Thanks everybody for the interesting feedback so far, and an interesting corollary discussion on apps vs mobile web.

I could still do with more examples of good projects or people you have worked with/on, or strong examples you have seen, so I'd really appreciate anything else along those lines.

Cheers,

David

David Craven
Sector Improvement Officer
The Manchester Partnership (Manchester City Galleries, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Museum)
-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mark MacLeod
Sent: 12 October 2012 17:58
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cultural venues and Mobile App development

If you are wanting a cheap and easy solution I am testing a site on Squarespace.com and they guarantee their templates or your code will work on any device and respond to the sizes without issue. 

www.museumfollower.com

It's a testing site at present but works fine on the platforms I have tested. 

Mark

-----Original Message-----
From: Museums Computer Group [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jim Richardson
Sent: 12 October 2012 15:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Cultural venues and Mobile App development

We are about to redevelop the front end templates of a museum website we did a few years back to be responsive, so I look forward to the 'hell filled ride of horrendousness' ;-)

Jim

----

On 12 Oct 2012, at 14:45, Mike Ellis <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Never been sure why this is ever considered a binary choice.
> 
> Responsive is lovely if you've got the resources to re-do your site from scratch. Responsive on an existing site is almost definitely going to be a hell-filled ride of horrendousness.
> 
> Personally I think that {most} museums should be concentrating on making discreet mobile sites with pages specifically for visitors: where the museum is, how much it costs, what's on, and for gawks sake don't worry about - say - collections pages being mobile-specific. I think this purely because we are generally visitor attractions, and the specific mobile use case in that instance seems clear to me. But - Nielsen's "make mobile sites separate" - http://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-vs-full-sites.html - caused a huge uproar amongst the web development community, and this may not work for some museums.
> 
> If you're doing a re-design then absolutely yes, make it responsive - but if you're not, have an answer for the 15-20% of people who are likely coming to your site looking for visiting information and who are using a mobile device.
> 
> Long and short is - as always, context is absolutely everything. That context includes budget, timescales, user research, etc
> 
> See also: be strategic. We should have an MCG conference about that. Oh...wait... :-)
> 
> 
> 
> _____________________________
> 
> 
> Mike Ellis 
> 
> We do nice web stuff: http://thirty8.co.uk  
> 
> * My book: http://heritageweb.co.uk *
> 
> 
> 
> On 12 Oct 2012, at 14:02, Jeff Cowton <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
>> Hi David
>> 
>> This was covered on the gem discussion lately. Their archive might help. If not, I've saved the emails and can forward.
>> 
>> We have two apps for our displays.
>> 
>> Jeff
>> 
>> -------- Original Message --------
>> From: David Craven
>> Sent: Fri, 12/10/2012 13:54
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> CC:
>> Subject: Cultural venues and Mobile App development
>> 
>> 
>> Hi,
>> 
>> We're looking to run a couple of 'Digital Days' for museums and other cultural venues in the NW of England, and one area we'd like this to address is the use of mobile apps in museums.
>> 
>> I'd be really interested in any good case studies you know of, anyone offering training in this area, or providers you have personally worked with in a positive way.
>> 
>> Thanks,
>> 
>> David
>> 
>> 
>> David Craven
>> Sector Improvement Officer
>> Museum Development North West
>> The Manchester Museum
>> Oxford Road
>> Manchester M13 9PL
>> 
>> m: 07798668258
>> t:  0161 3061772/2358849
>> e: [log in to unmask]
>> w: www.museumdevelopmentnorthwest.wordpress.com<http://www.museumdevelopmentnorthwest.wordpress.com>
>> 
>> 
>> The Manchester Partnership and the Cumbrian Consortium are delivering a programme of museum development for North West museums up to March 2015
>> 
>> Visit the Arts Council website for regular opportunities for regional museums: www.artscouncil.org.uk<http://www.artscouncil.org.uk>
>> ****************************************************************
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Jim Richardson
Founder

----

We have moved:

Sumo
Toffee Factory
Lower Steenbergs Yard
Quayside
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE6 1LF

We also have a new phone number:

0191 375 9050


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