GalleryPal
Enhancing how museum visitors view and learn about artwork in-person
UNDERSTANDING THE DESIGN CHALLENGE
Museums are trying to increase customer satisfaction when viewing art.
Museum visitors who are eager to form their own opinions about artwork wander the exhibits alone. They have their phones handy, ready to research information on the fly. However, they soon find themselves tasked with sifting through long and overwhelming articles. As they move on to the next exhibit, they fear their visit will amount to a series of missed opportunities.
Design constraints:
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Focus on the solo, in-person viewing experience
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Solution must be a mobile app
Setting up
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Set current museum
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Select from a list of featured artists
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Choose a piece of artwork based on what is currently on view
MAPPING PROBLEM FOR TARGET USER
For the solo museum visitor, reading the artwork's label is not enough to understand or appreciate the art. *Cue their phone for research*
Reviewing research data points
To begin, I reviewed GalleryPal’s current research and existing data points, including an interview session with a museum tour guide and a series of quotes from young adults who frequently visit museums. I noted a commonality: solo museum visitors default to using their phones to research the artwork. I then framed my main discoveries as How Might We statements, thereby converting them into opportunities.
Introducing Lillian, GalleryPal's Target User
Based on these data points, I visualized GalleryPal's target user as young adult who has their phone in hand, ready to send a text or snap a picture. I created Lillian, a solo museum visitor who uses her phone to google search the artwork in front of her.
With the target customer clear, I drew a map to include the major steps required to reach the long-term goal. When assessing solution spaces, I considered where GalleryPal might substitute a google search. I circled back to the map and fleshed out how as a mobile app, GalleryPal might transform a mobile camera into a tool to learn.
IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE...
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
A comprehensive, proactive learning experience starts by maintaining a visual connection & utilizing mobile gestures.
What do other platforms do?
To gain inspiration for possible solutions, I conducted a lightning demo of third-party mobile apps, including artwork databases, augmented reality, and mobile features used to identify a document, a song, or a painting. I discovered that apps that maintain a visual connection between images and corresponding information offer a more comprehensive experience; in addition, apps that work in real time by utilizing mobile gestures, create a hands-on experience. Lighthouse Immersive is a prime example of an app that integrates these two insights as users explore Vincent van Gogh's painting, The Starry Night.
TAKEAWAYS & LOOKING FORWARD
Imagining a future without the guided icons & how GalleryPal could incorporate barcodes for each artwork to quickly access the camera view.
For this project, I sought to provide an advantage for museum visitors through the GalleryPal mobile app. By transforming their phone into a tool—something they already have in hand—visitors can use their cameras to view and learn important details about the artwork on their own.
At the conclusion of my design sprint, I identified a potential obstacle with my prototype, particularly regarding how hotspots function within the artwork's camera view. For future iterations, I would rexamine these hotspots and explore ways for visitors using GalleryPal to view and learn about artwork exclusively on their own terms.
In addition, to simplify the user journey, I would also consider integrating a feature where a mobile camera could scan a barcode printed on the artwork's label. This would allow the GalleryPal user to navigate directly to the artwork's page, enabling them to quickly view and learn about the artwork in front of them.
It’s so easy to walk past paintings and think something is interesting, but you never really know anything about it because there’s just a 2-second blurb written on the wall. I usually just take a picture so I can look into it later, but then what ends up happening is I have 10 photos of seemingly random paintings."
- 25-year-old, frequent visitor of The Whitney Museum of American Art
HIGH FIDELITY USER TESTING + SUGGESTED ITERATIONS
Five frequent museum visitors move fluidly through the prototype, and recap learnings from Rothko's No. 10.
To validate my design solution, I observed participants navigate an iPhone prototype and explore Rothko's No. 10. Participants selected hotspots within the artwork randomly, and I noted the need to adjust the size of touchpoints after one participant struggled to successfully select the information icon. However, ideally the prototype would offer more freedom for users to explore the artwork and focus on the details they are drawn to; this approach would contrast with the use of hotspots and promote a deeper sense of discovery.
Context
For this project, I created a hands-on feature for exploring artwork in a museum. Independent of tour guides or an artwork’s label, I sought to provide users with a tool to view artwork with their phone's camera and learn relevant information on their own.
Following a set of design constraints, my goal was to enhance the experience of viewing art in a museum.
To address and solve GalleryPal’s challenge, I designed a prototype that includes a hands-on feature for viewing and learning about artwork. To validate my design solution, I conducted usability testing with five frequent museum visitors and received positive feedback.
Timeline
5 Day Sprint
My Role
Solo UX Designer —5 Day Design Sprint methodology
Tools
Figma
Learn with Camera
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View artwork with mobile camera
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Discover information about the artwork, within the artwork
CREATING HIGH FIDELITY SCREENS
Designing in high fidelity leads to the incorporation of hotspots to indicate the information within the artwork.
As I transitioned to high fidelity, I prioritized minimalism, aiming for a sleek design that allows users to navigate the flow quickly. I incorporated icons to indicate required selections and designed an interface that doesn't compete with the artwork; utilizing a darker background ensures that GalleryPal can be compatible with art of any medium, composition, or style.
FINAL DESIGN
FLESHING OUT A SOLUTION
On Lillian's next museum visit, GalleryPal walks her through a piece of artwork.
Storyboarding & Wireflow
I expanded my solution sketch by creating a storyboard to envision the end-to-end user interaction with GalleryPal. Beginning with Lillian's next visit to a museum, I focused on how GalleryPal can efficiently guide her to access the camera view of the artwork in front of her: starting with specifying the museum’s location, the artist, and the artwork, Lillian can use her mobile camera to learn about the artwork.
LILLIAN WALKS INTO A MUSEUM...
