GalleryPal

a museum companion app

OVERVIEW

Using a modified approach to the Google Venture’s Design Sprint, I took user research from the GalleryPal app to design an interface that supplements and enhances the museum going experience. This case study will break down the 5 days* of the sprint and illustrate the learnings and possible direction for the app to take.

*This solo design sprint ended up taking about 2 weeks when you take into account the need to schedule usability tests.

ROLES

UX Researcher/Designer
UI Designer

TOOLS

Figma
Google Sheets

PROJECT DURATION

2 weeks

Day 1 - Understand/Map

I began day one by delving into the user research provided for the the GalleryPal app.

CHALLENGES

How might we improve the experience of viewing art in a museum or gallery?

CONSTRAINTS

  • Improving the in-person viewing experience.

  • Designed as a mobile app or mobile-optimized website.

INSIGHTS FROM USER INTERVIEWS

  • Users can be overwhelmed by the large amount of information available when google searching the artwork/artist on their own.

  • A tour guide in the palm of your hand. It should give the user not only the basic information (artist, date, material), but also present any relevant anecdotes or stories that can help the user gain a fuller understanding (or at least some sort of attachment to the work)

  • “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 beforehand.” - Claire

  • The main focus should be on enjoying the work in front of the user. The app should be able to quickly take a photo and present an overview of information quickly without taking the user out of the museum/gallery experience.

User map

Day 2 - Sketching

Identification flow from PictureThis App

Displayed information from AirBNB App

LIGHTNING DEMO

On Day 2 I began with a “lightening demo”. Since this was a solo project, instead of sharing my findings with my team I time-blocked 30 minutes to look at current apps on the market for inspiration.

PictureThis - Plant Identification App

  • App opens with the camera.

  • Sections of information with the ability to “save” for further reading or share

AirBNB

  • They way pertinent information is displayed clearly, with more detailed information as you scroll or open up the “read more” allows for a quick understanding of the basics.

SKETCHES

After gathering inspiration from PictureThis and AirBNB I moved on to the sketching phase. For my initial sketches, I focused on the screen that would show up after identifying the piece. Since the goal is to display information concisely without overwhelming the user, that was the focus on this round. I did a “crazy 8” round (8 sketches in 8 minutes) to generate ideas on how the imagery, content, and buttons lay out together before deciding on the final direction.

“Crazy 8” sketches

SOLUTION SKETCH

For the solution sketch, I focused on the camera screen, the information screen, and the saved favorites screen. I decided to ground everything with the bottom navigation to allow for easy movement throughout the app. I wanted the camera to be in the center of the navigation so the user can quickly move on to the next piece when they’re ready. Since the primary use of the app will be at the gallery or museum, I wanted a way for the user to save the content for later as well. This way–after they get home–they can read further into the works that inspired them.

Solution sketch

Day 3 - Decide

Storyboard

STORYBOARD

The basic action of GalleryPal can be completed with ease. When the user is struck with the desire to learn more about a work of art, the app opens up directly to the camera–ready to identify the work! Showing basic information first, the user can scroll through pertinent information that helps to build the context around why the piece is museum-worthy. With the ability to save to their “gallery” to come back to, along with related pieces being displayed in the information panel, the user can build their contextual knowledge over time to become the art appreciator of their dreams.

Since this was a solo design sprint, I had already decided on a direction with my solution sketch from day 2 so I moved directly into storyboarding.

Day 4 - Prototype

Version 1 of the user interface design

UI DESIGN

I wanted to keep the UI for this app very simple. Utilizing the brand color sparingly to keep it impactful when in use, while also using simple typography to allow the artwork to stand out. The goal of the app is to supplement the user’s experience while at a museum or gallery, so they should be able to complete their task quickly so they can go back to enjoying the work in front of them. As an avid museum-goer myself, adding the “gallery” and “explore” features are a way to remember the pieces that stuck with the user while at the museum, without taking a photo of the information plaque only for it to be completely forgotten and later deleted from the camera roll since you don’t remember why you even took a random photo of a museum plaque to begin with…

Day 5 - Test

Rainbow Spreadsheet with insights from user interviews

USABILITY TEST

Over the course of a week I virtually tested the prototype with 5 occasional to frequent art museum goers. After getting a sense of how they typically experience art in a museum we delved into the prototype itself. Once the context of the app was provided, I asked the users to use the app how they would expect to use it, while thinking out loud during the process. Based on feedback from these 5 tests I pulled out 3 important points to focus on adjusting the design before finalizing the prototype. These 3 points are:

  • Only 1 out of 5 users actually scrolled horizontally to view more images in the “related” or “explore” sections.

  • The “gallery” page, while the majority understood that it was where works were saved for later, could use more clarity in the name.

  • Multiple users recommended shifting the “a little context” section above the story of the work on the information screen.

Updated UI

Version 2 of the user interface design based on user feedback

UPDATED DESIGN

Based on the 3 main points from the testing phase I adjusted the prototype to help solve those challenges better.

  • I adjusted the image cards where there is a horizontal scroll so the user can see a hint of what is off the screen so they are prompted to scroll. I also moved the “see more” button to the end of the scroll so it shows up at the end of the horizontal scroll instead of already on the page.

  • I re-titled the “Gallery” page as “My Gallery” so the user better understands that it’s their personal gallery and not an extension of the gallery they are physically in.

  • I did take the suggestion of moving the “little context” section above the story on the information page. This created a better flow of information as the user scrolls down the page, starting with the shortest info to the longest.

Reflections

WHAT’S NEXT

Though the timeframe was short, I believe the results are a pretty decent MVP of the GalleryPal app that is ripe with possibilities. Additional features to help enhance the art viewing experience could include:

  • A location feature so you are able to see relevant works based on the museum the user is at.

  • Inclusion of audio content.

  • More control on the organization and searching of “saved” works.

  • Addition of current news articles or other relevant content to help build a connection with the user.

If you would like to learn more about this project, email me at hello@jamiekepko.com.
If you would like to test the prototype yourself, you can do so at this link:
https://bit.ly/3Dd2x2l

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