PROOF OF GENIUS #03 — INCLUSION A museum you can feel and hear

At a Glance

Creator
: Valentijn van Harn, student of Communication & Multimedia Design (CMD) at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA).

Specialization
: UX Design, accessibility, and inclusive experiences.

Project
: National Gallery Soundscapes—an inclusive museum experience that uses carefully designed sound to help visitors with autism, ADHD, and other forms of neurodiversity experience art with greater calm, focus, and accessibility. Developed for the National Gallery in London.

Internship
at Fabrique—where he worked on cultural projects and discovered how design can have a social impact.

Recognition
: Selected for the Golden Dot Awards with National Gallery Soundscapes.

Ambition
: To design digital products and cultural experiences that are accessible to everyone and demonstrably add social value.

The problem: a museum isn’t a peaceful place for everyone

For most people, a museum is a place to pause and reflect. But for visitors with autism, ADHD, or other forms of neurodiversity, the same space can actually be overwhelming. Echoes, footsteps, background noise, and constantly moving visitors make it difficult to fully immerse oneself in a work of art.

Museums sometimes organize special quiet times, but according to Valentijn, that’s not the solution.

“Accessibility must always be there—not just during a special time slot.”

That’s precisely where his graduation project begins. Not with the question of how visitors should adapt to the museum, but how the museum can adapt to different visitors.

The approach: first, understand how people experience a museum

During his internship at Fabrique, Valentijn discovered that he derives the most pleasure from projects with a social impact. For his graduation project, he therefore chose the National Gallery in London as his case study.

His design doesn’t start behind a screen, but in the museum itself. He speaks with experts and visitors, observes behavior, and personally experiences just how overwhelming the acoustics can be. Based on this, he develops four different visitor profiles, each with their own needs, expectations, and sensitivities.

Some visitors want to know exactly what to expect in advance. Others prefer to discover things for themselves, but are more easily distracted or feel uncomfortable lingering too long in front of a work of art. The focus is not on the diagnosis, but on the visitor’s experience.

The Solution: National Gallery Soundscapes

These insights led to National Gallery Soundscapes

Using their own headphones or earbuds, visitors are guided through a carefully designed soundscape—not to explain the art, but to push distracting stimuli into the background.

As visitors walk through the museum, the sound changes along with the space. When standing in front of a painting, echoes and background noise gradually fade into the background, while natural sounds from the artwork become audible. This form of sensory masking creates a sense of calm, enhances concentration, and ultimately leads to a more intense art experience.

The concept wasn’t the first idea. Valentijn explored several directions, tested them, and ultimately chose the solution that added the most value for the user.

“In fifteen years of working with graduates, I’ve never seen such an impressive and well-thought-out project.” Simone de Droog,

The Impact

Artwork Soundscapes was selected for the Golden Dot Awards, the annual showcase of CMD’s best graduation projects.

For Valentijn, this recognition came as a surprise. It wasn’t until the jury discussed his work that he realized just how much significance the project had come to hold.

Perhaps even more important than the award is what the project demonstrates: accessibility doesn’t have to be a separate feature or an exception. Good design enhances the experience for everyone.

The Creator: Craftsmanship as a Starting Point

While many conversations these days revolve around AI, Valentijn prefers to talk about craftsmanship.

He likes to use AI to quickly explore ideas, but he believes the quality of a design still comes from research, making choices, and designing.

“I derive my identity from my craft. I find it important to design and create things myself and to maintain control over the entire process.”

In five years, he sees himself still working on projects that make culture more accessible and add social value. Whether that’s as a freelancer or at a design firm matters less to him than whether his work truly means something to people.

Why This Matters

Many innovations revolve around speed, efficiency, or new technology. Artwork Soundscapes showcases a different side of design. Not technology for technology’s sake, but technology that takes human differences seriously.

That is exactly what inclusive design is all about: not asking whether people can adapt to a system, but designing systems that make room for the different ways people experience the world.

Proof of Genius demonstrates that the designers of tomorrow will not only create more beautiful products, but also build a society in which more people can truly participate.