness.

    Links to resources discussed in the episode

    1990s watershed report: Excellence and Equity: Education and the Public Dimension of Museums

    Book: Igniting the Power of Art

    The Power of Observation™ - lecture

    The Power of Observation™ - framework

    UT Dallas - Center for Brain Health

    Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at UT Dallas

    JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association, Pharma Art—Abstract Medication in the Work of Beverly Fishman

    Sharon Salzberg, Bonnie’s teacher for loving kindness meditation

    Nasher Museum

    Do Something New - Instagram @BonniePitman

  • How does close observation lead to empathy and compassion? This week, we’re honored to hear from Bonnie Pitman, a national leader in education and the public engagement of art, who has been a thinker and a doer on the bleeding edge of arts education and engagement for 40 years.

    After a long career in art museums, Bonnie is now working on ways to cultivate empathy and compassion through viewing art. Her Power of Observation Framework™ was developed in part to guide medical students using a process of close observation leading to a sustainable practice of empathy and compassion for patients. In this episode we hear multiple examples of how the Framework may be applied, as well as its uses in museum spaces.

    Through this work, Bonnie has also created a daily practice to "Do Something New", which invites the exploration and celebration of making an ordinary day extraordinary while dealing with her own chronic illness.

    Links to resources discussed in the episode

    1990s watershed report: Excellence and Equity: Education and the Public Dimension of Museums

    Book: Igniting the Power of Art

    The Power of Observation™ - lecture

    The Power of Observation™ - framework

    UT Dallas - Center for Brain Health

    Edith O’Donnell Institute of Art History at UT Dallas

    JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association, Pharma Art—Abstract Medication in the Work of Beverly Fishman

    Sharon Salzberg, Bonnie’s teacher for loving kindness meditation

    Nasher Museum

    Do Something New - Instagram @BonniePitman

  • What does a trauma-informed digital experience look like? Or, better said, what does it feel like? Why is trauma-informed design particularly important for today’s digital experiences?

    We hear answers to these questions and more this week from Melissa Eggleston and Carol F Scott, PhD - the women behind Trauma-informedTech.com. Melissa is an expert in user-experience design and research with a focus on inclusive, trauma-informed technology and design. Carol is a social worker and social welfare expert whose training intersects law, social work, psychology, human-computer interaction (HCI), and health informatics.

    Melissa and Carol discuss what trauma is - and how broad our understanding of trauma has needed to become. We hear why it’s important - particularly today, and particularly with children in mind - to design digital experiences that are trauma-informed.

    Most importantly, we learn about how to approach and the steps to take in order to design a trauma-informed digital experience.

    Melissa Eggleston LinkedIn

    Carol F Scott LinkedIn

    Links to resource discussed in episode:

    Aquent’s Design for Good grant

    Birdcall, Melissa’s consulting business

    Trauma Informed Tech.com, Carol and Melissa’s collaboration providing resources, guidance and consulting on trauma-informed digital design

    Carol et al’s award-winning paper from ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) on Trauma-Informed Social Media

    Recommendation: First, start with the basics of digital design: Usability Principles, Plain Language Principles because if the experience is not easy to use and accessible, it cannot be trauma informed. Next, you must be thinking about mobile - some people are only accessing online resources via mobile, so consider starting your designs for mobile use.

    The Six Principles of Trauma-informed Digital Design:

    Safety (physical & emotional), Trust and Transparency, Collaboration & Mutuality, Peer Support, Empowerment voice & choice, Cultural, historical and gender issues (aka, Intersectionality)

    Paper from Michigan State University on trauma-informed Website Heuristics

    Equal Justice Initiative and Legacy Museum

    SAMHSA - Six Principles of Trauma-Informed Care

    CDC - 6 Guiding Principles To A Trauma-Informed Approach

    University at Buffalo School of Social Work Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care they help organizations become trauma informed.

    Look at the Learning Area on Melissa & Carol’s traumainformedtech.com website to find more books, videos and resources.

    Book on ‘design gone wrong’ Design for Real Life.

