Embedded Files
Role
UX Designer, responsible for all aspects from beginning to end.Duration
Feb 2023 - May 2023
Final designs show a gallery map (left), artwork page (center), and transcribed text (right) for the artwork's individual audio tour.
The Product
The Product
This app was created for the fictional art gallery, Swartz Gallery. Its purpose is to be a companion to gallery-goers and a resource for those at home by offering additional insight into the history behind the artworks. Designed with accessibility and simplicity in mind, it encourages users to learn in the way they feel most comfortable, from non-native speakers to visual learners and many others in between.
The Problem
The Problem
Accessibility is generally lacking in gallery apps, and usability is restricted while outside of the gallery.
The Goal
The Goal
Design an app with an emphasis on accessibility to accommodate wider audiences for use at the gallery or at home.
Research
Research
Initial research included interviews based off four faux bios, performing competitive audits on three real-world competitors, and creating personas, problem statements, user journey maps, and user flows (seen below).
Show above is an example of a user flow created prior to prototype creation based on changing languages in the app's Settings.
Wireframes
Wireframes
Paper wireframes provided a starting point for digital wireframes.
Minor layout changes were made leading up to the first usability study. Original designs meant to offer users with a dynamic and asymmetrical homepage. My feelings at this point were that it would need to be slimmed down for simplicity and ease of use.
Before usability study (left) and after (right).
Low-Fidelity & 1st Usability Study
Low-Fidelity & 1st Usability Study
Iterations were made based on feedback following the first usability study from the low-fidelity prototype.
In this one example, the Search screen prior to the usability study included two separate fields, one specifying a "code" search for when users would be at the museum, and a second field for broader searches, including title, artist, or art movement. The "code" search field was emphasized to encourage that as the primary method of searching, though this proved to be too jarring for users. All search methods were instead condensed into one search field.
View the complete low-fidelity prototype.
High-Fidelity & 2nd Usability Study
High-Fidelity & 2nd Usability Study
Additional iterations were made based on feedback following the second usability study from the high-fidelity prototype.
You can see here that the iterations made to the map were minor, though big enough to ensure easier use. Artist labels were added to the museum rooms, the unspecified blue dot representing a user's approximate location in the museum was changed to a more widely recognized icon, and some brief instruction was added under the map to introduce the map's interactivity in a non intrusive way.
View the complete high-fidelity prototype.
Before usability study (left) and after (right).
Final Designs
Final Designs
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
Never make assumptions. As a designer, you have a restricted view of the app. You know what certain aspects of the design are supposed to do when others might not. This is why usability studies are so important, that way you get outside perspectives to shed new light on what can be improved.
"It feels like it's got a lot of content, but it's designed in a way that it's concise."
"I think it's good to have. It's a very concise app."
–quotes from peer feedback
"It's engaging, but not distracting where I would have my head in my phone the whole time."
"It's simple, but it's thorough."
Want to learn more about this project? View the in-depth Swartz Gallery case study.
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