The Spark Behind Paul Allen's 'Experience'

	Startup: Art by Design
	Photo: www.startupgallery.org

When philanthropist and Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Paul Allen wanted to pay homage to the first personal computer, he tapped the talents of two women who helped make his Experience Music Project museum a must-see stop in Seattle.

Andrea Weatherhead and Diane Andolsek were behind many of the award-winning elements of the Frank Gehry-designed museum, most notably Sound Lab, where visitors could learn to mix a platinum record, roar Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll" in front of an audience of thousands and harmonize with Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart.

Since forming Weatherhead Experience Design Group six years ago, they have been lauded by ASCAP and won five Gold MUSE Awards from the American Association of Museums, a Webby and the Communication Arts Award of Excellence.

TheStreet.com caught up with the team at their Seattle loft after the recent opening of New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science's Startup: Albuquerque and the Personal Computer Revolution, which they designed and curated.

TheStreet.com:"Experience" is a nebulous word. Why have it in your company name?

Diane Andolsek:"Experience design" is a real term in the design field that means aggregating disparate elements -- from education and technology to cognitive science and storytelling -- so that you can experience something on multiple levels.

Andrea Weatherhead: That's what Weatherhead Experience Design is all about. Our company tries to create an emotional and physical connection to museum content that engages all of the senses and learning styles.

Both of you are former audio engineers with backgrounds in education, technology, literature, media and business management. How do all these skills and your experiences come together?

DA: Our experiences enable us to pull from many places and identify talented people with diverse backgrounds to complement our skills. We focus on hiring the best people and then finding the right things for them to do.

AW: It's a bit like conducting an orchestra. It takes architects, writers, researchers, software developers, graphic and acoustic designers, air-conditioning specialists, video producers and more -- sometimes over a long period of time. Visitors would be surprised to learn what it takes to create the kind of exhibits Weatherhead creates.

Can you take us through the process from Startup's inception to museum visitor?

AW: As with the Experience Music Project, Paul Allen had an idea: Originally he wanted a little storefront to show his Jimi Hendrix collectibles, which eventually with encouragement and input from his sister Jody Patton, became the 140,000-square foot ... project.

To view the video take of today's Good Life segment, click here.