Gallery Pal
How might we find a solution that will enhance the museum experience?

Understanding

Gallery Pal Must:
Improve the in-person experience
Must be a mobile app or mobile website

Key:
Focus on the User experience at a museum.

Research synthesis

Insights:
1. Users are overwhelmed while searching for painting information at a gallery. They usually find articles that are too long while performing a search.
2. Users are missing out on a full experience while not knowing any background information or context about the artwork being viewed.
3. Users wouldn’t mind listening to an expert during a museum visit.
4. Users want to know the intentions behind the art to form their own opinion.
5. Users want to know about the technique and technical process behind a work of art.
6. What could the artist tell the user if they had the chance?

User Persona:
- Angela
- 23 years old
- Jr. Art Director
- Lives in NYC
- Angela browses exhibits that are popular at the moment
- She would have a better experience if she knew more about the art - the info she usually finds is too long in length.

*Key Goal:
Get information quickly while looking at the art to gain a better appreciation of the art.

Video notes (Interview w/ gallery guide):
- Encourage people to look at the art individually in order to reflect on what the piece means to you.
- Would be nice to have a short story about the artist, learning about their state of mind when they produced a work of art.
- ‘Tidbits’ about why a certain technique was used.

Mapping

I sketched 3 maps for how the Gallery Pal flow can possibly work. From here, I will decide which flow will work the best for the process within the application.

Map 1. I was thinking the User could either open the app at the museum or gallery they’re visiting, view the pieces while they’re browsing an exhibit, choose (click) the link for that particular piece, then be given all the necessary info for the piece (artist name, artist bio, information about the piece/exhibit). While it made sense to me, I wanted to try mapping a couple more ideas.

Map 2. The User chooses the museum they’re visiting, ones that use Gallery Pal, chooses an exhibit to view, then while viewing the exhibit with the camera phone on, the User would see ‘pins’ next to art pieces. The User would then be able to select a ‘pin’, then be given information about the work of art. Or, the User can view the list of pieces in the exhibit while browsing, then ‘click’ to view the information for that particular piece - in which, the idea of viewing a list was in my first Map.

I liked this idea, but I worried that the idea of the User seeing ‘pins’ on their phone, next to works of art, could be a little distracting; like it could possibly ruin the museum/gallery experience by forcing the User to pay more attention to their screen than the exhibit.

Map 3. My 3rd map was the concept of snapping a picture of artwork in an exhibit, or using the camera while walking through the exhibit. The User would hold their camera up to a work of art, the art is automatically scanned, then identified. Once the image is recognized, the User is given a wealth of information about that particular piece. I don’t know much, if anything, about using camera phone technology to ‘scan’ a piece of art, so I read a bit about other apps that use this technology in museums and galleries. I read a couple articles about Users having trouble identifying complex pieces while scanning, even pieces that are well known, but they’d have success with identifying the work of art by snapping a picture.

With that in mind, I wanted to give the User both options - the ability to receive information about the art/artist via scanning the work, as well as by snapping a picture. As well, the information about the artist, work, and exhibit in general will be available via audio and text, so the User can browse information while away from the exhibit, or while walking through the exhibit.

Sketching

To begin thinking about possible solutions to the problem, I used the crazy 8’s method to get ideas flowing. While sketching, I was thinking about how I don’t want an application that gets in the way of the User’s gallery experience.

Before the sketching process, I went through a few lightning demos to see if there are any products on the market that are similar to my concept. If so, it would be nice to gather inspiration from them.

Below are screenshots from other applications on the market that can help inspire the Gallery Pal project.

Inspiration (Lightning Demos):

Solution Sketch:

For my possible solution, the User who’s visiting a museum can view all information for an exhibit in one location (left panel), but if they’d like to walk through the exhibit with their phone in Scan mode, the User can then hold their phone up to a work of art, the scan process begins (middle sketch), and once the piece of art has been scanned, a small box pops up with the title of the piece, the artist’s name, and the options to save for later reviewing, or More to view a deep dive into the work of art - audio, technical information (technique, medium), as well as the artist’s history.

Storyboarding

I started storyboarding by thinking about where the User might be in the flow before they begin using the feature that’s being implemented for Gallery Pal. Below, the flow starts on the left, where the user is on the Home panel for the application. From here, the User can choose to browse an exhibit, or possibly select one of the Featured pieces. For this example, the user is selecting a specific tour to visit.

Once the tour is selected, the User is taken to the panel to receive details about the exhibit - the artist(s), number of pieces, the museum location, as well as the ability to listen to audio about the pieces in the exhibit. I created an option to Start Tour, in which the user could walk through and listen to audio snippets about each piece.

If the user would rather not choose that option, the user can choose to Scan while walking through the exhibit. In Scan mode, the user can hold their camera up to a work of art, the Scan automatically starts, then the artwork is identified.

Once the piece has been identified, the user is provided with a panel to slide up from the bottom. This panel will hold all information about the scanned piece of art. From here, the user can learn more about the artist, the artist’s technique and medium, as well as have the ability to listen to an audio snippet about the piece.

Prototyping

When I began prototyping, I kept thinking about how I did not want this to be an application that takes away from the gallery experience.

For the initial screen (above, left), the User receives a listing of the available galleries and exhibits that will allow a User to scan works of art while they browse an exhibit. Once an exhibit or gallery link is chosen, the User will be taken to the main, landing screen for the exhibit. In this case, the User will be viewing the Out of the rain exhibit.

In the brief for the Gallery Pal project, I learned that the User would like to learn more about the piece of art that’s being viewed. With that in mind, I wanted to give the user an overview of the exhibit they’re viewing, as well as a bit of information about the artist whose work is being represented.

