VIRTUAL ISTANBUL HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

The objective of this work is to investigate methodologies for making digital archives more accessible to non-specialists. While the literature identifies the skills required to develop archival research capabilities in non-experts, a gap has been identified in solutions that can render the research process actionable. This work aims to identify the stages that characterise archival research and translate them into a model accessible by non-specialist users. The study recognises information design as an effective tool for representing archival complexity and supporting user autonomy. The first phase involved interviews with expert researchers to reconstruct the cognitive and procedural dimensions of archival research. Based on these insights, a graphic representation of the process was developed to make its logic, knowledge, and operational strategies explicit. The second phase analysed two contemporary case studies: Archive and the City (FM Studio, 2025) and Diagrams (AMO/OMA, 2025), to examine how information design strategies can support different research stages, improve the intelligibility of archival structures, and facilitate access to mechanisms of meaning-making. The findings highlighted the need to integrate interaction design to enable active user participation in interpretation and relationship-building. Based on this, a mapping exercise was conducted to identify the moments when information and interaction design are most effective, outlining possible design scenarios. Finally, the identified steps were related to the 4Cs (communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking), demonstrating how structured engagement with archives, supported by information and interaction design, can contribute to developing fundamental 21st-century skills.