AR that Aim to Enhance In-Person Museum Experience

Introduction 

This is a product design case that I started in the UCLA Extension Mentorship class with my mentor Thomas Dillmann. Thomas had tasked me to design a product that utilizes AR to enhance an in-person experience. A few examples that we discussed were AR for outdoor activities, galleries, and museums. 

I was the product designer for this project, and in the course of the Mentorship class, Thomas gave invaluable feedback, I also had comments from my fellow classmates. I continued to work on developing this product after the completion of my UX Design Certificate at UCLA Extension.

The Challenge

Constraints and Limitations

During our project briefing, Thomas and I have set up the scope and limitations of this project. 

1. The product must be for a known and real museum/venue that has a real physical location

2. The product will make use of AR technology to enhance the in-person experience

3. The product may include Augmented Reality Wayfinding

Designing an AR product for the Broad Museum, Los Angeles

Understanding the above limitations, I decided to design a product that includes AR functionality for the Broad Museum for the following reasons.

1. I have always had a great interest in Modern & Contemporary art, and I personally think that the Broad Museum is one of the best Museum in Los Angeles

2. The museum does not have an App yet

3. The Broad is well known and well visited, having an AR product can benefit many visitors 

4. Being a good-sized museum but not extremely big, I think that it is a good starting point to test an AR product in a museum environment

Approach

Utilizing the existing database of artwork

The Broad already has a great database of its art collection on its website. Understanding that their website is the only platform to access museum information, I would like to extend that to a mobile application to contain all that information, and add mobile-only functionalities.  So that users can browse all information in one place.

Using User’s Data to Create Algorithm for a More Personalized Experience

Having an all in one platform for users to browse artwork allows the product to learn what users like and generate better search results, displayed contents, and customized tours by using algorithms.

Connecting the Art Collection via AR 

Using AR object recognition technology, the product is able to distinguish between artworks, which allow users to easily access more in-depth information of the art piece while using AR. With Augmented Reality Wayfinding, the product can generate guided tours or even customized guided tours.

Solution

AR that adds to the museum visit, not replacing the in-person experience

Part of the beauty of visiting a museum is to look and appreciate the collection in person. I think that it is critical to design a product that adds to that experience versus taking away from that. The solution is to make an AR product that users do not fully rely on it to view the collection, instead, make it a tool to help users understand the artwork and assist them to wayfind in the museum.

Two Ways Of Using AR To Cater To Everyone’s Museum Visit Style

I understand that everyone has a unique style when it comes to museum visits. One solution simply does not apply to everyone, so the solution is two-fold.

For the free-style user

Some people enjoy visiting a museum at their own pace and browse freely, the product has a function dedicated to them. Simply click on the middle button on the bottom menu and turn on the camera to start AR Object Recognition, the product will be able to tell which artwork it is, click on the prompt and be immediately brought to a page that has all the information of the artwork. This function is perfect for those who see an artwork that interests them and would like to find out more about it.

For those who like a guided tour

Start an AR Guided Tour of your Choice

The app offers a variety of guided tours by numerous curators. As previously mentioned, the app uses algorithms to learn and predict users’ interest, the product has the ability to generate personalized guided tours.

No Matter which tour the user chooses, the product uses AR Wayfinding technology to scan your surroundings to predict your location at the museum, thus generating a route to guide you through the list of artworks from the tour of your choice. When arriving at the artwork, a voice recording from a curator will start playing to give you in-depth information of the piece, then the user will not have to be holding their phone for any information but actually focus on looking at the art piece itself.

While standing in front of the artwork, at anytime the user pleases, he/she can lower the phone to a natural reading position, with that motion detected, the screen is automatically switched to reading mode - displaying information of the art in photos and text. When the user is done, simply raise the phone to switch back to AR mode and follow the route to the next art piece.

Conclusion and Thoughts

gradually implementing AR to products

I think that AR certainly will be a big part of the future of user experience, as a product designer, I found myself constantly thinking about the role of AR in improving user experience. I think that most users are already familiar with interacting with a traditional App interface, it will be a challenge to implement AR to digital products without users needing to stress about adapting to a completely new feature. Given that, I think a good starting point is to build a product with a traditional interface that users are familiar with and add AR features on top of it.

AR has been around, but not widely used for productive purposes

AR is still often perceived as a gimmicky feature that displays cute effects, and not so often taken seriously for more informational purposes. I think that as a product designer, we should continue to explore the possibilities of AR and how it can be applied in everyday usage in an effortless and productive way.