SEGD’s Global Design Awards—graduate thesis
Design Within Reach thesis
For the second year in a row, John’s graduate thesis Design Within Reach: Interpreting Guidelines for People with Disabilities in the Museum Environment was a finalist in the student category. Cultural institutions like museums preserve, interpret, and present aspects of the natural and cultural importance of humanity. As resources for the public, their mission is to collect artifacts, stories, and media; to share knowledge and allow for research, and; to inform public audiences. As a facility for public use, museums should factor all audiences of all abilities when designing a museum, creating public spaces suitable for visitation by the blind and people with low vision, the deaf and hard of hearing, and people with mobility issues. A public space that considers all users allows for a better visitor experience for all.
A museum exhibition is a particular type of storytelling, involving the curation of objects and the sequencing of experiences, guided by interpretive intentions. This practicum project aims to borrow from the narrative qualities of a typical exhibition as a means to guide the design of the public spaces of the museum outside the exhibition halls. Through the examination of the cultural context of the museum’s theme and location, established design guidelines, the pedigree of the adaptive structure to be reused, and examples of museum design, this practicum project aims to the author with a better understanding of the function of museums, and provide a better visitor experience for all.
Since 1987, the SEGD Global Design Awards have set the standard of excellence for experiential graphic design—honoring design work that connects people to place by providing direction, storytelling, and compelling experiences in public spaces. The awards celebrate design that inspires and improves the human experience for individuals of all backgrounds and abilities. In all categories, students compete along with professionals and often win Merit and Honor awards.
