GalleryPal

Fostering art appreciation when meandering throughout the museum.

GalleryPal iOS app displaying the Mona Lisa.

INDUSTRIES

Art
Recreation

ROLE

UX Designer

TIMELINE

5 Days

DESIGN SPRINT

Lightning Demos
User Map
Brainstorm

Sketches

Mockups
Prototype
Usability Testing

Problem: Many folks leave museums thinking they didn't really "get" the art.

Museums provide a wealth of information for visitors, but with limited details about each piece, it's tough to really connect with the art, and visitors often leave feeling like they missed out on something important. Working with GalleryPal's UX Research deliverables (video interview with a tour guide, persona, and key quotes from user interviews), I did a 5-day design sprint aimed at finding a solution to this problem.

How might we help museum goers appreciate the art to its full potential while navigating the museum?

UNDERSTAND

(Days 1 & 2)

After lightning demos of museum apps like Dali, Louvre, and Rijksmuseum, I learned that potential users are faced with a sea of tiny text and the option to listen to it.

GalleryPal, however, is targeting "Angela," a regular museum goer who would be overwhelmed by lots of text. She wants just enough context to appreciate the art.

GalleryPal had also interviewed an expert tour guide and 7 users who were more specific about how to connect with the art meaningfully. The tour guide encourages guests to take a close look at the artwork and think about what the artist is trying to say to them. The users were keen on knowing about the artist, their intentions, techniques, and of course, the artwork itself.

Expert tour guide

“I encourage people to look closely at what this artist is trying to do: Go as close as you can before stepping into the laser...At the end of the day, the artwork is really meant to understand yourself in an interesting way.

User Interview #1

“I may do a little research before my visit, but I always find a work of art that catches my eye that I didn’t read about.”

User Interview #2

“Sometimes I’ll do a quick Google search for a painting while on my phone while at the museum...but I usually just find long articles that are super overwhelming.”

User Interview #3

“I often wonder - what would the artist tell me about this piece if they had a minute to talk? How cool would that be?!?”

User Interview #4

“I enjoy looking at art, but sometimes I feel like I’m missing out on the full experience by not knowing any background information or context.”

User Interview #5

“There are so many times I find myself saying ‘how did the artist do that?!” - I would love to know more about their process and technique.”

User Interview #6

“I don’t really enjoy group tours because I like to do my own thing... but sometimes I listen in to learn a few facts about the artist, or the piece itself.”

User Interview #7

“I like to form my own opinion about art, but it can be hard to do that when I don’t really know anything about the artist, or what their intentions were in creating the work.”

To understand how and when to provide more info, I started user mapping, which revealed ways to enhance the museum experience: guiding visitors on what to look closely at and providing them with just the right amount of info to learn about themselves and appreciate the artwork.

Browses galleries

User independently wanders the museum, pausing at important art along the way.

Women getting very very close to art in the museum.

Looks closely at art

User examines important art pieces closely for meaning.

Person on phone in front of Van Gogh's self portrait

Searches for context

User finds info (online, plaques, nearby tours) about the artist, intent, technique, and fame.

Reflects for self-discovery

User understands self in a unique way and fully appreciates the art.

After reviewing GalleryPal's research deliverables, my strategy was to focus on encouraging users to look closely at the artwork while providing succinct context on only the most relevant topics (mentioned in user interview quotes).

IDEATE

(Days 2 & 3)

How might we help users feel like they understood the art they viewed on a deeper, more personal level?

Brainstorming: I sketched 8 unique solutions to this question that also help users access info quickly and discovered 3 major themes:

1: TARGETED TEXT

Prioritizes quick access to the info users want.

Option 1 sketches showing an image at the top with tappable headings for users to access the specific info they want.

2: A CLOSER LOOK

Favors simplicity to avoid overwhelming users.

Option 2 shows images of the art piece with interactive elements that help users look closely.

3: HYBRID

Favors simplicity to avoid overwhelming users.

Option 3 shows a smaller interface of Option 2 with some text below that can be viewed if tapped on.

