Immersive Educational Storytelling
Create an immersive digital experience to complement the Dwight D. Eisenhower National Memorial opening in Washington, DC in 2020.
CLIENT
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission
PARTNER
CAPABILITIES
Design Research, Experience Strategy , UX Design
APPROACH
Audit library of rich media artifacts. Define key story points in each of the seven pivotal moments that tell the story of Eisenhower’s career as a military leader and statesman. Conduct design explorations into linear and nonlinear navigation models. Storyboard key screens and transitions for handoff to development team.
Interaction Model 01 (Parallax Scrolling) – In this concept, the user navigates through a timeline of pivotal moments by manually scrolling forward or backward along the z-axis.
Parallax Scrolling Storyboard – As the user scrolls, we zoom into a photo detail of Pivotal Moment 05 ("Little Rock") and Pivotal Moment 06 ("Chance for Peace") fades in. Alternately, a navigation menu at the bottom enables the user to jump directly to each moment without scrolling.
Interaction Model 02 (Panoramic Scrolling) – In this concept, the user can drag to pan horizontally across a 360-degree panoramic view. Hotspots are embedded within the panorama, enabling the user to click for details and access associated videos and rich media.
Panoramic Scrolling Storyboard – As the user pans horizontally across the image, they discover embedded rich media. A menu at the bottom of the screen allows for navigation between pivotal moments.
D-Day Landing Page – The final concept combined aspects of both interaction models. Parallax animations on the landing pages impart a sense of depth to each scene.
D-Day Panorama – When a hotspot is clicked, we zoom in along the z-axis and fade into the next scene (Content Detail page), lending the experience a cinematic feel.
Content Detail Page – Contains copy and videos or other rich media. The flexible navigation allows the user to return to the panorama landing page or continue linearly through additional content detail pages.
Rich Media – Video player.
OUTCOME
Designed by architect Frank Gehry and scheduled to open on the National Mall in 2020, it is estimated the Eisenhower Memorial will attract up to 1.2 million visitors per year. For many, especially educators and students, the complementary digital experience will provide helpful context before their visit and engaging educational content and lesson plans after.