Principal of the New York media design firm, Local Projects, Jake Barton creates interactive and digital exhibits for the likes of the 9/11 Memorial Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art and Storycorps.
Jake Barton is principal and founder of Local Projects, a New York-based design firm which specializes in media design. Since 2006, Barton and his team have been working on creating the media design for the 9/11 Memorial and Museum; they also worked to develop the algorithm used to place names around the 9/11 Memorial itself. Other clients include the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, the Frank Gehry-designed Eisenhower Presidential Memorial and Cleveland Museum of Art.
In 2013, Local Projects was named the National Design Award winner for Interaction Design, while in 2011 it was listed as the second most innovative design firm by Fast Company magazine. Meanwhile, The Atlantic writes of Barton, "At the crux of Barton's work is the idea of collaborative storytelling, which invites museum and memorial visitors to share their own experiences, observations, and memories through interactive technology, turning passive observers into active participants."
As the Cooper Hewitt opens its doors after a three-year renovation, we take a look at what the curators have put together -- including an exhibit put together by Maira Kalman and technology from Local Projects.