Our Story

An interactive media and graphic design studio committed to audience, interpretation, and accessibility.

What we do

We help exhibit experts create interactive media-based experiences. Our goal? Get your visitors more engaged and connected to your interpretive messages. We make visitors jump for joy, laugh, point, share, and ask others to join them in their discovery.

Who we are

Drumminhands Design is a group of designers, coders, interpretive thinkers, visitor experience crafters, and technological magicians. Led by founder and principal Chris Evans, we offer a commitment to quality custom media-based software and hardware solutions with easy-to-maintain parts and pieces.

How we work

In order to make interpretive stories sing, we first collaborate with content experts to identify key messages. Then, we help you select the best media choices for your story and budget. In most exhibits, technology should be seamless with your design, working behind the scenes to build a sense of awe and magic. We use principles of Universal Design to create inclusive and approachable experiences for visitors of all abilities.

I really enjoyed working with Chris and I thought your process and the overall experience was great.

—Peter Brown, Owner’s Rep, City of Minneapolis

Inspired by the See ‘n Say, visitors spin a dial to choose an animal, then pull the lever to hear the associated call in the wild.

Other designers start immediately picturing what the thing will look like without having a clearly established story or what they’re trying to accomplish. Chris first asks the smart questions to set the visitor experience foundation.

—STEVE BOYD-SMITH, PROJECT MANAGER & WRITER, 106 GROUP

Get to know the Founder and Principal of Drumminhands Design, Chris Evans

Chris’s museum origin story ebbs and flows like polyrhythmic percussion patterns, hence the name of the company. Chris holds degrees in multimedia design, anthropology, and a minor in computer science. While being accepted to several graduate programs in Mayan archaeology, Chris instead decided what any reasonable person would do: pursue work as a professional musician. While touring with a rock/pop group, Chris made gig posters, websites, and interactive DVD menus. This lit the spark that inspired Chris to pursue a degree in multimedia design.

Fresh out of design school, Chris helped build and lead the museum exhibit design team for 106 Group in St. Paul, Minnesota. His portfolio includes clients with nationwide significance, such as Thomas Edison’s home and laboratory, the Wright Brother’s National Monument, and Thomas Jefferson’s retreat home. Over 15 years, Chris developed his skills in interactive media and graphic design exploring new ways to be a tinker and maker, using technology to make visitors smile and spark curiosity.

Today with Drumminhands Design, Chris is combining his multidisciplinary skills and expertise to create accessible, approachable, and inclusive experiences for all visitors.

Specialized Skills & Tools
  • Adobe Creative Suite: InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects
  • Programming Languages: C-variants, JavaScript, Python, HTML, CSS, PHP, SQL
  • Unity 3D Game Development Platform
  • Ableton Live Audio
  • Arduino Microcontroller Platform
  • Phidget Sensors Platform
  • BrightSign and BrightAuthor
  • SketchUp

Chris is three people in one—a client rep, a coder, and a designer. That’s a rare combination and he can streamline work because of it.

—Jesse Heinzen, Founder, Heinzen Media

What’s with the name?

Drumminhands Design. Yup, no ‘g’ in Drumminhands.

It’s the AOL Instant Messenger screen name for our founder, Chris Evans. Wow. That dates us. We could have gone with Chris Evans Design, but some other guy filled the search engines with that name. For the record, our Chris Evans had the name first.