The Beaulieu Abbey pilot is now live on our website. This will be free for a trial period which will continue until the kiosk has been installed at Beaulieu Abbey. After the installation, there will be a product launch, and after this the web version will only be available on a membership basis, with content available for download at a small cost (similar to Apple's iTunes app store). The kiosk and web / mobile version will then have the 'Abbey Slices' section uploaded and any tweaks / amendments completed.
Abbey Slices is the real nub of the application. This allows the user to explore the building in the different 'time slices' (major architectural changes based on research and available footplates), and jump to the different centuries to see what the building looked like and how it was used. It will be very worthwhile to re-visit once this goes live.
Imagine having this on your smartphone as you roam around the physical space of the abbey, standing in the apse of the great church and seeing how vast the internal space of the abbey was, or in the cloisters with the buildings complete in all their glory around you. The visitor / user will then be able to re-visit once back at home via the web and explore in more depth, using the fact sheets and lifestyles, or quizzes.
There are nine characters who can 'escort' you on your 'Tour', which can be the full 14 sections or specific ones you are more interested in. The characters have their own little snippets of information about how they lived there, the roles ranging from Abbot Sulbury through to Percy Warbeck, a pretender to the throne seeking sanctuary in the 1400's. They also 'own' a category of the Abbey, such as Medicines and Herbs, 'owned' by the Infirmarian, Brother Thomas.
Nine is the key in this application, created by one side of the KubeMatrix, a tool developed for simple navigation of the content, primarily for mobile use. This takes me on to explain the design and navigation in a little more depth.
The central panel of the application is what you will see once the application is loaded onto a mobile device (Flash players will need to have been installed prior to use). The side panels are for accessing the same content in other ways, the same as in most software programs. This means that the core design does not have to be re-designed to fit multiple screen sizes - or at least that is the theory I have developed.
With regards to the navigation it might help to read the following tips:
Home page:
1 - Spinning matrix = goes back to Home page to choose another section
2 - KubeMatrix = rollover tool tips to help you choose which section i.e. Characters, Quiz'Ed or another
3 - Side bar = chooses sections i.e. Characters, Quiz'Ed or another
Sub pages:
4 - Nine KubeMatrix = chooses sub-sections i.e. the individuals in Characters or puzzles in Quiz'Ed
5 - Thumbnails = chooses sub-sections i.e. the individuals in Characters or puzzles in Quiz'Ed
6 - Side bar = chooses sub-sections i.e. the individuals in Characters or puzzles in Quiz'Ed
7 - 'EXPLORE' strip = goes back to Nine KubeMatrix to pick another sub-section
8 - 'MORE' strip = goes back to full KubeMatrix to pick another section
Each further sub section has obvious buttons in how to progress, but if anyone has problem with navigating further into the application, please let me know. Example of further subsection below:
Once installed at Beaulieu, the plan is to gauge and capture user experience with the application on the kiosk, handhelds and web, improving the concept and final application.
Work has started on a Jane Austen themed Talking Walls application, a small animation of Steventon Rectory, the Austen's home before it was demolished, and will hopefully be posted in the coming week. Meanwhile enjoy the free trial and let me know what you think.
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