Overview
In traditional experience design, the goal is often to convey a clear message or present information in an engaging way. But what if we flipped the script and created experiences that reflect visitors’ own beliefs and values back to them? This talk explores the concept of designing experiences as a mirror—interactive spaces that prompt visitors to see themselves within the content, challenge their assumptions, and engage in deeper self-reflection. This approach invites visitors to act, think, and feel in ways that transform them from passive observers into active participants in the narrative, fostering a sense of agency and personal discovery.
However, designing experiences as a mirror challenges many typical development processes. Instead of prioritizing clarity and universal accessibility, this approach embraces ambiguity, emotional complexity, and personalized impact. It asks designers to relinquish control over a singular message and instead create open-ended experiences that allow for multiple interpretations. This shift affects how we design, measure success, and evaluate impact—emphasizing depth of engagement over sheer numbers. By focusing on self-awareness and reflection, this method can lead to more meaningful, lasting connections between visitors and the content, transforming not just what visitors learn, but how they see themselves in the world.
Objective
To explore how designing experiences as a mirror—reflecting visitors’ beliefs back to them—can deepen engagement, challenge traditional development practices, and create more meaningful, transformative interactions.
Things Audience Members Will Learn
- How experiences can serve as a mirror – Understanding how interactive design can reflect visitors’ beliefs and prompt deeper self-reflection.
- Why ambiguity and open-ended design can be powerful – Exploring how embracing complexity can lead to more personal and meaningful visitor experiences.
- How this approach challenges traditional development processes – Recognizing the shift from delivering clear messages to facilitating visitor-driven meaning-making.
- New ways to evaluate success – Moving beyond traditional engagement metrics to measure depth of impact, emotional resonance, and long-term reflection.
- Practical strategies for implementation – Learning design techniques that foster agency, emotional engagement, and introspection in experiential spaces.
Target Audience
The target audience includes experience designers, museum professionals, exhibit developers, interactive storytellers, educators, and creative technologists who are interested in crafting more engaging and introspective experiences. It’s also relevant for evaluators and researchers looking for new ways to measure impact beyond traditional metrics, as well as cultural institutions and brand experience designers seeking to create deeper, more personal connections with their audiences.
