Designing Meaningful and Barrier-Free Digital Experiences with Museum Collections

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s new Studio Play interactive space was designed with technology exquisitely responsive to user movement, making the transition between observation and interaction seamless, effortless and accessible to all. The touch-screen interfaces that might have limited access for non-readers or frustrated non-tech-savvy visitors are gone. In this talk, Jane presents Studio Play as a case study for using human-centered design and kinesthetic and action-based experiences to develop visually-focused engagement and to further creativity and curiosity.

Jane Alexander is the Chief Information/Digital Officer for the Cleveland Museum of Art. She is responsible for creating, ongoing iteration, and advocacy of a vision for innovation, technology implementation and digital strategies best applied to Cleveland Museum of Art's (CMA) mission. In addition, she is responsible for the strategy, concept, design and implementation of interactive experiences, backend applications and infrastructure design. Before moving to Cleveland, Jane developed and directed Columbia University’s acclaimed distance education program, as well as the development of university-wide resources for instructional technology and methodology. In Cleveland, Jane has worked on several high-profile projects, notably as the virtual Chief Technology Officer to the Great Lakes Science Center, as well as the technology design consultant to Frank Gehry's Peter B. Lewis Campus at Case Western Reserve University. Jane is a native New Yorker, with a BS and MS in Applied Mathematics as well as a BA in Architecture from Columbia University.

Tessitura’s Innovator Series is an ongoing program of brief and inspiring presentations by arts and culture industry innovators brought to you by Tessitura Network, the leading provider of technology, services and knowledge sharing for arts and cultural organizations worldwide.

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