Seema Rao » Feed

U Can’t Touch That

Sun, 17 Nov 2019 12:27:32 GMT

Visitors want to feel welcome and comfortable in museum spaces. Museums want to keep visitors happy while maintaining collections. These aren’t opposing states, but sometimes it feels like it. I often wonder why this whole touching thing is hard? First, humans touch things to make meaning. Don’t think touch is important. Try checking to see …

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MCN 2019

Sat, 09 Nov 2019 13:24:08 GMT

MCN 2019 was an odd one, partly for its setting in a vacation paradise, and because I basically had no presentations. I did, though, help with managing volunteers, so I felt a bit unable to truly enjoy the proceedings. But, with those caveats, I will put down the biggest ideas I saw from the conference …

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Some Thoughts on Partnerships

Sun, 06 Oct 2019 17:12:46 GMT

Partnerships are often human relationships scaffolding financial ones. The stakes can often be high, like a staff-position. And the level of discomfort can be equally high, because partnerships require organizations to relinquish control. What are some tips on navigating partnerships? Overall, transparency is a means of allowing both parties to understand and mitigate risk while …

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Sol LeWitt

Sat, 13 Jul 2019 14:16:14 GMT

I’m on the board of an awesome readers/ writer series in Cleveland, called Brews + Prose. I was asked to join because I came from the visual arts world. They hoped I’d create bridges between the two communities. I can’t say that I have. But, the experience of going monthly has given me a rich …

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Fun is Serious Work

Thu, 09 May 2019 08:58:09 GMT

Hiroshi Ishii of MIT Media Lab gave the 2019 Keynote for Museums and the Web. My reflections on his speech have been split into two blog posts (this week and next). The first is outward-facing and the second will be about our own work. — Hiroshi Ishii seems like fun. I spent an hour, an …

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Really Hearing Our Visitors

Thu, 02 May 2019 09:06:36 GMT

I have generally prided myself on a kind of democratic, small d, form of museum work. I proudly took on visitor-centered aspects of the work. I have helped Cavs fans make signs for the largest parade our city had seen; I rode in a giant artwork inspired parade float (Schreckengost’s Jazz Bowl) in front of …

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Technology and Decolonization

Thu, 25 Apr 2019 10:53:00 GMT

Museums feel like they have always been here, like the sky and the seas. But, while the sun has always come up, museums are not a natural phenomenon. They are much more recent, younger than many countries. Museums have their foundations in the Enlightenment and colonialism, two interrelated historic situations. Museums grow from the European …

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#OMA2019 Recap : Boards, Front of House, and Conversation Burnout

Wed, 17 Apr 2019 15:27:23 GMT

The Ohio Museums Association had its 2019 conference in Akron this week. I was at the conference as a board member of OMA, eager to hear what we can do for our constituents. This week in Akron I was reminded of the phrase: All politics is local. Ohio is populous state, classically purple in elections, …

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#MW19 Reflections: Data and Diversity and Field Death

Sat, 06 Apr 2019 12:02:36 GMT

Before I go into my notes from Museums and the Web Boston, I want to thank the home committee who was seriously on their game. Everyone around the area was so welcoming and giving with their time and ideas. They created such a wonderful vibe. In looking through my notes and reflecting on my conversations …

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Colonialism is Dead, Long Live Colonialism

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 11:36:23 GMT

This thought-piece is one of the posts I post to medium about twice a month. Consider subscribing to my medium feed to get more posts like this. I am a colonial artifact, my very existence a result of the conjoining of British greed and Indian aspiration. Anyone reading this in the US or Canada also …

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Year-End Review: Thinking about Your Use of Time

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 18:01:01 GMT

The year is winding down. Many organizations are near the halfway point of their fiscal year. This is the right time to take stock on your work and processes. You have time to improve processes for the second half of the year. Where should you start when you take stock? You might start with the …

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Working on Imposter Syndrome

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 12:01:43 GMT

Impostor syndrome is the inability to internalize successes and strengths clearly, focusing instead of feelings of inadequacy or fear of failure. There are many of us who sometimes feel like an impostor, but don’t make it to the clinical definition of impostor syndrome. Those people, the majority of us, are the ones I am addressing. …

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Starting your DEAI path

Mon, 26 Nov 2018 22:30:15 GMT

Recently, I was asked how to start on the path to understanding the issues of Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion. These are complex issues that take years to grapple with, and even then, you may never truly understand them. Since I have been asked this question often, I wanted to put down some big-picture ideas. …

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5 Reasons to Self-Publish and a Free Zine

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 08:54:58 GMT

Self-publishing can be overwhelming and confusing, particularly if you have ever published a traditional book, or worked in an institution with a publications department. That said, there are many reasons to self-publish a book. Here are my top five: Agency: Self-publishing allows the author complete editorial control of their product. Anyone who has written to a …

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#MCN2018 Recap

Tue, 20 Nov 2018 12:05:55 GMT

Most years, on my plane back from MCN, I am furiously typing up notes from sessions. This year, I was volunteer co-chair and Human-Centered Design SIG co-chair. As a result, I was ever-present but not always there when it came to sessions. However, I had a better sense of what people felt about what they …

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Simple Steps to Increase Equity: Considering Gender Pronouns

Fri, 09 Nov 2018 09:35:26 GMT

A human brain is basically a pattern-deciphering machine. People make millions of judgments daily, mostly unconsciously. Their brains match all new inputs against all the data that resides in their brains. When the first white flake falls from the sky, they don’t consciously match this information against all the memories in the brain. But, unconsciously, …

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Elements of Content Strategy

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 15:21:13 GMT

Content strategy is a framework that shapes all verbal communications and messaging within a brand. It ensures that all writers working with the brand have a cohesive approach while meeting their specific goals. Ideally, the strategy means that every piece of the text supports the overall feel of the organization. Why write to a strategy? …

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5 Classic Journey Mapping Mistakes

Sun, 04 Nov 2018 18:34:19 GMT

Journey maps are great, there is no doubt, but there are certain pitfalls that should be avoided. 1. Maps are outputs, not processes: Imagine you and your friend go to a destination wedding. You use Apple maps. Your friend is brand loyal to Google. You both get to the wedding. You are early enough to …

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User-Experience Design/ Service Design: Planning versus Feedback Tools

Thu, 01 Nov 2018 15:44:37 GMT

While many people are focused on the testing/ feedback tools, there are other tools that user experience designers/ service designers use to collaborate and plan within teams. These tools can be broadly broken down into tools/ processes that help shape a project (i.e. expand ideas) and ones that refine a project (solidify an idea). The …

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What are Personas and How can Museums use them?

Tue, 30 Oct 2018 16:42:47 GMT

What are Personas? Personas are sketches of sample users that help designers plan products in user-centered ways. Research can be hard to understand. Numbers are not warm and fuzzy, for example. Turning research into an idealized person makes it digestible across the team. The final personal is like an anonymized, fictionalized version of your …

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