The challenge
To create a simple and intuitive interactive exhibition for the museum that would run continuously on a touchscreen and attract visitors’ attention on its own.
The application had to explain the meaning of the symbols in the village logo by combining texts, photographs and audio materials in a single interface. At the same time, it needed to be easy to use for people of all ages, without instructions or assistance from museum staff.
It was also important to provide a way to update the materials, allowing museum employees to edit the texts, photographs and audio recordings independently.
How it works
The main screen features the Văleni logo: eight traditional symbols combined into a single composition. The application comes alive from the very first second. Each symbol lights up in turn and gently “shakes”, inviting visitors to touch it.
A touch opens a panel containing the legend, a series of photographs, a slideshow and a voice-over in either Romanian or English.
Each symbol has its own story. The crown recalls the Moldavian ruler Petru Rareș, while the bread represents the “Golden Hills”, the golden-coloured hills of Văleni where fossils of prehistoric animals were discovered. In total, there are eight legends and eight layers of village history, all brought together on a single screen.
Content management
To allow museum staff to update the texts, photographs and audio tracks without involving developers, we connected the application to an administration panel and created dedicated fields for each type of content. Any change, from editing a text and replacing a photograph to uploading a new voice-over, takes only a few minutes in a familiar interface.
Operation in the museum space
The application runs on a touchscreen that remains permanently switched on in the museum hall. For this reason, not only the visual design mattered, but also the system’s behaviour during continuous use. If a visitor does not touch the screen for 30 seconds, the panel closes automatically and the application returns to the animated main screen, ready for the next guest without restarting or requiring staff assistance.
The result
The museum received a fully functioning interactive exhibition that introduces visitors to the symbols of Văleni in a modern and accessible format.
Instead of a traditional information board, visitors interact with a living interface: the symbols attract attention, respond to touch and reveal the stories connected to them. Each person can choose the topic that interests them, browse the photographs and listen to the story at their own pace.
