Solid Light Sets the Stage for Inclusivity

A lot goes into designing a brand-new museum. From exhibit planning, to selecting flooring, and beyond, our partners at Solid Light are at the center of it all. We spoke to Ben Jett, Creative Team Director at Solid Light, to learn more about designing The Dot Experience, and how it has differed from past projects.

Ben, who started at Solid Light over 20 years ago as a young designer, loves working in experience design because “it combines people, story, and spaces in really fascinating ways.” As the Lead Designer and Creative Director for The Dot Experience, Ben hopes “a lot of people will be able to see themselves reflected” in the many stories housed within the museum.

Conceptualizing Inclusivity

Designing the world’s most accessible museum doesn’t just mean creating inclusive exhibits, it starts at conceptualization from day one. As we’ve worked on the design for this monumental project, Solid Light has been working to ensure an equitable process for all that are involved. Ben says, for them, that means creating accessible documents, not relying on visual aids, and keeping an open and honest line of communication with APH.

Rather than relying on visual interpretations of the exhibit areas and content, Ben emphasizes the importance of detailed visual descriptions of the space to keep everyone in the project on the same page. The inclusive nature of the museum also necessitates frequent contact with APH to ensure our standards of accessibility are aligning as they should. This project uses an unprecedented set of inclusive design standards which dictate counter heights, contrast flooring, and more, requiring frequent check-ins.

“It really demanded a lot of good communication. And then with our prototyping group, it really was about trying to give platforms for feedback,” Ben shared. Our local prototype group has been essential in the design of interactive exhibits, stations, navigation, wayfinding, and countless other aspects. Ben recounts a prototype session in which the group was taken into a media pod which Solid Light had modeled and built out. Based on the feedback from the prototype group, the media pod was drastically changed and reworked, resulting in a more effective experience for all.

“It was both a trust exercise as well as an invitation for communication. That was really essential in making any partner, whether they’re a prototype participant or a board member, feel that their voice mattered and that their input mattered.”

Designed to Touch

There are also some practical design considerations that must be kept in mind. All text in The Dot Experience will have corresponding braille panels, and planning for that space is a must. “Braille is not one to one,” Ben learned in the evolution of this project. Braille wording takes up more space in an exhibit than print, which has been at the forefront of our design process. But braille isn’t the only affordability that we’re planning for.

Visitors will learn about all the features within The Dot Experience in the lobby which will serve “sort of as a preamble to the museum experience on the second floor,” providing visitors with an introduction to the tactile reproductions, flooring, and other affordances housed within the museum. This orientation station will ensure all visitors can independently navigate the environment and explore the exhibits.

Setting the Stage

While The Dot Experience will set new standards for accessibility in museums, Solid Light is starting accessibility conversations with other clients now. Ben commented, “the whole museum community is really beginning to try and understand what it means to be inclusive, how it’s different and what the investments are,” and the folks at Solid Light are using that energy to advocate for museum inclusivity across the board