Museum Path February 2016

Prepared by Mafê Villas Boas

Young Woman with a Water Pitcher!Johannes Vermeer

More than 2,000,000 square feet

Source: Wikipedia, free encyclopedia.

It would take 83,333 “Young Woman with a Water Pitcher” to tile the floor at the Met

Bird Woman!Egypt

Over 8694 Egyptian objects

Source: Brooklyn Museum official website.

If you spent twenty minutes with each object it would take you four months to see the whole collection

Campbell's soup cans !Andy Warhol

Over 10,000 artists in MoMA’s collection

Source: Moma’s official website

Enough artists to fill almost 4 Carnegie Hall

Source: Population of Brooklyn in 2010 = 2.49 million

Source: “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

How might we make large museums a little less overwhelming?

“To get people in the doors (and ultimately deliver a better experience with the art), let’s stop telling them why they should come and start asking them why they do.”

- JEHRA PATRICK, Program Director for Mn Artists

THINGS PARTICIPANT SAID THAT SURPRISED ME: THINGS THAT MATTER THE MOST TO PARTICIPANT: MAIN THEMES AND LEARNINGS USERS INTERVIEWED

OTHER OBSERVATIONS FROM BEING ON SITE AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM:

•  Sam - 31 years old - Museum Expert (Works at the Brooklyn

Museum)

•  Jonathan - 40 years old -

Tourist visiting from Miami

•  Margaret - 59 years old - from

Manhattan - Museum member

and enthusiast

•  Morgan - 28 years old -

Millennial Brooklynite

•  Cindy - 26 years old - Manhattan Millennial

•  Some people prefer being alone when visiting museums. •  Artists’ and Museums’ Instagrams are HUGE triggers for

visitors. •  The MET is constantly mentioned as being really stressful and

busy. Crowds and people running around. It’s horrible. •  Most people don’t plan their visit prior to going to a big

museum. •  “When I visit museums, I try not to see the whole thing. I like to

spend time with a couple of things and reflect.” •  “I visit museums because I can’t learn about the world any

other way. Is the only way I can make sense of history or politics or culture… I trust artists to see what’s really happening.”

•  People don’t download the app - “I should have downloaded the museum app but I didn’t…”

•  “Once my teacher told me: Don’t judge the art. Let the art judge you. You just came to be here. This art piece comes from a long succession of events.”

•  “I remember the emotion of seeing a Picasso for the 1st time”

•  Overall sentiment that you should be going to museums more often to stay up to date. (FOMO)

•  The more background you have on the artist or the

art work the more people enjoy / remember an

experience. Example of a Kandinsky exhibit that

presented the artist process and sketches, and revealed the work only at the end - This build is

important.

•  Museum crowds are the biggest pain points, but

even with crowds, visiting museums is never

considered a bad experience. •  Shows are more memorable than individual pieces

and artists. Everyone has a hard time remembering

artists names.

•  An inviting space. •  Personalization and visiting guides that stay with you.

•  Smaller size museums that are easier to navigate and you don’t

get burnt out.

•  When the show helps you to make connections seamless.

•  Bringing the history that you learn in school to life.

FROM THE MUSEUM SPECIALIST:

•  What are the biggest challenge to get people to visit museums

more often? Feeling welcomed, whatever that means for the

individual visitor. 1.  If you don’t have a background in art, is the language going

to make you feel stupid?

2.  If it’s a person with disabilities, does the museum have the

appropriate materials to welcome them? 3.  Is the staff going to be friendly if you’re a person of color or

a queer person?

•  A lot of older folks are there with family or alone. •  A lot of people with special needs.

•  A lot of people with babies and young kids.

Source: Proprietary Research

“I visit museums because I can’t learn about the world any other way. It is the only way I can make sense of history or politics or culture… I trust artists to see what’s really happening.”

- SAM, Museum Professional

Source: Proprietary Research

Motivational identities and visitor characterization!