    Bassetti Architects - Carol says they are doing a good job! Download Bassetti’s workbook here.

    You can also listen to our episode on Trauma-Informed Spaces with Lorne McConachie from Bassetti Architects on Spotify. It was our first episode!

    Connect with us:

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a recommendation of an expert to interview? Feel free to contact me via the Dig In UX website or my LinkedIn page.

    Need help with a user-, visitor- or community-centered project, evaluation or experience design strategy?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on human and community-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution

    Or, contact us via the Dig In UX website about your project or collaboration you’ve got in mind, or just to say hello!

  • We know we all have biases - it’s our brain’s way of speeding up decision-making and keeping us safe. We also know these quick decisions and snap judgments often don’t reflect today’s real world challenges and dangers.

    Destigmatizing bias is an important step toward acknowledging and then interrupting bias, but how might that work, exactly? And how might we help our report-tos, leaders and teammates sit with, challenge and unravel their own biases so we might all be better designers and create better, more equitable experiences for our visitors and audiences.

    This week we sat down with Dr Nicole Marie Ortiz, EdD, with Denver Zoo to learn more about how her team has transformed recent learnings about bias into regular practices to embrace and interrupt it. Nicole tells us what role ‘small moments’ plays when seeking to create a culture of bias interruption, and how you might develop similar practices with your team, institution or organization.

    Nicole Ortiz LinkedIn

    Denver Zoo LinkedIn

    Links to resources discussed in episode

    Brofenbrenner’s Ecological Model

    Book: Community by Peter Block

    Adreinne Marie Brown talks about ‘small is all’. This can be found in a two part series on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2

    Three I’s: Introspection, Interdependence and Intentionality (no link for this one, these are part of the internal practice at Denver Zoo)

    Am I holding space for introspection for myself and for others?

    Am I seeing that this work is deeply interdependent and I am connected to other people..and we can help each other see the world from different viewpoints.

    What will I do purposefully? What intentional steps will I take to try and do something different - to try and hold another thought? And how might that other thought impact how I might behave?

    Karpman’s Drama Triangle - (not Cartmans Drama Triangle!)

    & the Circle of Reciprocity, and the line between the two is the Line of Regulation

    Deb Dana’s work on polyvagal theory & how to become regulated

    Marianne Williamson - when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously invite others to do the same.

    Book: Love & Rage by Lama Rod Owens

    Book: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk

    Podcast: 10% Happier

    Connect with us

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast?

    Or, want to discuss a user-centered project, evaluation or experience design strategy?

    Please drop us a line via our website to get in touch!

  • I ran across the concept of Feminine Exhibit Design when doing some post-conference research - and it perked my ears right up! What is feminine exhibit design? And, why is it important? Margaret Middleton has been focusing on these questions for several years now, and spent a little time with me to discuss.

    Margaret is a thought leader in the inclusive design space, designer of playful, enriching learning experiences, and speaker and consultant advocating for inclusive museum practices.

    In this week’s episode, Margaret shares their thoughts on why Feminine Design principles are a critical aspect for inclusive design and how and when to use them. We discuss how acknowledging and resisting an andro-centric perspective is important in design work, and how difficult that can be considering the complexities of femininity. We also discuss what fem-phobia is and how it may present itself in our design work.

    Margaret tells us how and when a focus on feminine design emerged from their work and how their thought exercise on this topic has developed since then - including how Cute came to be the 7th element in the emergent Feminine Exhibition Design structure.

    Find Margaret on LinkedIn

    Find Margaret on their website

    Links to resources discussed in episode:

    Margaret’s Family Inclusive Language Chart

    Book: Feminist Designer

    Book: Storytelling in Museums

    Book: Welcoming Young Children into the Museum

    Book: The Inclusive Museum Leader

    Article: Feminine Exhibition Design - describing 6 elements of Feminine Exhibition Design, before the 7th - Cute - was added

    Reader Guide for Feminine Exhibition Design article

    Gaston Bachelard - ‘the curve is inhabited geometry’

    Barbie gets with the program - exhibit Margaret designed, and inspired their focus on feminine design

    Alok Vaid-Menon asks ‘What feminine part of yourself did you have to destroy to be part of this world?’

