Case Study - 2021
Art Gallery Audio Guide App
The creation of an audio guide for the different exhibitions available at the Art Gallery is offered in multiple languages.
MY ROLE
Lead UX designer, UX researcher, UI Designer.RESPONSIBILITIES
User research, wireframing, prototyping, testing, UI DesignProblem
Visitors cannot learn more about the exhibits in their language and in their available time.
Goal
Our Art Gallery Audio Guide app will let users choose which art pieces they want to learn more about, which will affect people with limited time to visit by allowing them to spend time on what matters most.
User Research
For our user research, we wanted to understand how people experience an art gallery or museum and their experience with audio guides in the past.
I interviewed 5 people, 2 women, 3 men from the mid-30s to late 60s. I interviewed users via virtual meetings and in-person for about 10-15 minutes.
User Research: Pain Points
Bad Translations
Most visitors are not native speakers and many times the translations are not accurate. We will have native speakers translate the audio into multiple languages.
Time Constraints
Visitors don’t always have enough time to view all exhibitions, they need visibility to the time it will take to take the tour or control how fast they move. We will provide estimated times for the tour.
No Playback Control
Too Expensive
Visitors often have to purchase an audio guide as an add-on to their already paid ticket. It can be expensive and sometimes unavailable. Our app will be free to use.
Personas
Problem statement:
Elena is an empty-nester dentist who needs to understand and learn more about the art she experiences because English is not her first language and wants to be enlightened.
Problem statement:
Noah is a Graphic Designer with a busy work schedule and family life. He likes to explore and discover new artists, however, his time and attention span are limited, he would like to choose what he learns more about and mainly interesting facts.
User Journey Map
The goal of our users is to enjoy the art primarily, but also have a smooth experience touring the gallery and learning as much as desired.
Design Process
Paper Wireframes
The goal for the homepage was to showcase the different audio guides offered, as well as an option to choose a language and easy navigation.
Digital Wireframes
When digitizing the wireframes, the goal was to recreate the paper wireframe that encompassed all the desired features.
Low-fidelity Prototype
Link to low-fidelity prototype
The app starts at the homepage with the availability of choosing language and audio-tour. Once on the audio tour, the user can select to start the tour, choose a specific art piece to learn more about, or switch to map view.
Usability Study: Findings
I conducted a moderated usability test, the participants consisted of 5 participants: 3 males, 2 females between the ages of 30 – 70.
Findings
Some participants found it difficult to navigate the app.
Some participants found the menu difficult to find
- Some participants could not go back to the previous screen
Refining Design
Mockups
Considering the first usability study, I created a mock-up that addressed the user pain points.
Accessibility considerations
Language selection to accommodate people from different parts of the world.
Contrasting colors and large buttons for easy visibility.
Captions for audio, for the hard of hearing.
Going forward
Takeaways
Impact:
People from different countries can enjoy the art in their language, can decide which tour to take, and how much time to spend, and the audio tours are included with the gallery purchase ticket.
What I learned:
Users want to be in control of their time and experience. And although you cannot please everyone, you can still provide a great experience for your user when solving their pain points.
Next steps
To provide the most accurate language translations to avoid confusion and bad translations.
Provide font size selection for those with some visual impairment.
Make the maps more interactive to allow for an enhanced experience.
