Concept Testing Exhibit Ideas about Mental Health and Well Being in the Middle East

Experience Design Research
Written By Cathy Sigmond

Client: New Museum in the Middle East | Location: Middle East

 
 

We led an evaluation exploring youth’s and caregivers’ understanding and perceptions of mental health topics to guide the design of exhibits for a New Museum in the Middle East.

OVERVIEW

In 2024, we partnered with a New Museum in the Middle East to explore youth’s and caregivers’ perceptions of topics and exhibits about mental health and well being. This evaluation is a continuation of our collaboration with the museum to explore local audiences’ (especially youth 6-16 years) interest and engagement with a variety of informal science learning experiences.

APPROACH

We managed the evaluation remotely from the United States collaborating with museum staff and local mental health experts to design the study and collect data. We trained staff to conduct one-on-one interviews with target audiences, including youth 8-16 years and caregivers of youth 6-16 years, including those who care for neurodiverse youth. 

CLIENT TAKEAWAYS

We found that local audiences were comfortable and interested in learning about mental health and well being as long as the museum presented science-based explanations and solutions for addressing mental health in a hands-on and interactive way (e.g., how does the brain work to produce different feelings). Not surprisingly, audiences also had concerns about youth’s privacy related to their own mental health and did not want the museum to venture too far into complex topics that might be better addressed by mental health professionals.

Cathy Sigmond

Cathy brings many years of experience in education and experience design to her role as Head of Strategy at Kera Collective. 

Having previously worked in a variety of educational settings, Cathy is driven by her constant fascination and delight at how people make discoveries about the familiar and the unfamiliar. 

Cathy loves helping to shape experiences that spark curiosity and make a difference in people’s lives. She particularly enjoys the rapid, iterative nature of design-based research and the deep insights that come from qualitative research, especially on projects exploring interactions with the digital and built environments. 

Cathy shares her passion for experience design research widely and regularly guest lectures for graduate programs, including the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Exhibition and Experience Design Program and the Pratt Institute’s School of Information. Cathy served as the co-chair of the Museum Computer Network’s Human-Centered Design special interest group from 2018-2021.

Outside of work, you can usually find Cathy playing soccer, thrifting, or making her way through her large cookbook collection. 

Cathy’s favorite museum experiences are immersive; she will always vividly remember walking through the giant heart at the Franklin Institute, being surrounded by birds at the Peabody Essex Museum, and hearing centuries-old instruments come to life at the Museum of Musical Instruments. 

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