Mnemosine

Three questions to the project team

What was the particular challenge of the project from a UX point of view?
The main challenge was designing a tool capable of adapting to the non-linear working methods of historians without reducing the intrinsic complexity of their practice. Historical photographs are not isolated objects but documents that exist within a network of relationships with texts, archives, and layered contexts. From a user experience perspective, the challenge was to overcome the rigidity of traditional datasets and create a digital environment in which these connections become visible and navigable. This required designing new metadata structures capable of linking heterogeneous materials while preserving their historical integrity and interpretive depth.

What was your personal highlight in the development process? Was there an aha!-moment, was there a low point?
A fundamental turning point occurred during the research phase, through direct dialogue with several scholars. This exchange allowed me to redefine photography not as a simple image, but as a complex historical document, shifting the focus of the design from visual management to the synthesis of knowledge. A critical phase of development was handling Donetta’s writings: the fragmentary nature of these sources posed an obstacle to their systematic integration. Overcoming this challenge led me to reflect on the role of the designer as a mediator between archival heritage and technology, resulting in a tool that enables users to reconstruct narrative paths that were previously interrupted.

Where do you see yourself and the project in the next five years?
I hope the project can evolve into a reference model for the valorization of digital cultural heritage. Over the next five years, the goal is to apply this methodology to archives of different types, extending the approach beyond photographic material to preserve and keep the memory of the past alive. Personally, I intend to consolidate a design practice that supports collaboration across disciplines, creating tools that go beyond mere data preservation, making historical heritage a living, accessible entity capable of generating new knowledge.