Working with Squint Opera on a museum exhibit project, I created comprehensive UI guidelines and interactive display prototypes for an immersive historical experience. Over one month, I systematically documented and expanded upon the lead designer's established visual language, creating granular design system documentation that would enable future designers and provide stakeholder clarity for the multi-phase project. My work included defining visual elements and accessibility considerations, while designing interactive displays that balanced educational content with usability for diverse museum visitors. The project demonstrated how strategic documentation can bridge creative excellence with professional project management needs.
Due to project confidentiality agreements, specific details about the exhibit content and client are omitted from this case study
Client:Squint Opera (museum exhibit project)
Timeline:1 month (Autumn 2024)
My Role:UI Designer, Design System Documentation Specialist
Team:Lead Visual Designer, Project Manager, Senior Advisor
Context:The project involved developing systematic design guidelines for an immersive museum exhibit experience with interactive projections and touchscreen displays across multiple themed areas. The exhibit focuses on historical content requiring respectful and engaging presentation for diverse museum audiences.
The project faced the common challenge of translating exceptional creative vision into systematic, implementable design standards that could guide a multi-phase development process with changing team members and stakeholder oversight.
Core challenges identified:
Creative-to-systematic translation:Converting the lead designer's intuitive visual decisions into explicit, replicable guidelines
Multi-audience documentation:Creating materials that served both future designers and non-design stakeholders
Accessibility in specialized context:Ensuring visual accessibility within established museum branding and historical content requirements
Age-diverse user consideration:Designing interactive elements for museum visitors ranging from tech-native to less tech-familiar users
Stakeholder alignment:Providing documentation that would minimize revision requests and demonstrate thoughtful decision-making
Project constraints:Working within established visual language rather than creating new brand identityRespectful treatment of historical subject matter, including sensitive topicsMaintaining educational integrity while ensuring engaging presentationAccommodating funding-dependent phased development timelineRemote collaboration across distributed team
As the UI specialist on this project, I served dual functions: systematizing existing creative work and extending the design language to new interactive elements.
Primary responsibilities:
•Reverse-engineer the lead designer's visual decisions into systematic guidelines
•Create comprehensive documentation for shapes, color usage, typography, containers, and interactive elements
•Design and prototype interactive display experiences
•Ensure accessibility compliance within existing design framework
•Facilitate stakeholder understanding through clear rationale documentation
Collaboration approach:
Regular virtual meetings and team communication through established channelsIterative feedback loops given focused timeline constraints
Co-creative work with lead designer on new interface elementsStrategic questioning to understand project requirements and team dynamics
Unique project considerations:
Balancing contractor expertise with collaborative team integration
Designing for respectful treatment of historical content
Creating systems that would remain useful across multi-year development phases
Systematic Documentation ApproachMy primary methodology involved granular reverse-engineering of established design elements, moving from designer-intuitive decisions to explicit, replicable standards.
Documentation framework:Elemental definitions:Basic visual building blocks (lines, points, shapes)
Color system:Usage guidelines for existing palette with accessibility considerations
Typography hierarchy:Scale and application rules for large-format display contexts
Container styles:Layout and spacing systems for consistent information architecture
Interactive element standards:Button styles, navigation patterns, and user feedback systems
Dual-audience strategy:For designers:Clear implementation guidance with systematic thinking context
For stakeholders:Rationale explanations demonstrating thoughtful decision-making and alignment with project requirements
Interactive Display Design ProcessFor the interactive showcases, I developed user experiences that balanced accessibility with engagement for diverse museum audiences.
Design principles applied:Inclusive navigation:Clear directional indicators and intuitive interaction patterns for varying tech comfort levels
Information hierarchy:Primary content view with secondary navigation elements
Accessibility integration:Applied accessibility expertise to existing palette and typography systems
Content reverence:Maintained appropriate tone for historical educational context
Technical considerations:Large-format display design (wall-mounted interactive screens)Touch interaction patterns suitable for public museum environmentVisual affordances that communicate interactivity without overwhelming content
Stakeholder Communication StrategyGiven the professional context and development considerations, I developed documentation that would facilitate smooth project progression and minimize revision cycles.
Communication approach:Proactive clarification questions to understand project requirementsVisual enhancement of documentation using design software assetsClear rationale explanations for design decisionsSystematic organization enabling easy reference and implementation
The project successfully established a comprehensive design foundation for the museum's continued development while demonstrating the value of systematic creative documentation.
Delivered assets:Comprehensive UI guidelines:Complete documentation covering all visual elements with supporting design assets
Interactive display prototypes:Fully designed user experiences for educational content exploration
Accessibility integration:Visual accessibility standards applied to existing design framework
Implementation-ready specifications:Granular detail enabling consistent execution by future team members
Project impact:Scope expansion:Initial brief grew organically as delivered work demonstrated value, extending from short-term consultation to month-long collaboration
Development preparation:Documentation positioned team for smooth progression through phased development timeline
Creative-professional bridge:Successfully translated artistic vision into systematic professional standards
Professional validation:Continuous work expansion based on delivered quality served as primary success metricStakeholder satisfaction with final deliverables and documentation approachTeam integration demonstrated through collaborative work on new interface elements
Strategic contributions:Future-proofing:Created documentation that supports extended development timeline with potential team composition changes
Quality assurance:Established standards that maintain creative excellence while enabling systematic implementation
Stakeholder alignment:Provided clear rationale framework reducing potential revision cycles and supporting project discussions
Key insights gained:Documentation granularity:Non-designers benefit significantly from detailed creative rationale that may seem obvious to design professionals
Typography scaling:Large-format display typography requires different systematic considerations than standard digital interfaces
Creative-systematic balance:Successful projects require both creative excellence and methodical professional implementationThis project reinforced that exceptional creative work reaches its full potential when supported by systematic thinking and clear professional communication. The experience highlighted how strategic documentation serves not just as implementation guidance, but as a bridge between creative vision and project objectives.
This museum project demonstrated that meaningful design impact often comes from the intersection of creative excellence, systematic thinking, and respectful collaboration—especially when working with historically significant educational content. I look forward to being able to share assets in the future.
