News

One kiosk that's a real piece of art

How one museum approached a kiosk project when the demand for aesthetics was as intense as it was for functionality.

October 9, 2005

For the lover of art and architecture, a visit to the J. Paul Getty Museum can be wonderfully overwhelming - where to begin? The sprawling facility is home to countless masterpieces from European painters and sculptors, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts and photographs. If a picture is in fact worth a thousand words, the Getty is home to more words than anyone can imagine.

From an archival perspective, this is of course an embarrassment of riches. But from a practical one, it can be daunting to the art lover, let alone a casual observer.

Enter the Los Angeles company SeePoint, which recently helped the Getty launch its GettyGuide interactive kiosk program.

Presently, the system consists of 20 SeePoint All in One kiosks with 15-inch monitors, plus six additional units with 18-inch monitors. According to company president Jonathan Arfin, SeePoint was successful on this project for two key reasons: small footprint and aesthetic design.

"The Museum was able to install the kiosks in transitory spaces adjacent to the galleries without requiring a tremendous amount of cabinetry, which is oft en needed to hide computer equipment," said Erin Coburn, manager of collections information for the Museum. "Robin Lilien, (our) manager of museum information media system, would oft en refer to SeePoint's kiosks as `kiosks on a stick' when installation was taking place. It's a good analogy for how easy it was to incorporate SeePoint's kiosks in transition spaces without being obtrusive or distracting to the visitor. And yet the clean, elegant design of the kiosks draws attention to their presence in a positive way."

Arfin said that clean, elegant design was a goal from day one.

"The Museum couldn't put something that looks like an arcade game next to a work by a European master," he said. "So from a design standpoint, it was extremely gratifying to have been selected by the Getty for this project."

GettyGuide kiosks extend beyond just dispensing information about the exhibits - the database powering them is connected to the Internet, so visitors can log in from home and browse the collection, printing out a list of things to see when they arrive.

The project, launched in late July 2005, has been a success, according to Arfin: The Getty has recently purchased an additional nine units, bearing 19-inch touchscreens, for the Getty Villa in Malibu, currently undergoing a major renovation and slated to open in early 2006.

This article published in Kiosk magazine Sep/Oct 2005.