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Talkartive Studio

Methodology

Four stages,
one thread: listening.

From on-site visits to deployment, here is how we transform the knowledge and stories of a place into an experience that leaves a lasting impression.

Design
01
Production
02
Development
03
Implementation
04

Co-creation & Visitor Experience Design

Designing the experience before producing it.

Before writing a single line or recording a sound, we seek to understand what the place has to convey, to whom, and how visitors discover it. We shape this phase with your teams — curatorial, cultural mediation and front-of-house — who know the site and its audiences better than anyone.

What we do

We analyse audiences, visitor behaviour, collections and the visiting context to identify the cultural mediation challenges specific to the project. This audit points the way to an experience that is relevant, accessible and true to the identity of the place.

We study the sources, assemble a scientific committee, meet with researchers, and walk the site to distinguish what is established, what is debated, and what remains hypothesis. Every statement in the future narrative rests on an identified source.

Together with your teams, we shape the Visitor Experience (VX) from the visitor's perspective: what they see and hear, where they pause, how they interact, what they need to understand and feel, what captures their attention and sets the rhythm of their visit. Real-world constraints — footfall, weather, opening hours, accessibility — are factored in from this stage onward.

We design the journey sequence by sequence: what the visitor discovers, where and when, the narrative intention, timing, acoustics, atmospheres, and music. The storyboard formalises the experience and becomes the shared reference for the entire team through to launch.

What you entrust to us

  • Access to the site, site plans and existing cultural mediation materials
  • Scientific sources and key contacts
  • What you know about your visitors: audience studies, attendance figures, expectations, feedback

What you receive

  • A shared statement of intent
  • The map of the route and its listening points
  • The complete storyboard of the experience

Sign-off point : we only move into production once we have approved the storyboard together.

Content Production

Turning knowledge into experience.

Narrative, voice, soundscapes, music, and interface evolve together, in constant back-and-forth with your scientific leads. The goal: to ensure every minute of listening is accurate in content and invites visitors to look around — without ever overshadowing the place itself.

What we do

We turn scientific research and source material into narratives crafted for listening. Each text strikes the right balance between precision, simplicity, and emotion, making content accessible without diminishing it.

We design screens that fade into the background: large touch areas, readable in full sunlight, usable with one hand. The eye should remain on the place, not on the phone.

Historically informed atmospheres, sound effects, music: we build soundscapes that situate the narrative in time and space and bring its world to life.

With no stage and no image, everything rests on the voice: it brings the characters, the emotions and the story to life. We cast and direct actors in the studio, in every language of the journey. Each version is a work in its own right.

Spatial mixing — whether designed for headphones or loudspeakers — places each sound object around the listener: in front, behind, to the sides. You can experience it further down this page.

What you entrust to us

  • Scientific reviews of the texts
  • Sign-offs at key stages of the writing process
  • Rights to any archival images and documents used

What you receive

  • Validated texts, in each language
  • Interactive mockups of the application
  • Mixed tracks, ready for playback

Sign-off point : an on-site listening session at the exact location of each point, before final mastering.

Application development & systems

Technology that puts listening first.

Technology should fade into the background of the experience. We develop reliable, intuitive systems capable of orchestrating content, geolocation, and interactions without ever disrupting the visitor journey — systems your teams can manage independently, without relying on us.

What we do

We develop the interfaces used by visitors, with a focus on simplicity, readability, and fluidity. The digital experience is intentionally discreet, accompanying the visit without becoming a barrier between the audience and the space.

Content, languages, trigger zones, and statistics are all managed through an administration tool. Your teams can correct a text, adjust a schedule, or add a language without waiting for technical support.

We walk the site at different times of day, using your visitors' own phones, to fine-tune trigger accuracy, volume levels, and transitions under real conditions — including where the network signal is weak.

What you entrust to us

  • The site's technical constraints: network, power, security
  • Your opening schedule and available testing periods
  • The people who will administer the tool on a daily basis

What you receive

  • The application or device, ready to use
  • The administration tool and its access
  • A signed acceptance report

Sign-off point : acceptance testing on site, under real visiting-day conditions.

Implementation & impact assessment

Keeping the experience alive over time.

A successful experience doesn't end at deployment. We train your teams, assess audience reception, and evolve the system alongside the venue and its visitors.

What we do

We help teams get to grips with the system and its tools — from front-of-house staff lending out headphones to the cultural mediation team updating content. The goal: day-to-day autonomy.

Listening time, stopping points, completed routes, visitor feedback: we cross-reference usage data and audience responses to evaluate the experience, identify what works, and pinpoint what can be improved.

Updates, compatibility with new phones, monitoring: we ensure the experience works just as well in its third year as it did on its first day.

What you entrust to us

  • Feedback from your front-of-house and cultural mediation teams
  • Your targets for visitor numbers and cultural mediation

What you receive

  • Trained and autonomous teams
  • A usage dashboard
  • An impact report, with recommendations for next steps

Checkpoint : an initial assessment a few months after opening, to decide together on next steps.

What never changes, from one project to the next.

The space comes first

We don't seek to replace what is seen, but to renew the way it is perceived. If a sound draws attention away from the space, it has no place in the journey.

The source before the formula

A well-chosen sentence is worth more than a brilliant one. Every narrative is reviewed by those who know the subject, and anything that remains hypothetical is presented as such.

Accessibility is considered from the outset

Pacing, sequence length, languages, listening comfort: accessibility is built into the design from the start, not added once the experience is complete.

Technology that fades away

The best system is one the visitor forgets. We choose the solution best suited to the venue and its constraints, designed to remain simple for your teams to operate.

Your questions, before we begin.

This depends on the length of the route, the number of languages, and the system involved. Generally, allow several months between the first workshop and the public opening. We establish a precise schedule from the design phase onwards, with dated validation milestones.

We work on projects of varying scales, from commissions that can be contracted directly to those requiring a public procurement process. In all cases, we tailor our proposal to the scope, constraints, and budget of the project.

We adapt the system to the environment. On a site with poor coverage, content can be downloaded before the visit so that listening is never interrupted. These constraints are addressed from the design stage onwards.

Yes. The administration tool allows your teams to correct a text, adjust a schedule, or add a language. For more significant changes — a new listening point, a new voice — we prepare these together with you.

That is the focus of the fourth phase: we monitor listening times, stopping points, and completed journeys, and we gather feedback from visitors and your teams. The review serves as a basis for deciding together what should evolve.

Let's talk about your project

In 30 minutes, we'll explore your project, your audiences and what sound could do for your site. A useful conversation, no strings attached.

Book a call

Prefer to email us? hello@talkartive.com