Option 2 mirrored the user map more closely than the others, so I expanded the flow for A Closer Look to test:

Map offers quick access to nearby art pieces.

Sketch of GalleryPal Location Tracking Map

Interactive art highlights what to look closely at.

Sketch of GalleryPal's Take a Closer Look feature.

Brief text and short audio make info easy to digest.

PROTOTYPE

(Day 4)

Prototype

The prototype guides users to nearby art pieces, inviting them to take a closer look before providing bitesize snippets of relevant info.

Step 1: Location tracking map enables users to walk to or tap on nearby art pieces.

GalleryPal map of the Louvre shows doors, where the user is, and blue circles you can walk into to get more info about the art.

Step 2: Magnifying circle guides users on where to take a closer look.

GalleryPal Carousel zooms in on Mona Lisa's smile, showing a heading that says Artist's Inspiration along with a 2 sentence description of what about the smile inspired Da Vinci.

Step 3+: Tap or swipe through carousel until meaning is clear.

Headings are based on info users requested in key quotes: Artist’s Inspiration, Artist’s Intent, Artist’s Technique, and Why It’s Famous.

1-2 sentences on each heading gives just enough info for users to form their own opinions.

TEST

(Day 5)

Test

Usability tests: I found 5 young adults who visit museums at least 3 times a year and conducted tests via Zoom (due to the pandemic). Some had mixed feelings about location tracking because they don't like things popping up on the screen, and others found it tricky to take a closer look.

Next steps:

Forget location tracking - Scan the unique accession number of the art instead.
Facilitate taking a closer look by showing the animation right after scanning.
Test the carousel in a museum since this was not possible during the pandemic.

GalleryPal

Fostering art appreciation when meandering throughout the museum.

INDUSTRIES

ROLE

TIMELINE

DESIGN SPRINT

Problem: Many folks leave museums thinking they didn't really "get" the art.

How might we help museum goers appreciate the art to its full potential while navigating the museum?

UNDERSTAND

(Days 1 & 2)

After lightning demos of museum apps like Dali, Louvre, and Rijksmuseum, I learned that potential users are faced with a sea of tiny text and the option to listen to it.

GalleryPal, however, is targeting "Angela," a regular museum goer who would be overwhelmed by lots of text. She wants just enough context to appreciate the art.

To understand how and when to provide more info, I started user mapping, which revealed ways to enhance the museum experience: guiding visitors on what to look closely at and providing them with just the right amount of info to learn about themselves and appreciate the artwork.

After reviewing GalleryPal's research deliverables, my strategy was to focus on encouraging users to look closely at the artwork while providing succinct context on only the most relevant topics (mentioned in user interview quotes).

IDEATE

(Days 2 & 3)

How might we help users feel like they understood the art they viewed on a deeper, more personal level?

Brainstorming: I sketched 8 unique solutions to this question that also help users access info quickly and discovered 3 major themes:

1: TARGETED TEXT

Prioritizes quick access to the info users want.

2: A CLOSER LOOK

Favors simplicity to avoid overwhelming users.

3: HYBRID

Favors simplicity to avoid overwhelming users.

Option 2 mirrored the user map more closely than the others, so I expanded the flow for A Closer Look to test:

Map offers quick access to nearby art pieces.

Interactive art highlights what to look closely at.

Brief text and short audio make info easy to digest.

PROTOTYPE

(Day 4)

The prototype guides users to nearby art pieces, inviting them to take a closer look before providing bitesize snippets of relevant info.

TEST

(Day 5)

Usability tests: I found 5 young adults who visit museums at least 3 times a year and conducted tests via Zoom (due to the pandemic). Some had mixed feelings about location tracking because they don't like things popping up on the screen, and others found it tricky to take a closer look.

Next steps:

Forget location tracking - Scan the unique accession number of the art instead.

Facilitate taking a closer look by showing the animation right after scanning.

Test the carousel in a museum since this was not possible during the pandemic.

Check out the latest prototype here.

Previous Case Study: AcTVty