    Discovery Museum, Acton Massachusetts - Teddy Bear diner

    Exhibit: Gender Bending Fashion - Museum Fine Arts Boston

    EDGE - Exhibit Design for Girls Engagement research from Exploratorium

    Guide from EDGE - recommended qualities regarding what works for girls in a science museum setting

    Rhea Ashley Hoskin’s work on femininity and fem-phobia

    Sapna Cheryan’s work on the concept of ambient belonging - she focuses on learning and educational spaces

    Book: Extra Bold feminist-inclusive, anti-racist, nonbinary field guide for graphic designers

    Connect with us:

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a recommendation of an expert to interview? Feel free to contact me via my LinkedIn page

    Need help with a user-, visitor- or community-centered project, evaluation or experience design strategy?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on human and community-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution

    Or, contact us via the Dig In UX website about your project or collaboration you’ve got in mind, or just to say hello!

  • - Summer Break Announcement -

    I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, taking things a bit slower, getting rest and having some fun!

    Here at Dig In UX and MuseumX podcast - we are wrapping up a few large consulting projects, and I’m trying to take things a bit more slowly this summer, so we are moving into a little podcast break.

    We'll be spending some of this break time this time lining up episodes with cool new guests! Later this summer you can look forward to episodes that dig into topics such as trauma-informed digital design, inspiring creativity, feminine design, facilitating hard conversations and several others in the works.

    As always, please be in touch about topics you’re interested in hearing on the show, AND if you are an expert in programming, facilitating or designing experiences or leading teams that do this work, and think you might have a good story to share with other experience designers please feel free to reach out to me to see if you should be my next guest!

    Happy Summer!

  • PART 2 of 2

    This week - the tables are turned! If you wanted to learn a bit more about me - here’s your chance. One of my favorite people, who is also a former neighbor and former museum colleague, interviews me! Nicole has the curiosity bug as badly as I do, so she’s one of my favorite people to explore ideas, make connections and generally chat with. She’s awesome.

    In the episode, you’ll first hear Nicole tell the silly and fun story of how we met and became friends - it’s pretty good. Vintage Stef stuff. We then talk about my professional path from anthropology to digital UX research and design, and then switching to non profit spaces, museum evaluation and being a business owner.

    You’ll hear about some of my favorite projects, why I became a digital nomad for almost 2 years, and what I mean by heart-centered design and who are heart-centered designers. (Spoiler - it’s probably you!)

    Nicole Forbes LinkedIn page

    Links to resources discussed in episode:

    Elevator sign that Nicole & Ted have kept for years!

    Book: Contextual Design, Beyer & Holtzblatt my favorite text book I recommend to guide researchers and designers understand the deep How-Tos of this potentially very subjective design process.

    General Motors ‘Journey’ project paper for the Second International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications (the gal sitting on the floor in Image 3 is yours truly)

    Public announcement of the Shedd Aquairum $500M Experience Master Plan project

    Connect with us:

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a recommendation of an expert to interview? Please drop us a line at [email protected] with your idea!

    Need help with a user-centered project, evaluation or experience design strategy?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on human and community-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution,

    Or connect with us at [email protected] about your project or collaboration you’ve got in mind

  • This week - the tables are turned! If you wanted to learn a bit more about me - here’s your chance. One of my favorite people, who is also a former neighbor and former museum colleague, interviews me! Nicole has the curiosity bug as badly as I do, so she’s one of my favorite people to explore ideas, make connections and generally chat with. She’s awesome.

    In the episode, you’ll first hear Nicole tell the silly and fun story of how we met and became friends - it’s pretty good. Vintage Stef stuff. We then talk about my professional path from anthropology to digital UX research and design, and then switching to non profit spaces, museum evaluation and being a business owner.

    You’ll hear about some of my favorite projects, why I became a digital nomad for almost 2 years, and what I mean by heart-centered design and who are heart-centered designers. (Spoiler - it’s probably you!)

