Case Study by Mariah Davenport
Overview
Guests at art museums and galleries often want to explore artwork at their own pace, as opposed to being led in a group. Many feel that background context is needed to fully understand and appreciate the intentions of the artist. Our users feel they are missing out on rich information, but are overwhelmed by the long, in-depth readings found online.
GalleryPal would like to explore how we can enhance the experience of viewing art in real-time. How might we adapt guests’ interaction with the art through a mobile device, without taking the user away from the art itself?
Lightning Demos
I studied and tested numerous competitor platforms and virtual tour applications for well-known museums in the NYC area. The following 3 applications stood out as the most successful interfaces containing a shared MVP with the GalleryPal platform.
Smartify: Art Scanner
The collections of art are organized by their locations in the venue, so it’s easy to find a piece you are looking at in real life. The user can scan and explore images by themselves, or take advantage of audio guided tours directly from the home screen.
I loved that you could decide to either read about the artwork and artist, or you could listen to an expert talk about the work while you continue viewing the art in-person.
Audio Tour
The problem I found with this platform is that the reading material about the artwork and artist was no different than a Wikipedia page. This content was not engaging or eye-catching in any way.
Art Local
I appreciated the way this app asked for access. It gave me clear information about how it will use the access and made the decision feel like a polite request, rather than an inescapable decision.
Shazam
Shazam is so well-known, it has become its own verb. Any app that uses an image to search for a result should operate as smoothly as shazam.
Crazy 8s
The screen I selected for my Crazy 8’s was where the user begins to learn about the artwork in question. How this information is presented to the user is critical to the engagement and continued use of the application.
Crazy 8s Sketch
Solution Screens
The first moment of engagement begins when the user decides which artwork to view. I chose to present this information to the user in the form of a 3D virtual preview. Using the user’s location within the exhibition, the art they are viewing will be recommended to them, along with a list of nearby artwork.
Once a piece of artwork is selected, the user is given an option to learn more about the artwork, learn more about the artist, or interact with the platform and other users about their reaction to the artwork. The third screen shows the most valuable information, broken down into 3 topics.
Final Solutions
I chose to focus my storyboard on how the user will interact with the platform the very first time. Once I placed myself into the shoes of the GalleryPal user, I was able to discover the 2 most viable processes.
I decided there are two core reasons for an individual to pick up their phone to enhance their in-person experience of viewing art. The first is to learn deeper insights into the meaning of a piece that you can’t get from the surface. Path A represents the process of learning about and interacting with the artwork one is actively viewing. In addition to reading the story behind the art, users can select their reaction to the artwork and interact with users who had the same reaction.
The second purpose is to discover what piece of art you’re looking at in the first place.
Path B represents the act of searching for art and adding it to the platform’s catalogue.
Both paths focus on the interaction with the art, instead of reading a lengthy Wikipedia style page.
Prototyping
Design Decisions
Allowing the user to comment on how the art makes that feel and have a conversation with other users gives us an opportunity to enhance their experience with the art on a deeper people-to-people level.
The image on the app was intentionally smaller because the assumption was that people prefer to focus on the artwork in person.
The “ask me anything” feature can use the “Wikipedia page” content to offer a quick resolution to exactly what the user wants to know. This solves the problem of user’s being fed large paragraphs of information they don’t care about
Artwork Select
Users
The 5 participants I interviewed were all avid technology users between the ages of 25 – 30. All participants are living in the NYC area and visit art galleries regularly.
Testing was done at a mutual friend’s residence. Each participant sat with me and navigated through the same task. I gave them time to complete the task and discuss how they would further use the platform after the initial task was completed. My findings are summarized below.
Interview Setup
Goals & Expectations
While testing the prototype, I hope users are able to easily navigate and allow access to the feature they choose to use. My goals are to ensure that there is no frustration or confusion involved in the first 30 seconds of opening this application. I would like to know, which features are users most inclined to explore further and what are their motivations for doing so? This information will help direct which features are most critical to focus on.
Prompt
“You are a guest at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery. You are using GalleryPal to enhance your experience of the artwork you’re viewing in real-time.”
“Your task is to explore the app and learn more about the portrait of President Barack Obama.”
Findings
Issue #1:
Users were stuck in a loop of information while learning about the art.
“Just put an end to it”
Summary
- There is no clear end goal of information
- Users didn’t know when to stop looking for more information.
- There is no clear indication of where to navigate next.
Recommendations
- Use page numbers or dots to track the completion of information.
- Show a screen that notifies the end and prompts the next step.
- Move “ask me anything” prompt to the end of the information cycle.
Artist Technique
Issue #2:
Users unanimously wanted to view a high-resolution photo of the art.
Summary
- The photo of the artwork in question was too small.
- Users wanted to zoom in on key details of the artwork.
Recommendations
- Use the majority of the screen to showcase the image of the first preview screen
- Give an option to view the image large on click.
Artwork Select
Issue #3:
Access allowances
Summary
- Users want more information about privacy disclosure and location usage.
- Users want to use the app and find the artwork they’re viewing, without having to allow access to their location.
Recommendations
- Provide an option to learn more in-depth information about camera and location access.
- Note that location will only be in use while inside the museum
- Note that no data is saved and information will not be used in data pooling.
- Provide a link to a more in-depth breakdown of data usage.
Camera Access
Future Iterations
What People are Saying
Summary
- Users expect a comment board but are wary of other users “trolling” on the board.
- Expect to see people sharing on social media.
Recommendations
- The comment board only contains content from critics or verified analysis’.
- The comment board acts as a guest book and only allows comments from people who are verified to be in the gallery. No anonymity.
- The comment board is tailored to show comments from people who share your specific reaction to the artwork.
Reacting to art
Summary
- Users think It is interesting to gauge public opinion.
- Want to see statistical data or polls like they see on Instagram or Facebook.
Recommendations
- After engagement, show the percentage of people that chose the same reaction as you.
- Tailor the “What people are saying” feature to show only critics and comments with the same reaction as you.
Interactive Features
Research Lead & User Stories
One participant that used the art scanning feature gave a recommendation for an app he uses with a similar feature. The app is for a street artist with tags across the world. Users can scan the artwork, mark it on the map and save it to their gallery.
Another participant expressed the excitement of scanning something you’ve seen in person and saving it to your gallery.
“I went to the gallery, these are the things I loved”
This can be done to save your favorite images of artwork that you’ve seen at a variety of different galleries. This feature would take away the need to take photos of the art in the museum, in enhancing the in-person experience for everyone. As an added bonus, users can mark and track every place they’ve been, and recall favorite moments long after they’ve left.