Crown Museum
———————————— HYPOTHESIS
Decades of innovation deserves to be shown off…
Crown's legacy of innovation is evident in its products. Many of Crown’s older products and historical artifacts are currently housed in different locations throughout the area, which leaves an opportunity to explore to explore alternative approaches to showcasing these resources.
This project aims to explore the value of introducing a Crown Museum; a space to house physical examples of Crown achievements and innovations through the years.
Note: this project was completed during my Co-Op experience at Crown Equipment Corporation, but is not affiliated with or endorsed by the brand.
ROLE
Design Research Co-Op
Project Lead
TEAM
Katie Bush
DURATION
August, 2024
3 months
———————————— CROWN EQUIPMENT CORPORATION
Crown Equipment Corporation started as a small, one-room operation in rural New Bremen, Ohio, USA, and has since evolved into one of the largest and most diversified lift truck manufacturers in the world.
Founded in 1945 by brothers Carl H. Dicke and Allen A. Dicke, the company was originally named "Crown Controls," and originally produced thermostats and coal furnace heat regulators. Throughout the years, the company has adjusted its product offerings, shifting its manufacture from heat regulators to antenna rotators to airplane turn-and-bank indicators, and eventually narrowing its focus to material handling equipment,
Through more than two decades of contract work, Crown got better and better at manufacturing. With a strong focus on innovation and design, Crown has made significant advancements across multiple industries.
———————————— KEY RESEARCH QUESTIONS
What specific features and amenities would stakeholders desire within a Crown Museum to enhance its appeal and functionality?
What strategic value would the introduction of a Crown Museum bring to the company?
How could a Crown Museum serve various use cases, such as employee education, visitor engagement, and external partnership development?
———————————— TIMELINE
Secondary Research
Gain foundational knowledge surrounding Crown history and museum curation.
Survey
Understand what kind of museum features would lend the most value to the space
Prototyping
Use survey data to inform the design of different museum structures
Participatory Workshop
Confirm/ assess value of concept with stakeholders, produce recommendations for implementation
Future Phase: Prototype and Test
Further development of museum prototype is informed by additional interviews and user testing
Learning from Industry Leaders
Upon investigating various company museums, it appears that Crown could similarly benefit from establishing its own dedicated museum.
Crown’s legacy of innovation beyond material handling equipment distinguishes it from competitors, and its "can-do" culture continues to thrive today.
Crown products and artifacts were cataloged to determine which types of items are housed in each existing space.
While Crown is already making an effort to highlight its past innovations and achievements, many of these artifacts are displayed in office spaces, limiting their visibility to internal employees only.
———————————— SURVEY
A survey was administered to Crown employeees via Microsoft Forms on June 24th, 2024.
The purpose of this survey was to collect feedback to determine the value of introducing a Crown Museum—a dedicated space aimed at showcasing physical examples of Crown's achievements and innovations throughout its history.
A total of 21 participants completed the survey. The results are outlined below.
Participants were questioned about the current state of historical artifacts at Crown, as well as the current tours that Crown offers, where they typically take place, and what kinds of tours are offered.
Questions surrounding the future state of displaying these artifacts through the introduction of a company museum were asked. Participants were asked what kinds of spaces they believe this company museum should feature, and what the primary goal of this museum should be.
The survey brought up some points of concern with the idea of a company museum. These logistical concerns would be kept in mind for the future phases of this initiative.
———————————— DIGITAL TWIN TECHNOLOGY
Results from the survey informed a list of solution requirements for the proposed Crown Museum.
Additionally, a list of suggested spaces was compiled from the survey results.
These findings led to exploration into Digital Twin technology for the Crown Museum.
What is Digital Twin Technology?
A digital twin is a digital model of a physical object or system.
It allows businesses to aggregate, analyze, and gain insights, enabling them to experiment and refine versions digitally before implementing them physically.
Retailers use digital twins to model product placement, customer journeys, and the impact of new layouts. Some companies create online twins of their stores to enhance e-commerce, while digital twins also improve the realism of 3D product images.
Utilizing digital twin technology to to accurately reflect store layouts and other operations.
Identify early indicators of deteriorating freshness through computer vision and analytics.
Optimize store efficiency and processes
Since 2017, GUESS has used photorealistic digital replicas of stores, causing a 200% increase in productivity, and 30% decrease in travel costs.
Ensure brand consistency
Create immersive, virtual experiences for employees, external buyers and wholesale partners
Collaborate remotely with staff
Currently live in two stores, Lowes digital twin allows associates to visualize and interact with a Lowe’s store in 3D, across a range of devices.
AR Reset and Restocking Support
AR “X-Ray Vision”
AR Collaboration
Store Visualization and Optimization
In-Store Simulations
Reduced cost and risk
Reduced time to market
Reduced R&D expenses
Test and validate a product before physical changes are made
24/7 access to the system, facilitating team collaboration
Identify defects earlier in the production process
Virtual prototypes are more flexible and produce more data
Benefits of Digital Twin Technology
The design of Crown Museum can be prototyped and tested with digital twin technology before its physical implementation.
Retail applications of this technology can be applied to Crown Museum by using a digital twin to:
Model artifact/exhibit placement
Analyze the visitor’s journey through the museum
Measure the impact of new museum curations and exhibits.
Allow for 24/7 online access
———————————— WORKSHOP
5 workshop participants consisted of long-term Crown employees within various industries.
Different future scenarios for the Crown Museum digital twin were explored to understand their potential impact.
Participants were tasked with evaluating the benefits, challenges, and feasibility of each scenario, ultimately helping to identify the most valuable option for Crown.
Findings from this workshop session suggested that Crown Museum would benefit from:
Public, central museum
Non-confidential content
High level history of Crown
Located in New Bremen
8 S Washington St. (old gas station)
At or near Plant 12
Digital twin of central museum
viewed by anyone, anywhere, any time
no employees, guides, facility costs
Private, decentralized spaces
Spaces that currently exist and function as areas of interest/ Crown tour locations
Current products, processes, projects
Accessible to select individuals (internal)
Suggested spaces/exhibits:
Crown Material Handling
Crown Non-Material Handling
Dicke Art Collection
Crown and the Community
Crown Marketing/Collateral Materials
Crown Manufacturing/ Vertical Integration
Theater/ Viewing Room
Experiential Spaces
Driving Simulator
Use Cases:
Customer Visits
New employee orientation
Virtual tour for EMEA/APAC employees
School Visits/ Field Trips
Educating Families about Crown
Driving tours
———————————— FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
Proposed Site Plan
Located at 8 S Washington St., Crown Museum is a public company museum which serves as a central hub for private tours in other Crown buildings.
It is accessible both physically and digitally, and showcases the company history up until recent years.
Additional Crown buildings will showcase recent or future products and processes to select private audiences, and will only be accessible in person.
This rendering serves as a visual representation of what this Crown Museum may look like, if implemented physically.
Note: This rendering is NOT a finalized concept, but serves as a representation of what a Crown Museum may look like if implemented at the identified site.
———————————— FUTURE PHASE
Given the opportunity to push this project further, the next phase of this initiative would be to begin prototyping and testing the Crown Museum digitally.
Additional research and input from stakeholders will be necessary to validate the design.
After testing is complete and the design is finalized on the digital model, it can then be used to implement the museum physically.