    Nicole Forbes LinkedIn page

    Links to resources discussed in episode:

    Elevator sign that Nicole & Ted have kept for years!

    Book: Contextual Design, Beyer & Holtzblatt my favorite text book I recommend to guide researchers and designers understand the deep How-Tos of this potentially very subjective design process.

    General Motors ‘Journey’ project paper for the Second International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications (the gal sitting on the floor in Image 3 is yours truly)

    Public announcement of the Shedd Aquairum $500M Experience Master Plan project

    Connect with us:

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a recommendation of an expert to interview? Please drop us a line at [email protected] with your idea!

    Need help with a user-centered project, evaluation or experience design strategy?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on human and community-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution,

    Or connect with us at [email protected] about your project or collaboration you’ve got in mind

  • We know creating equity-driven, inclusive experiences is critical to our institutions, sector, communities and society. But how might we make strides towards equity - as an institution? How might we continue on our own individual equity, diversity, and anti-racism journeys - together as an organization?

    We heard from Lauren Young with Beloved Community about their suite of Equity Tools, in particular their EQUITY LENS MAP (ELM), a tool to help teams and institutions identify needs and gaps in equity leadership across their organization, as well as opportunities for growth and resources for intervention.

    Beloved Community is a pro-black, pro-queer, pro-woman nonprofit racial and economic equity consulting firm based in New Orleans. Their tools are based on the firm belief that people change systems. As made clear by the name of their organization, Dr King’s vision of the Beloved Community inspires their work.

    ‘When we are practicing the beloved community, we center love for humanity. Love as

    accountability. Love as justice. Love as community. Love as belonging.’

    -Beloved Community website

    Lauren Young LinkedIn

    Beloved Community LinkedIn

    Beloved Community website

    Links to resources discussed in episode:

    Apply to Wheel of Fortune, like Lauren did!

    Beloved Community

    What is the Equity Lens Map (ELM)?

    FREE Beloved Community Equity Audit Tool (create a free account to explore tools and resources)

    What is the Equity Audit?

    Historical Impact Reports - examples of folks Beloved Community has worked with and the impact to their work

    Book: How the Word is Passed, Clint Smith

    Book: Me and White Supremacy (and there's a workbook!), Layla Saad.

    Podcasts: 1619 and CodeSwitch

    Connect with us:

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a Guest recommendation? Please drop us a line at [email protected] with your idea!

    Need help with a user-centered project, evaluation or experience design strategy?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on human and community-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution,

    Or connect with us at [email protected] about your project or collaboration you’ve got in mind

  • How might a nature experience be purpose-built for healing?

    The Bloedel Reserve is a botanical garden with a very unusual design choice - no signage! There are no plant identification labels and (almost) no navigation signage. It’s a space not meant for learning about nature, it’s meant for learning about yourself. At the Blodel, the point is to slow down, focus on the moment, experience your body within nature, and to heal.

    Recently, a new and incredibly successful program - Strolls for Well-Being - has made this design intention come alive in new ways through a site specific program inspired by forest bathing. In the episode you’ll hear about the purpose, intention and impact from the program’s manager Robin Gaphni, who also leads one of the program cohorts focused on grief.

    From Ed Moydell, Blodel’s Executive Director you’ll hear about the unique purpose, history and planning of their 150 acres in the 1970s by psychology, environmental and landscape experts who designed The Bloedel Reserve as a nature-based environment for human healing.

    Links to Guests

    The Bloedel Reserve

    Ed Moydell LinkedIn

    Reach Robin Gaphni: rgaphni AT bloedelreserve.org to discuss developing a Strolls for Well-Being Program at your institution

    Links to resources discussed in episode

    Prentiss and Virginia Bloedel

    Charles Lewis - ‘father of horticultural therapy’

    Video: History of Strolls for Well Being Program

    Webpage: Strolls for Well Being Program at Bloedel Reserve

    Medical Study on Forest Bathing (Shinrin Yoku) and Phytoncides

    Article: Canadian Physicians can now Prescribe Nature to Patients

    What are phytoncides?