Once the User selects to begin the tour, a screen is presented that allows the User to listen to audio while going through the exhibit. My idea was to allow for the User to select to play audio for each piece in the exhibit, but not in any particular order.

One of the main things I wanted to implement is a Scan feature (below, left), which allows a User to hold their phone up to a work of art, the scan of the artwork begins, then the User receives information about the art, with the ability to tap More to give the user even more information about the work.

If the User doesn’t want to Scan, the option of being able to photograph the work of art is available, in which the photograph would be scanned for identification after the photo’s been taken.

I feel like the Scan and Photo modes could be really cool. Before this project, I didn’t know anything about the ability to scan works of art and receive information on a piece, etc., so after reading some information about other apps like Gallery Pal, I noticed Users were stating frustrations about not being able to Scan some pieces of art (think, sculptures) even when the piece is relatively well known.

With that in mind, using the Photo mode for identification might work better than Scan mode in some situations.

On the left (above), is the screen the User sees when Scan mode is entered. The User would hold their camera up to the piece of art they’d like to identify, and if the piece is identifiable, a box pops up, showing the name of the piece, as well as a bit of technical information (above, right, the User is given the size of the piece, as well as a brief description of the technique used). From here, the User would tap ‘More’ to receive more information about the piece of art, with a list of audio snippets available, describing the piece, as well as information about the artist.

Below is the panel that comes up after the User selects ‘More’ to view all available information on a work of art. If the User closes this panel, they’re taken back to the initial Scan screen, where they can scan the same piece or Scan another piece of art.

Testing

For my round of usability testing, I wanted to recruit a few creatives, in which 3 of my participants are artists. My other two participants are 1) a library sciences major (I like this because this participant is involved with cataloging information) and 2) a sous chef who doesn’t visit art exhibitions at all. All of the test participants are tech savvy and spend a lot of time on their phones.

One of my goals was to see if the Users could efficiently go through the process to gather information about an exhibit or work of art in a way that feels natural, or in a way that doesn’t hinder the museum/gallery experience. My second goal in testing the Gallery Pal flow was to see if the Users felt they were being given enough information about the exhibit or work of art being viewed. Lastly, I wanted to know if my participants like to go on guided tours while visiting a museum, or if they prefer to view pieces on their own.

My usability tests were done remotely for all participants via sharing my screen, then briefing them on the project, as well as the task. After each test, the participants were asked to give their insight on Gallery Pal. I think I’m okay with interviewing participants, and I’m learning how to become a better interviewer, but I realized that interviewing participants during a pandemic can be tricky, and that remote testing can feel distant.

Insights:

User 1 (artist):
The flow felt straight-forward and the User was able to complete the task of scanning the work of art. This user stated that she isn’t always looking for background information on piece - sometimes she just browses exhibits for inspiration, something visual to help with her own work. The User did state that having other information (audio about the piece/technique etc.) is helpful and could help spark an idea to use in her own work. This User doesn’t like guided tours when visiting a museum.

User 2 (artist):
This User enjoys browsing museum exhibits & felt that the Scan mode could be beneficial, but wondered if the piece could be scanned if the exhibit is filled with people to where the piece you’re trying to scan is blocked by viewers. It was suggested that Users should have the ability to scan the artwork label, possibly with a QR code, as well as have the ability to scan the artwork itself (what happens if after scanning/photographing the art itself, the art isn’t identified, or doesn’t provide any results?). This User doesn’t use guided tours when visiting exhibit and wouldn’t want to because he prefers going at his own pace.

* If an artwork scan or photograph doesn’t provide any results, the list of pieces within the exhibit is still listed within the ‘profile’ for the exhibit, so the ability to tap a link for info on each piece while browsing the exhibit could work, but would it take away from the museum experience (spending more time looking at the phone).

User 3 (artist):
This User sees how this could be a beneficial tool but has never used a tool like Gallery Pal. Also, the User doesn’t know how he would feel about seeing visitors use this technology while viewing a show of his. He does think having the ability to hear audio about the artist’s process, or tools used to create the artwork, could be beneficial and inspirational. He found the flow to be efficient and easy to navigate.

User 4 (library sciences major):
The User found the flow to be laid out well but was confused with the Scan function in the prototype, so I had to explain that for this example I wanted him to tap the Scan button to imitate the functionality. This User likes the concept of Gallery Pal because it’s a way for art to be cataloged and organized in a way that benefits museum visitors and could possibly enhance the tour experience at these locations. With that said, the User does feel like there are so many pieces of art in the world that would need to be scanned and identified, so it could be disappointing if you’re visiting a museum that doesn’t use Gallery Pal to enhance the experience. Also, having a detailed Help section would be nice for people who aren’t familiar with this technology.

User 5 (sous chef):
This User was able to navigate the flow to find information about the artwork and exhibit & stated that if the app works well, it could push her to visit galleries and museum more because it could be fun to identify and learn about various artwork. The User also stated that it could make the gallery experience a lot more fun, having the ability to pick a random piece of art that looks cool, hold your phone up to it, then be given all kinds of information.

*My Insights and Thoughts:
This project was a lot of fun. If there were more time, I feel like many features could enhance the Gallery Pal experience. I also wish I knew more information behind the ‘scanning’ of artwork, as well as AR technology in general.

If I were going to iterate on this design further, I would want to give the User a Help file - information about what to do if a piece of artwork isn’t identifiable, as well as information on how to use the Scan function, with pros/cons of scanning vs. photographing. I would also want to give the User the ability to save information to view later, and possibly the ability to receive notifications from galleries and museums that use Gallery Pal.

The main goal of Gallery Pal is to improve a User’s in-person experience at museums. With this sprint, I think I came up with a good foundation for a product that can be built upon to continue helping museum patrons.