When IAM had questions about how people experience Light Therapy, they turned to Brazen for answers.
The Challenge
The Institute for Advancements in Mental Health (IAM) took on a challenging project in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Toronto to explore the intersection of public spaces and wellness. In particular, this project focused on the effects that a Light Therapy exhibit had on museum visitors.
IAM assembled a small-but-mighty team of interns for the project, but the research that was required to understand the emotional and behavioral impacts of Light Therapy is complex. Brazen stepped in to lead the research while also mentoring the interns on rigorous research methods and analysis.
The Approach
Brazen collaborated with IAM's fantastic team of interns on a mixed-methods approach in order to get a detailed picture of how Light Therapy affected museum visitors:
- A literature review of Light Therapy established context for the research findings and informed the design of research materials
- Ethnographic observation of hundreds of museum visitors in the room was essential to understanding how they interacted with its features (and each other!) while experiencing Light Therapy
- Surveys gathered self-reported perceptions and emotions from a diverse range of visitors
- In-depth interviews encouraged visitors to share their mental and physical reactions to the room, as well as their motivations for taking the time to visit the exhibit.
