We recently took off a few hours to check out the new Harley-Davidson Museum in downtown (Milwaukee). This was our June office “field trip” that we were pretty excited to see. Having heard from a few people that it was worth the trip, our expectations for the new museum were pretty high.
Upon entering the lobby, where you buy tickets, we were greeted by a great use of metal and space creating a unique industrial feel. Our first impression after walking up into the second floor entrance of the museum was “WOW, this place is amazing!” Kudos to whoever was a part of creating this museum. We can’t imagine how many architects, interior designers, graphic designers, art directors, curators, etc. were involved and had to collaborate their thoughts and ideas to create such an inviting, interactive and just flat out cool place. The Interactive Engine Room display was a prime example of how the museum incorporates great design and technology to showcase the Harley-Davidson engines. Through the use of touch screens, you could choose specs and features to assemble an engine and then push a button to hear what the motor sounds like. The flash interactive team that created these touch screens did a great job in both design, usability and function.
As we walked through each section of the museum, you couldn’t help but appreciate all of the ways the museum displayed the companies history and information through the use of videos, interactive flash touch screens and clean typography of quotes on large orange walls – everything was designed to work within the space.
Out of our team that went to the museum, none of us have ever ridden on a Harley, let alone own one. To say the least, our expectations of the Harley-Davidson Museum were met that day. We are all graphic designers and appreciate quality design and interaction and the museum did a great job with presenting the companies history in a way that anyone would enjoy. We will definitely be back for more creative inspiration!