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Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Philadelphia Museum of Art

My Collections is an added feature that I proposed to help users search the museum's collection and save & organize art pieces

My Collections is an added feature that I proposed to help users search the museum's collection and save & organize art pieces

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Industry

Insurtech

Roles

UX & UI Designer
UX & UI Designer

Category

Student Project
Student Project

Background

After wandering around the Philadelphia Museum of Art for 3 hours, I found that I still was unable to see all the pieces in the museum. And it’s not my fault: with about 240,000 objects to look at and a long history within the city (founded in 1876), the museum is vast with an overwhelming amount of ground to cover that just simply cannot be done in one 3-hour visit. I figured that many others would feel the same, especially those who are visiting the museum for the first time.

At first, I proposed to use AI (artificial intelligence) to generate suggestions for what pieces to look at based on user inputs, however, I later discovered through research that the common issue people have with the Philadelphia Museum's app (and other museum apps) is that it does extend the experience to before and after a museum visit (long term marketing and usage).

Rather than using AI to generate suggestions, it would end up being more helpful to give people access to the museum's collection before and after their trip.

Background


After wandering around the Philadelphia Museum of Art for 3 hours, I found that I still was unable to see all the pieces in the museum. And it’s not my fault: with about 240,000 objects to look at and a long history within the city (founded in 1876), the museum is vast with an overwhelming amount of ground to cover that just simply cannot be done in one 3-hour visit.

At first, I proposed to use AI (artificial intelligence) to generate suggestions for what pieces to look at based on user inputs, however, I later discovered through research:

Rather than using AI to generate suggestions, it would end up being more helpful to give people access to the museum's collection before and after their trip.

Background

After wandering around the Philadelphia Museum of Art for 3 hours, I found that I still was unable to see all the pieces in the museum. And it’s not my fault: with about 240,000 objects to look at and a long history within the city (founded in 1876), the museum is vast with an overwhelming amount of ground to cover that just simply cannot be done in one 3-hour visit. I figured that many others would feel the same, especially those who are visiting the museum for the first time.

At first, I proposed to use AI (artificial intelligence) to generate suggestions for what pieces to look at based on user inputs, however, I later discovered through research that the common issue people have with the Philadelphia Museum's app (and other museum apps) is that it does extend the experience to before and after a museum visit (long term marketing and usage).

Rather than using AI to generate suggestions, it would end up being more helpful to give people access to the museum's collection before and after their trip.

Process

Process

01

Research

• Competitive Analysis

• Interviews

02

Synthesis

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

03

Product Definition

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

04

Architecture

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

05

Prototype

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

01

Research

• Competitive Analysis

• Interviews

02

Synthesis

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

03

Product Definition

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

04

Architecture

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

05

Prototype

We conducted user interviews, surveys, and analyzed in-app analytics to understand the pain points and user needs. We also studied competitor apps and industry trends to gather insights

01 Research & Analysis

01 Research

01 Research

Competitive Analysis

Competitors: RUKS Mueseum, The British Museum, Spotify


Takeaway: Opportunities

  • Personalization of information and data

  • Long-term usage: Using the app before, during and after a museum visit

User Interviews

5 user interviewees (1 interviewee is a homeschool teacher and frequents local museums)

Takeaways:

  • All participants preferred to explore on their own rather than use a tour guide

  • All participants enjoy as sense of surprise/discovery during their visits, even if they planned beforehand

  • Everyone shared a common pain point that the plaques of the pieces did not share as much information as they wanted and/or was hard to read (whether it’s because of placement or crowds)

  • All participants have a sort of art background and would often need to take a photo of a piece, along with its information plaque, so that they can research further when they leave the museum (or remember the piece, or to keep tabs of their sketches/ideas)

  • Those who visited the Philly Museum (2 out of 5) stated they did not know what to really expect to see when they arrive there, other than upcoming/current showcases

  • All participants (at various levels) like to plan for or have a general outline of what they want to see at a museum

5 user interviewees (1 interviewee is a homeschool teacher and frequents local museums)

Takeaways:

  • Everyone shared a common pain point that the plaques of the pieces did not share as much information as they wanted and/or was hard to read (whether it’s because of placement or crowds)

  • All participants have a sort of art background and would often need to take a photo of a piece, along with its information plaque, so that they can research further when they leave the museum (or remember the piece, or to keep tabs of their sketches/ideas)

02 Synthesis

Affinity Mapping

Takeaway:


Pain Points

  • Time & budget constraints

  • Getting lost in the museum

  • Not being able to know what to expect before arriving to a museum

  • Hard time understanding museum layout during the first visit

  • Not having enough information on a piece/artist/ having a hard time with information plaques

  • Having to use separate app to “bookmark” pieces and take notes for after-visit research/learning


Common Themes

  • Art as a reflection of history and culture

  • Museums as a safe and quiet space for introspection

  • Self-sufficiency

  • Knowing what they want to see but also being open to discovering something new/unexpected


Opportunities

  • Personalization of information and data

  • Filtering large amount of information (all pieces available in the collection)  to fit preferences

  • Bookmarking/favorites section with further information and ability to take notes and revisit a piece after leaving the museum

Personas

Based on the interviews, I was able to break down the personas two two archetypes:

  • The Student/ The Explorer: Visitors who frequent the museum and most likely is there for educational purposes

  • The Planner/ New Visitor: Someone who needs to plan a visit before arriving to the museum (whether it's because it's their first time or they have guests over and need to plan the visit)

Based on the interviews, I was able to break down the personas two two archetypes:

The Student/ The Explorer: Visitors who frequent the museum and most likely is there for educational purposes

The Planner/ New Visitor: Someone who needs to plan a visit before arriving to the museum (whether it's because it's their first time or they have guests over and need to plan the visit)

03 Product Definition

Project Goals

Takeaways:

  • Good organization of information for an easy visit experience (pre-planning to after leaving the museum)

  • Increase in pride of the city of Philadelphia

    • Facilitating sense of culture and community

Problem Statements

Choosing a Feature

I decided to go with the "For You" feature as it addressed almost all the Problem Statements. In later iterations, this feature will be re-named to "My Collections"

04 Architecture

User & Task Flows

Takeaways:

  • I learned after three iterations of user flows that the more linear and simple they are, the more usability success increases

  • I edited down from two feature ideas to just one. Sometimes, you just need one good idea to start

  • I used Pinterest as a reference as they were the first app I thought of when it came to bookmarking

Takeaways:

  • I edited down from two feature ideas to just one. Sometimes, you just need one good idea to start

  • I used Pinterest as a reference as they were the first app I thought of when it came to bookmarking

Low-Fidelity Wireframes & Testing

Results:

  1. Some users anticipated searching the museum collection first and then creating a collection

  2. Users found suggestions pop-up to be helpful

  3. 3/5 users want the images to be larger than the text as they often will remember the piece by what it looks like rather than by title and artist

    • Users understood that you need to save a min. of 3 pieces to a collection to generate a route

05 Prototype

Usability Testing & Results

Key Takeaways:

  • All testers found the feature easy to use

  • All testers understood that they could generate a route if they save 3+ art pieces in a collection

  • All testers found the new feature useful and desirable: could be used for educational purposes, planning a trip, hosting visitors and/or for reference

Searching the Museum Collection & Creating Your Own Collection

Adding Notes to a Saved Art Piece

05 Prototype

05 Prototype

Final Product

final product

Next Steps

During my prototype testing, all testers showed interest in the "Map a Route" feature. My next steps would be to develop this feature, giving users to customize a route in the museum based off of their created collection (after saving up to three art pieces in a collection)

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