The Challenge

The MAX honors Mississippi’s creative legends and inspires tomorrow’s artists.

The Writer's Room gallery highlights the state's literary luminaries, including William Faulkner, John Grisham, and Jesmyn Ward.

Authors can remain invisible behind their work, and in a museum setting it's challenging to bring visitors into the story without having them read a whole novel. So how could we help visitors experience for themselves the contributions of these talented writers?

The Process

This projection piece tells each writer's story across a desk, typewriter, and book. Animated vignettes pair writers discussing their inspiration with the resulting work.

To bring their words to life, we playfully simulated each author’s real desk based on archival photographs. Then we animated each story excerpt in a style unique to the author and story.

Finally, we tested to ensure that viewers knew where to look when, had enough context, and found emotional satisfaction in the piece.

The Result

This media piece invites us to look over each writer's shoulder as they talk and type: the typewriter lights up with keystrokes as Richard Wright's pipe smoke swirls or John Grisham's coffee cup empties and refills. Words form on the page, float over to the book, and from there the written story begins to unfold.

The experience offers a magical look into the storyteller’s mind—almost as if you’re inside their imagination at the moment of creation.

The Impact

"The best use of technology I have seen. This is what an interactive museum is supposed to be."
- Trip Advisor

Inside the Writer's Mind is a magical synthesis that engages all the senses. Visitors feel each writer’s passion and their drive to capture and celebrate what it means to be human. This delivered on the museum's mission to inspire new writers.

Awards

SEGD Honor Award, Digital Content
Trip Advisor Traveler's Choice Award