Age of Uncertainty – RAFM

The RAFM wanted a bold timeline that could help provide historical context to the aircraft on display. The display needed to inform visitors about the conflicts the RAF has been involved in and also engage them using popular cultural references from the last 40 years.

We created a 30m long interactive display which runs the length of the hangar. Content is organised chronologically and screens, news footage, headlines, photos, soundclip switchboard and physical signage are laid out to form a collage of information.

The perforated pegboard wall reveals light in a dot matrix pattern that responds to the input of the user. Reflecting the increase in media and information over the decades, these pixels accumulate to form a video wall at one end of the timeline. Pulses of light, statistics, and other typography flow down the display from three digital totems.

The totems house a variety of games and interactives designed to be quick fire visitor engagements, these help assess their knowledge of various periods in recent history and encourage them to contribute their memories. Simple ‘Family Fortunes’, ‘Snake’ and sorting games help to ground the timeline with pop culture interactions from each era. A final totem gathers visitor opinions on what they think the future will hold, these are recorded and displayed on the video wall nearby.