Google UX Design Certificate
In Progress
UX Case Study
Art Museum
Mobile App + Responsive Website
Overview
An app and a responsive website for a public art museum to advertise exhibitions and events, provide detailed artwork and museum information to patrons, and enable patrons to schedule visits in advance.
Goal
Our Art Museum app will elevate the museum experience for busy individuals and art enthusiasts. By offering advanced scheduling and in-depth artwork information accessible through entering corresponding plaque numbers into the app, we aim to create a more engaging and informative visit. We will measure effectiveness by tracking the number of users who utilize the app's scheduling feature and the rate of successful bookings as well as analyzing user behavior within the app, such as the frequency of plaque number inputs.
Role
Lead UX Designer
Tools
Figma
Timeline
November 2024 - Present
Competitive Audit
To initiate my research, I conducted a competitive analysis of four prominent art museum apps: the Art Institute of Chicago, Smartify, Bloomberg Connects, and the Getty Guide. This analysis focused on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor across key factors such as ease of use, design aesthetics, and feature set.
The Art Institute of Chicago and the Getty Guide were identified as our primary competitors, offering direct competition within the museum app space. Smartify and Bloomberg Connects were considered indirect competitors, offering broader art discovery platforms with overlapping features.
Gaps Identified
Overly complex and densely packed user interface
Lack of in-app option to schedule museum visits, reserve entry times, and purchase event tickets in advance
Frequent interruptions to the user experience due to redirects to external websites
Opportunities
Prioritize user experience by creating a clean, modern, and easy-to-navigate interface
In-app option to schedule museum visits, reserve entry times, and purchase event tickets in advance
Emphasize user convenience by integrating all necessary information and features into a single, intuitive app
User Personas
User Research
Insights gleaned from the competitive audit I completed and user personas created informed the initial design direction. These insights will be further refined and validated through subsequent usability studies.
ADITI
Aditi, a passionate fine arts student, wants to gain a comprehensive knowledge of art history and technique. She's eager to visit local museums and delve into the details of each artwork.
Basic Info
Age: 22
Education: Fine Arts
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Family: Single
Occupation: University Student
Motivations
Immerse oneself in art beyond the classroom setting
Learn about the history and techniques behind each piece
Pain Points
The cost of museum admissions can be a barrier for students
Each artwork is often accompanied by a very small plaque with limited details
DEVEN
Deven, a busy educator and parent, desires a hassle-free way to plan museum visits in advance to balance family time and cultural enrichment.
Basic Info
Age: 43
Education: Elementary Education
Hometown: Portland, OR
Family: Partner & Child
Occupation: Educator
Motivations
Discover upcoming exhibitions and events
Schedule their museum visits in advance
Engage with the art community
Pain Points
Most art museums don't offer app-based self-guided tours
Special exhibits aren't always well-promoted
User Journey Maps
Following my competitive audit and user research, I developed user journey maps for each persona. These maps helped me identify key user pain points and opportunities for design improvement, ultimately guiding my design decisions.
ADITI
Goal: Leverage a local art museum's mobile app to explore exhibits and learn about art in detail
DEVEN
Goal: Utilize a mobile app to plan and schedule visits to a local art museum
Storyboards
As part of my design thinking process, I created storyboards to visualize Deven's user journey. These storyboards, which included both a "big picture" and a "close-up" view, helped me empathize with Deven's needs and identify opportunities to create a user-friendly and valuable product experience.
Big Picture
Close-Up
Information Architecture
As a foundational step, I created an information architecture for my art museum application. This involved careful consideration of user needs and pain points, ensuring a well-structured and logically organized content framework before proceeding to wireframe design.
The Design
The Design
Coming Soon
Paper Wireframes
Digital wireframes
Low-fidelity prototype
Usability studies
Paper Wireframes
To explore various design options for my homepage, I developed five distinct wireframes. Through this iterative process, I identified and selected the elements within each wireframe that I believed best supported the planned content and created the most visually compelling user experience.