Continuing our series:  Ten Key Considerations for Exhibit Multimedia Success.

Ever since I was a kid, I heard that “Variety is the spice of life.”  And ever since, the variety of everyday things, like TV channels, has grown exponentially, and with the advent of cable TV and the web, variety is expected, especially on a screen.  The last thing you want, after spending big money on a touch screen kiosk or video system, is for the user to be disappointed with the content.  So to address that, we discuss variety in your exhibit multimedia.

No matter what type of facility you operate, you have a variety of visitors.  Age, sex, race, etc. differentiate your visitors and although you can’t provide something for everyone, you can tailor different offerings to different broad groups.  Be sure to consider the “group” you most desire to cater to, but also be prepared to offer a choice in order to entice a larger portion of the general public.

Custom programming is very expensive, so multiple custom programs may be out of your budget.  However, discuss with your software developer the cost to create a second (or third) version of your custom program with data that is geared toward a different target group.  This should be much less expensive than creating a completely new program.  Another option is to offer a game for children and offer some informational programming for adults.  Something as simple as an events calendar will get a lot of use by adults.  Informational programming can be as simple as a PowerPoint slide show or a simple link to your web site. 

Our point2explore software products are designed to be very affordable and customizable.  So by using software like ours, you can more easily afford multiple programs or even multiple versions of the same programs.  We also offer a very inexpensive PowerPoint touch screen kiosk template.  This is an easy way to customize as many different informational programs as you like (and do it as often as you like). 

Even with very focused educational content, variety can add to the value you offer.  You may develop an informational program to educate your visitors.  You can also use the same educational content to develop a game (maybe a touch screen Word Find game containing terms and definitions from your educational content).  Remember your information can be repurposed in a variety of ways.

A very important factor in offering a variety on your kiosk is the use of a touch screen main menu.  You will need a main menu program that will give access to each of the programs available.  These main menu programs are very simple to create but there are a few things to keep in mind.

·       A main menu should be set up to start up automatically when the computer is turned on.

·       The individual programs should be programmed to “time out” after a pre-determined amount of inactive time and should then return to the main menu.

·       Screen savers are great, but make sure that the timer on the screen saver is set to a longer period of time than the timer to time out a program.

·       Main menu programs can be made fun and attract users with the use of bold graphics, animation, and sounds.

·       Make sure that none of your programs, including the main menu, have an exit button.

With these things in mind, consider the variety that you can offer to your visitors and how that variety will increase the usage of your kiosk programs.

If you have any recommendations or additions, please comment by clicking the “Comments” link below.  We’d love to hear from you!!

Chris Meyer

President

CD Meyer, Inc./point2explore

point2explore is product line of customizable touch screen kiosk programs including interactive games and informational programs.  point2explore products are currently running in over 100 museums and have been used in corporate events across the country. Visit our web site at http://www.point2explore.com.