• Make History is an online collection of stories, videos, and photos submitted by people who experienced 9/11.

interactions

at ways to embed listening, dialogue, and the mak-
ing of history into the visitor experience.

Alex: What were the major design challenges with this
project?

Jake: While there are many in the large suite of
media pieces we are designing for the exhibitions,
the main challenges for 911history.org involved
making a project that really spoke to where we are
now, somewhere between 9/11 as a raw and recent
event, and 9/11 as a receding historic moment. For
many, the events of 9/11 are still very much pres-
ent, a daily reality of grief and pain, while others
have seemingly moved on and give it little thought.
We wanted Make History to match this moment
when the past and present are starting to become
distanced, and so we turned to overlaying historic
photos over street-view images of the present, giv-
ing a “double exposure” that speaks to where we
are right now. Further, this technique underscored
that history was made in the same streets and
roads all around New York City, the other sites,
the nation and the world. At many churches or
mosques or city halls, historic vigils linked com-
munities together, and these were also historic
events.