    Rachel and Stephen Kaplan’s pioneering Attention Restoration Theory

    Environmental psychologist, Jay Appleton - published his Prospect Refuge Theory in 1975

    Morikami Japanese Garden, Florida - Strolls For Well-Being program

    Sally Schauman, Prof Emeritus, Landscape Architecture University of Washington

    Strolls at Home Program from Bloedel Reserve - use in your backyard or local park

    Book: Nature Rx

    Connect with us

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a recommendation of an expert to interview? Please drop us a line at [email protected] with your idea!

    Need help with a user-centered project, evaluation or experience design strategy?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on human and community-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution,

    Or connect with us at [email protected] about your project or collaboration you’ve got in mind

  • PART 2: What’s the formula to spark and then activate compassion? As you’ll learn in this episode - there is one! I had the pleasure of interviewing Amanda White, Director of Content for Local Projects in NYC.

    Amanda is a leader in experience design on a global stage - with 17 years' experience in leading content development for design. She leads teams to transform concepts into impactful experiences for user engagement - with a specialty in strategic messaging and storytelling.

    In our two-part episode, we discuss how to connect with visitors’ compassion, how compassion might be transformed into action, and how Amanda is inspired to tell the stories that create deep connections with audiences.

    Local Projects LinkedIn page

    Local Projects website

    Amanda White LinkedIn page

    Links to other resources discussed in episode

    Attention Restoration Theory and Study

    Terra, Sustainability Expo 2020, Dubai - example of immersion and a more linear relationship between ‘feel’ and ‘think’

    Greenwood Rising in Tulsa - example of integrating ‘feel’, ‘think’ and ‘do’ in proximal relationship

    Power of Science @ Frost Museum of Science, Miami - Example of ‘feel’ and ‘think’ in a proximal relationship

    Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Sydney Australia form making plays a big role

    Seattle Aquarium

    Museum of Science and History, Jacksonville FL - Experimenting with integrating opportunities for people to get involved with their community much more closely with other parts of content and exhibits. Ex of ‘Feel’, ‘Think’, and ‘Do’, in proximal relationship.

    Jordan Museum in Amman

    Sleep No More - Immersive Theater

    Tribeca Film VR Arcade

    Tenement Museum

    Change the Museum instagram

    MuseumNext blog

    Inclusive Museum blog

    Science journal

    Nature journal

    Inside Climate News journal

    Link to Stef’s episode sketch / mind map / data viz (aka Link to see the inside of my brain)

    Stef’s notes on Feel-Think-Do formula

    Connect with us:

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a recommendation of an expert to interview? Please drop us a line at [email protected] with your idea!

    Need help with a user-centered project, evaluation or experience design strategy?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on user-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution,

    Or connect with us at [email protected] about your project or other cool collaboration you’ve got in mind!

  • What’s the formula to spark and then activate compassion? As you’ll learn in this episode - there is one! I had the pleasure of interviewing Amanda White, Director of Content for Local Projects in NYC.

    Amanda is a leader in experience design on a global stage - with 17 years' experience in leading content development for design. She leads teams to transform concepts into impactful experiences for user engagement - with a specialty in strategic messaging and storytelling.

    In our two-part episode, we discuss how to connect with visitors’ compassion, how compassion might be transformed into action, and how Amanda is inspired to tell the stories that create deep connections with audiences.

    Local Projects LinkedIn page

    Local Projects website

    Amanda White LinkedIn page

    Links to other resources discussed in episode

    Attention Restoration Theory and Study

    Terra, Sustainability Expo 2020, Dubai - example of immersion and a more linear relationship between ‘feel’ and ‘think’

    Greenwood Rising in Tulsa - example of integrating ‘feel’, ‘think’ and ‘do’ in proximal relationship

    Power of Science @ Frost Museum of Science, Miami - Example of ‘feel’ and ‘think’ in a proximal relationship

    Hyde Park Barracks Museum, Sydney Australia form making plays a big role

    Seattle Aquarium

    Museum of Science and History, Jacksonville FL - Experimenting with integrating opportunities for people to get involved with their community much more closely with other parts of content and exhibits. Ex of ‘Feel’, ‘Think’, and ‘Do’, in proximal relationship.

