Building a Digital Gallery

Abstract

This project works toward building a technology platform, community, and database for designers and design enthusiasts. The subject matter is furniture, both innovative (new) designer works and iconic (vintage) classics of 20th century design. The platform seeks to engage 3D scanning, videography, and high-resolu- tion photography to challenge the current standards for viewing furniture and designed objects online today. Creating an immersive digital gallery experi- ence is a notable objective. To initiate this, a collection of iconic furniture was 3D-scanned and hosted digitally, allowing for an intimate experience of the object’s details and imperfections. To build community and trust, the project engages an editorial voice and robust historical dialogue. This includes short essays on important designers and iconic furniture pieces. It also intertwines opinion pieces and critical viewpoints within the online experience. Curation and the subject of authenticity both play crucial roles. Curation requires explicit knowledge of the relationships between varying design pieces in their date of production, material, and design ethos. Showcasing the criteria for authenticity and verifying them builds trust and value for users. Lastly, the project places considerable emphasis on researching the state-of- the-art in e-commerce, web development, advertising, visualization technol- ogies, online surveying, and 3D scanning hardware. These fields and their complex networks become interdependent for this buildout of a digital platform intended for community-use. The project works alongside the thesis trajectory of Jeremy Bilotti, SMArchS Computation & MS in Computer Science candidate, MIT. Jeremy has been a collaborator in producing much of the work contained in this dissertation.