#nancy proctor

MCN 2017 - The Access App. Jim Olson, Nancy Proctor

Until recently, many museums professionals associated ‘museum’ with institutional integrity, and ‘brand’ with commercial exploitation. Today we are coming to recognize that branding - far more than a logo, font, and design palette - if properly understood and properly used, is vital to museums. More accurately expressed as the “brand purpose”, the museum’s brand is a succinct and guiding articulation of its role and relationships to audiences as a human-centered, participatory experience. Digital platforms offer some of the most powerful tools yet for creating participatory experiences both in the museum and with global audiences. Therefore it is imperative that museum technologists understand the dynamics and power of branding, and be able to use digital platforms to support the museum’s brand purpose, mission and expanding audiences. Using examples of recent museums’ rebranding efforts, we’ll discuss the impact that powerful brands wield, thereby exploring how a sharp focus on stewarding the brand can lead museums to become more human-centered, and the role that museum technologists can play to shape their visitors’ overall brand experience. Speakers Session Leader : Eric Longo, Executive Director, MCN Co-Presenter : Nancy Proctor, Executive Director, MuseWeb Co-Presenter : Luis Marcelo Mendes, Brand, Design & Communications Consultant, Independent

Nancy Proctor-- Going Universal The Bard Graduate Center From object labels to audio tours to Cooper Hewitt’s recent “Pen” project, museums have employed a range of media and strategies in order to provide “universal” interpretation of their collections and exhibitions – that is to say, to make content about objects and exhibits available to all visitors. In this talk and roundtable discussion, we will explore the mission- and business model-based drivers for “going universal” as well as the benefits and challenges of various approaches. With this historical context and in light of the near ubiquity of personal Internet-connected devices today, we will consider what universal access to museum interpretation might look like in the next decade, along with motivations and strategies for providing it with ever more constrained resources and revenues on the part of the museum.

Many museum professionals feel that they are on a never-ending hamster wheel: being asked to do more with less, serving both onsite and virtual audiences and working with rapidly changing technologies. Nancy Proctor injects a calm voice into this frenzy. This week’s conversation will touch upon a number of Nancy’s insights about mobile technologies, crowdsourcing and personalization.

(Source: museummobile.info)

Nancy Proctor, Head of Mobile Strategy & Initiatives at the Smithsonian Institution discusses revolutionary and radical practice in museums at MuseumNext Barcelona. May 2012

Nancy Proctor, Smithsonian Institution at the Powerhouse Museum 19/4/11