Documentation

From the original VisitorBox to the CoDesign Tool: four years of workshops, evaluations, and iterations across European museums and universities. Everything is open access.

From VisitorBox

From VisitorBox to the CoDesign Tool

The CoDesign Tool builds directly upon VisitorBox, an open-access, card-based toolkit developed during the EU Horizon 2020 GIFT Project. Created to help cultural institutions design engaging visitor experiences, VisitorBox introduced an accessible, gamified framework that guided interdisciplinary teams through six structured stages using physical boards and card decks. Its tangible approach proved highly effective at lowering barriers to participation, allowing experts and non-experts alike to collaborate.

As design practices evolved, VisitorBox faced key limitations: its purely physical format restricted remote use, it lacked active maintenance after GIFT concluded, and its original framework didn't account for the cognitive and emotional sides of visitor engagement.

Rather than replacing VisitorBox, the CoDesign Tool was created within the PERCEIVE project (by CNR ISPC and Fraunhofer IGD) to build directly upon its foundation. By introducing new research-backed decks (Authenticity and Sense of Care), streamlining the layout to shorten session times, and adapting the workflow for digital and hybrid environments, it ensures that VisitorBox's proven methodology continues to serve contemporary design needs.

From VisitorBox worksheets to CoDesign Tool canvases and boards
Web app prototype, in development

Want to go deeper on VisitorBox?

Book
Hybrid Museum Experiences: Theory and Design
Waern, A., Løvlie, A. · Amsterdam University Press
2022
Iterations

Every step, in pictures

A gallery of key moments from the tool's evolution, tracing the journey that brought it to what it is today.

Publications

Everything about the tool

This section brings together every publication related to the CoDesign Tool, from papers on its individual components, such as the audience goals, to broader research where the tool appears without being the main focus.

CC BY 4.0
Download the CoDesign Tool (paper version, v.1)
Boards, canvases, card decks, and instruction panels. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15632510
Book chapter
Design Resources to Enhance Access to Coloured Collections Through Interactive Experiences
Massidda, M. et al. · In: Chromatic Visions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 16450. Springer, Cham
6 Feb 2026
Webinar
PERCEIVE Talks, Episode 13: Tools and Services for the Design of Digital Heritage Experiences (PERCEIVE Design ToolBox)
Massidda, M., Veggi, M., Zapf, A. · moderated by Pescarin, S. · PERCEIVE Talks webinar series
5 Feb 2026
Conference paper
The CoDesign Tool. A Card-Based Framework for Interactive and Collaborative Design in Cultural Heritage
Travaglini, L., Massidda, M., Zapf, A., Spotti, S., Veggi, M., Pescarin, S. · In: HCI International 2025 – Late Breaking Papers. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 16342. Springer, Cham
2 Jan 2026
Book chapter
Designing Coloured Experiences
Pescarin, S. et al. · In: Chromatic Visions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 15750. Springer, Cham
1 Nov 2025
Book chapter
Sense of Care in the Design of Digital Heritage Applications
Veggi, M. et al. · In: Chromatic Visions. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 15750. Springer, Cham
1 Nov 2025
Conference paper
Designing Authentic Digital Experiences
Spotti, S., Bonifazi, F., Massidda, M., Pescarin, S., Travaglini, L. · Digital Heritage. The Eurographics Association
2025
Conference paper
Implementing Curiosity Hooks and Caring Practices in the Reconstruction of Lost Polychromy: Design Prototypes for Interactive Experiences
Bonifazi, F., Veggi, M., Massidda, M., Ferdani, D., Pescarin, S. · Digital Heritage. The Eurographics Association
2025
Journal article
How Much Do We Care About Cultural Heritage? A Rasch Scale Validation Study Among Young Adults
Veggi, M., von Gal, A., Piccardi, L., Pescarin, S., Nori, R. · Heritage, vol. 8, no. 8: 317
2025
Conference paper
Authenticity in VR and XR Experiences: a Conceptual Framework for Digital Heritage
Pescarin, S., Città, G., Gentile, M., Spotti, S. · Eurographics Workshop on Graphics and Cultural Heritage. The Eurographics Association
2023