The Paterson Museum tasked Night Kitchen Interactive with creating an interpretive touchscreen that would teach visitors about the many innovators and inventors that have called Paterson home. The result was People of Paterson, a touchscreen activity that centers around a digital mural featuring some of Paterson’s greatest individuals.

The mural is set up to look like a hectic desk space, with photographs and other artifacts scattered throughout. It includes 55 hotspots that are grouped into several categories and labeled by a silk pendant, calling back to Paterson’s history as a textile center. This visual structure encourages visitors to browse the hotspots freely while maintaining an understanding of how the profiles relate to each other. Tapping on any of the hotspots opens an information panel that introduces the individual, shows when they lived, and links to related profiles. These panels are designed to be approachable for a wide range of ages and prior knowledge levels. Together, they allow visitors to build an understanding of Paterson’s history one story at a time.

The touchscreen experience is designed to connect to the physical exhibits in the museum. A visitor might learn about Samuel Colt and his development of the iconic Colt pistol through the mural, then encounter real artifacts of that invention elsewhere in the gallery. In this way, People of Paterson acts as a guide to the Paterson Museum in addition to a standalone experience.