Designing interactive experiences to explore pleasure in all its forms

The Museum chose to focus first on millennials and Gen Z, a generation whose happiness has been declining in Canada in recent years. Two personas guided every one of our design decisions.

Zone 1 · Plural pleasures

The first stop on the visit, the word cloud sets the tone for the exhibition. On a screen on a pedestal in the centre of the room, a question awaits: “What brings you pleasure?” The kiosk offers some twenty illustrated words. Visitors choose one and send it into the projected cloud, where it grows with each vote. In just a few seconds, everyone sees where they stand compared to others and takes part in a collective artwork that evolves throughout the exhibition.

Zone 2 · Sexual pleasure

A hybrid game, half physical, half digital, for talking about sexual pleasure without (much) embarrassment. Two to four players choose an oversized cheeky game piece, spin the wheel on screen and answer questions in six categories, from “In your undies” to “Opening up”. Visitors who answer correctly move forward on the giant board. The challenge was to stay inclusive and funny, never “cringe”, while sharing real knowledge.

We designed the game board concept in 3D: a 12-space path of bubble-shaped tiles, with measurements, elevations and real colour tests. The Museum then built it and installed it in the gallery.

Zone 2 · Sexual pleasure

For some historical documents and collection objects, the Museum only had digital images. This kiosk brings them into the zone, alongside the display cases. Visitors browse from one work to the next and discover its explanatory caption. Simplified navigation, no detours, just the content.

Zone 5 · Pleasure or happiness

Alongside the physical models, this kiosk showcases some fifteen places and buildings that illustrate urban planning centred on human well-being. A home page presents all the options; each entry gives the architect’s name, the location, a short text and a few images.

Zone 5 · Pleasure or happiness

A giant 4K touchscreen for exploring data from the World Happiness Report. A world map offers thematic tabs (from the top 25 happiest countries to Quebec versus Canada) and highly condensed content, supported by pictograms. One visitor navigates while others can look over their shoulder. The menu was placed to be accessible to all visitors: children, adults, and people using mobility devices or not.