Australian War Memorial
Gamified transcription tool
THE CHALLENGE
The Australian War Memorial (AWM) has millions of precious records and archives that require transcription and digitisation, including photographic, scanned written and printed content, audio and video spanning early military engagements to modern conflicts. The challenge in transcribing these precious archives is the sheer quantity of records and limited capacity of the AWM team. While AI is used to aid transcription it is prone to error and AWM relies on volunteers. Retirees in particular make excellent transcription volunteers due to their ability to read cursive handwriting, a skill that may be lost in younger generations.
THE RESULT
A detailed blueprint was developed that outlined the transcription tool including the transcription process and workflow, transcription and wording conventions, UX/UI designs, information architecture, wireframes, and prototype images.
This tool is live https://transcribe.awm.gov.au/
At the time of the writing of this case study, over 31,000 people have used the tool, made 146,000 contributions, and 13 million words edited.
This project was a Top 10 finalist in the GamiCon Throwdown Competition 2025.
THE APPROACH
A design thinking approach was taken to the discovery process for an online gamified transcription tool. Through co-design workshops and interviews with internal stakeholders, barriers and opportunities were explored. These insights were used to create a user experience design for an online transcription tool, as well as the digital and technical requirements to build such a tool.
