Bringing digital interpretation to Oxford’s historic buildings – when there’s no interpretation to start with

New College is one of Oxford’s oldest and attracts thousands of tourists every year.

In 2025, they introduced Smartify audio tours and a custom-branded companion web-app – giving every visitor access to a digital guide as part of their ticket.

The brief

Despite its starring role in movies like Harry Potter, and the abundance of stories contained within its centuries-old walls, there was very little interpretation for visitors.

New College called on Smartify to add a new layer of storytelling across its buildings and grounds, and create a more informative, interactive experience.

Visits are self-led, so the content had to be presented within an intuitive interface, and packaged in a way that promoted independent discovery.

What’s more, new interpretation had to be added without any alterations to the site.

“Smartify understood from day one our need for a solution that respected our heritage constraints while genuinely enhancing the visitor experience. Their technology feels completely natural, even in our historic setting. Visitors now leave with a real understanding of our place in Oxford's past, rather than just having seen some beautiful architecture.”

– Gez Wells, Home Bursar, New College Oxford

The solution

At the heart of this new offer for visitors was a custom web app, developed and launched within four months, which allowed New College Oxford to:

• Add interpretation to historic, listed buildings, without the need for new wall labels, signage or screens.
• Enable image recognition for objects of every kind, from sculptures and paintings to plaques and frescoes. The technology works across a room – perfect for when access to the Medieval Hall is limited – and in a range of lighting conditions, including the dimmest corners of the Cloisters.
• Add interactive mapping that helps users navigate the site by suggesting nearby audio stops.
• Provide two new audio guides, produced by Smartify, that introduce visitors to the history of the college and some of the students who have passed through its doors.
• Allow access to digital content even where WiFi isn’t available, thanks to our offline downloads.

The results

Access to the visitor guide is seamless and straightforward, with visitors able to get started simply by scanning a QR code provided at the entrance.

Our implementation at New College Oxford is a great example of how technology can transform visits to even the oldest buildings, creating knowledge, adding interactivity and promoting deeper discovery without any permanent alterations to the historic fabric of the site.