    Jordan Museum in Amman

    Sleep No More - Immersive Theater

    Tribeca Film VR Arcade

    Tenement Museum

    Change the Museum instagram

    MuseumNext blog

    Inclusive Museum blog

    Science journal

    Nature journal

    Inside Climate News journal

    Link to Stef’s episode sketch / mind map / data viz (aka Link to see the inside of my brain)

    Stef’s notes on Feel-Think-Do formula

    Connect with us:

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a recommendation of an expert to interview? Please drop us a line at [email protected] with your idea!

    Need help with a user-centered project, evaluation or experience design strategy?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on user-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution,

    Or connect with us at [email protected] about your project or other cool collaboration you’ve got in mind!

  • How do you present emotionally challenging content to your audience in a way that they might connect with, rather than be overwhelmed? I interview Kelley Szany at Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center about strategies and tactics they use to help visitors connect with holocaust and genocide content. We discuss the art of storytelling, the concept of rescuing the individual, floor guide tactics to help visitors move from emotional to cognitive responses, and more.

    Kelley Szany LinkedIn page

    IHMEC LI page

    Links to books discussed in episode

    All But My Life, by Gerda Weissmann Klein

    Interpreting Difficult History at Museums and Historic Sites, by Julia Rose

    Links to other resources discussed in episode

    Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Skokie

    United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, DC

    East City Films - VR firm, London

    Connect with us:

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a recommendation of an expert to interview? Please drop us a line at [email protected] with your idea!

    Need help with a user-centered project, evaluation or experience evaluation?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on user-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution,

    Or connect with us at [email protected] about your project or other cool collaboration you’ve got in mind!

  • Episode Summary

    What might a trauma-informed space look and feel like? I interview Lorne, an architect who spent his career building schools and education spaces. During the episode, we discuss the reasons for and importance of trauma-informed design (TID), the free TID workbook Lorne’s team created, and how museum professionals might use it to guide designs of trauma-informed spaces and experiences.

    Download the free TID workbook, or connect with Lorne’s team

    Lorne and team invites those who use the free workbook to be in touch with feedback and perhaps guidance on how a museum-focused workbook might be created.

    Download their FREE trauma-informed workbook: https://www.bassettiarch.com/tidworkbook

    Email Lorne’s team to collaborate or with feedback: [email protected]

    Bassetti Architects website: https://www.bassettiarch.com/

    Bassetti Architects TID page: https://www.bassettiarch.com/values/tid

    Bassetti Architects LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1567541

    Links to books discussed in episode

    The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk

    Original study on ACES, Adverse Childhood Experiences

    Brain Rules, John Medina

    Link to Stef’s episode sketch
    Sometimes my brain processes design concepts, ideas or strategies as visualizations. Here's what came up for me during this episode:

    Episode Viz

    Connect with us:

    Have questions or topics you’d like us to explore on the podcast? Or a recommendation of an expert to interview? Please drop us a line at [email protected] with your idea!

    Need help with a user-centered project, evaluation or experience design?

    Head over to digin-ux.com for info on user-centered strategies for your mission-driven institution,

    Or connect with us at [email protected] about your project or other cool collaboration you’ve got in mind!



  • Introducing MuseumX: Designing Experiences for Good.

    Hello! I'm Stefanie Mabadi, and I'll be your host. This podcast is meant to be a resource for heart-centered designers who are called to create experiences that heal our world.

    In it, you'll hear from professionals inside and outside the museum and cultural sectors whose expertise can inform questions like, How might we design for compassion? Or, Create digital experience accessible for all? Or, how might we create teams primed to foster a sense of belonging for diverse groups?

    Together with our Guests, we’ll tackle tough questions, explore complex topics and identify action steps to help us create experiences for the public good - experiences that help, heal, enrich and empower, and connect.

    Have a listen!