The research project »Visualizing Cultural Collections« (Visualisierung kultureller Sammlungen) investigates graphical user interfaces and the potentials inherent to visual exploration of digitized cultural collections. Within the scope of the project, researchers from various fields such as information visualization, interface design, and cultural sciences, develop and evaluate graphical interfaces that are aimed at enabling interactive examination of cultural objects. The project liaises closely with cultural collections (e.g. museums, libraries and foundations) as cultural partners, as well as with developers of media databases.
In recent years, numerous projects have been initiated and funded that seek to digitize cultural collections. Archives, museums, libraries and other collecting institutions are now facing the challenge to improve the accessibility of their digitized inventories while also providing new modes of engagement with digitized cultural artifacts.
Digital representation is increasingly seen as a unique perspective on culture that implies a value of its own. While the digital is not set out to replace the physical, it is distinct and has its own advantages. For example, the static arrangement of objects in physical exhibitions can be disseminated in interactive visualizations by means of dynamic layouts that respond to search queries, item selections, and the viewer's context. So far, visualization technology has not been applied much to cultural collections; however, first prototypes illustrate a multitude of opportunities. For example, visualizations of the semantic structure of a collection along multiple facets could provide entirely new ways to encounter cultural objects.
This project approaches the area of digital cultural heritage by combining technological possibilities with cultural considerations in order to develop visualizations and interfaces that open up new, interesting and useful perspectives on cultural collections. Thereby, novel interaction techniques and representations are designed and evaluated for their suitability for different scenarios. We proceed on the comprehension that visualizations themselves are to be regarded as cultural artifacts that need to be interpreted, designed, and criticized.
With the objective of encouraging innovative ideas in the field of cultural mediation, researchers investigate the potential of novel visualizations of cultural objects with a focus on accessibility and in collaboration with designers and developers. Throughout the project, prototypes are being developed and scrutinized in regards to their applicability as visual exploration tools for digital collections.
