The Century of Sail exhibit is an interactive display that visualises the movement of ships entering and leaving Poole Harbour between 1739 and 1845, offering visitors a clearer understanding of Poole’s historical role and its connections to the wider world. Inspired by the dedicated work of Poole Museum volunteers—who painstakingly documented shipping activity using newspaper reports and other archival records—the exhibit brings this extensive research to life.

Visitors can explore shipping routes on global, European and UK scales,revealing the breadth of Poole’s maritime links. The experience is further enhanced through drag-and-drop icons that overlay the map; when touched, these icons open engaging stories about the vessels, the people who sailed them and the cargo they transported.

Elsewhere in the exhibition, DJW worked alongside Elbow Productions, who created two additional interactives, including an animated retelling of the notorious Poole pirate Harry Paye. These were integrated into a series of attractor screens and menus that enable visitors to navigate a range of third-party software productions, all sharing a consistent visual language carefully aligned with the design of each gallery. Accessibility has been improved through the inclusion of captioning, ensuring content is available to all visitors. Several of the productions are activated by lifting an audio handset, providing an engaging and intuitive way to explore the exhibition’s multimedia content.