My Role
Solo Concept Project - UX Research, UX Design, Visual Design
Duration
Februrary 2023 - March 2023
Making Art Accessible and Fun for Everyone...
Art is everywhere around us, but there are places where Art even is the main focus. These places include Art Galleries and Museums, which not only conserve and collect Art in a safe and decorative space, but also aim at educating the visitors.
Not every Gallery has the ability to do this in an inclusive and engaging way. Sometimes the information about artists and artworks are only available in one language, sometimes there is no information at all. Audio Guides offer additional content and engagement but can't be enjoyed by everyone especially those with hearing disabilities.
PROBLEMS
A restricting and uninclusive experience for visitors...
A restricting and uninclusive experience for visitors...
My research has shown that visitors often find no or limited information, in a language they don't understand, attached to artworks. They also feel like there is nothing much else to do, besides the artworks to observe, which is an experience not everyone enjoys equally.
SOLUTIONS
Turning the Museum experience more inclusive...
Turning the Museum experience more inclusive...
...which will not only make the audience want to revisit more often on consecutive visits for new experiences, but also increase the overall visitor numbers due to wider language options, added childrens entertainment and better accessibility options for everyone. Furthermore, additional features like digital tickets and a museum map will enhance the user experience further.
RESEARCH
"Such a beautiful selection of paintings, one loses the overview without an audio guide..."
"Such a beautiful selection of paintings, one loses the overview without an audio guide..."
Further research I conducted has confirmed similar user pain points, to the initial user research I took. For this part of the research I collected feedback shared online by visitors of the two biggest Art Museums in Berlin, Germany (Alte Nationalgalerie & Gemäldegalerie).
USER JOURNEY
Empathising with the user
Empathising with the user
Creating a users journey and empathising with the typical experience during an Art Museums visit, was the next step to help me figure out first solutions to commonly described user problems. An additional Storyboard brought the users experience further to life.
DESIGN
Empathise > Define > Ideate > Prototype
With the knowledge of possible solutions to users problems, I created the first designs to structure the content of the app and have means of testing first designs with users. After creating first paper wireframes, I went on to digitalize and test them with the first users, to ensure usability and work with initial feedback.
Information Architecture
User Flow
Paper Wireframes
Digital Wireframe
VISUAL DESIGN AND USER TESTING
The final design and HiFi Prototype
After testing a LoFi Prototype for its usability with a small usergroup I could go on to design the visual look of the app while also adjusting the usability towards recieved feedback. For the final prototype I made sure to test this one with users who aren't digital natives and have visual issues.
The Questions I wanted to answer:
1. Do the users understand what each menu point stands for?
2. Are the users able to start and complete a guided tour?
3. Are there any roadblocks during the apps usage?
4. Does the navigation feel untitive?
2. Are the users able to start and complete a guided tour?
3. Are there any roadblocks during the apps usage?
4. Does the navigation feel untitive?
Through observing 3 users from the ages of 50-63, while they were using my prototype, I was able to confirm that these points were met. I also improved further on the design in regards to contrast visibility and information/content hierarchy.
The Styleguide
REFLECTION
What I have learned and would do different
This was my first UX Project, so naturally I learned quite a lot about how to approach such a project in the future and what workflow works best for me.
1. Finding the right users to test and research with is key
Due to my limited network it was harder to design a solution for people with unique needs and problems. While I could test on some users like those who weren't digital natives or had visual impairments, I couldn't test on other user bases. So some of my solutions are based on loose research only. In the future I want to make sure that I am able to consider the voices of all users I am designing for.
Due to my limited network it was harder to design a solution for people with unique needs and problems. While I could test on some users like those who weren't digital natives or had visual impairments, I couldn't test on other user bases. So some of my solutions are based on loose research only. In the future I want to make sure that I am able to consider the voices of all users I am designing for.
2. I can't solve everything with my design
It was my idea that I could design a companion app which could solve as many user problems as possible, however during my research I found out that some of these problems aren't solvable by an app but rely more on real life changes. This threw me back in my process, because I initially had a much more vivid product in mind, which turned out to be less flashy as I wanted, because I wanted to solve problems that didn't really exist. I could have saved time, if I had categorized the problems much clearer in groups and priorities beforehand, and thought about problems on a smaller scale.
It was my idea that I could design a companion app which could solve as many user problems as possible, however during my research I found out that some of these problems aren't solvable by an app but rely more on real life changes. This threw me back in my process, because I initially had a much more vivid product in mind, which turned out to be less flashy as I wanted, because I wanted to solve problems that didn't really exist. I could have saved time, if I had categorized the problems much clearer in groups and priorities beforehand, and thought about problems on a smaller scale.
3. Really know who my users are
This is a problem I still haven't solved quite yet, but I felt that it was hard to design a product which is meant to be used very widely. Museums are visitied by many different kind of people of different ages and natonalities, for different kind of reasons. Some people do research at the museum, some want have a touristy experience while they are traveling, some are forced to go because of a school trip and some simply want to wander around and waste time. The motivations are somewhat different. So I felt it was not easy to figure out who exactly I was designing for. I think having a focused group of recipiants helps to have a more streamlined and designed product. On the other hand it was a good challenge for me to design something with such a broad user base and meet as many needs as possible.
Thank You for your attention! Have any feedback or questions?
I would love to hear from you, write me a mail at mamcamart[at]gmail[dot]com