Explorers Explorers come because attending

museums interests them and appeals to their curiosity. If you asked them if they like art they would say ‘yes;’ if you asked them

if they came for something in particular, they would probably say ‘no,’ they ‘just like art and know what they like when they see

it.’ They do not have concrete learning goals, like ‘I’m going to go to the MIA to

learn everything I can about Expressionism,’ but they like to know new things. [This is the type to read didactics

and labels, but might not know names and contextual references.] This type could really be anyone. Explorers’ goal is to

satisfy a curiosity. They may or may not know how to use the space.

Facilitator Facilitators come because of someone

else. They are perhaps bringing a friend or a group of people—possibly youth or

students—because they think that the visit would benefit the other party or parties, not because of a personal need. Their personal

need is to make a good experience for others.

Experience Seeker An experience seeker is a person who

is checking off a list of things to do, whether personal or as a tourist. They want to see the thing that is iconic of

that place, they want to do ‘what you’re supposed to do in that city or area.’ They may need to see the museum’s

highlights to feel satisfied.

Professional/Hobbiest This category includes teachers,

educators, museum professionals, artists, and people in related fields. Their goals may range by their particular role as a

professional or hobbiest; a photographer may attend with the goal in mind to take pictures or to learn about photography

through exhibits. An art educator may be interested in the art as in their field of interest, or they may be planning a

lesson, etc.

Rechargers Rechargers find the museum a

place to ‘get away from it all,’ to decompress, and their visit is

almost a spiritual one. They tend to avoid crowds or sensations and

are fairly self-sufficient. A successful visit for them will leave

them with the feeling that they have gotten away.

our focus for this project

Persona

52 years old. Brooklyn Nurse. Theresa loves art and going to museums. Between raising her kids and being a dedicated full-time nurse for the past 30 years, she hasn’t had that much time to travel outside of the U.S. So she says museums helped her get to know and understand the world better. Her favorite type of art is Egyptian and classic European. Although she loves seeing what is new and intriguing out there in the art world.

Theresa

GOALS BEHAVIORS ATTITUDES

•  Wants to get to know more

about the art she loves

•  Wants to explore new art

she’s unfamiliar with

•  Wants new experiences in

already familiar museums

•  Museums are a form of

exploration and of recharging

for Theresa

•  She considers herself a big

fan of all things related to art

•  She considers herself a

knowledgeable person in

museums she visits often

•  Theresa goes to museums at

least once a month

•  She keeps the catalogs from

her favorite shows

•  She enjoys going by herself,

but also with her kids and

grandkids - She feels she

has a lot to teach and to

learn with them

PERSONA

“If I didn’t go into healthcare, I think I would have worked with art!”

Theresa needs a way to navigate museums she already knows in a different way because the more she contemplates new things and gets to know about the art she loves, the more she

feels good about herself.

We believe that by helping Theresa gain a fresh perspective we will achieve

a better quality time for her at museums.

Competitive Research

SUMMARY LIMITATIONS

•  Has 2 apps. One focused on History and NYC as a whole, and another

focused on the visitors’ experience

at MoMa.

•  Has 1 app called ASK. ASK let’s you text a museum specialist. You can

send images, questions about any

art work etc.

•  Since it’s not an automatic system, the time for responses is slow. By the time visitors get replies, they are already far away from the original piece.

•  Works only in museum ground. •  Needs internet to work.

•  “Everything and the kitchen sink” is included in this app. No end goal or objective.

•  There is no personalization.

•  Very “artist talk” on audio. •  The design on the map of the floors could be better.

(load slowly, zooms are not very functional.) •  Needs internet in order to work.

•  Has 2 apps. One focused on History and NYC as a whole, and another

focused on the visitors’ experience

at the MET.

•  “Everything and the kitchen sink” is included in this app. No end goal or objective.

•  Audio guides are based on pieces’ numbers only. •  Text heavy. •  Not all capabilities are on the app - Sections keep

sending users to the MET’s desktop website. •  Needs internet in order to work.

STRENGTHS

•  Very visual. •  Great and quick audio guides by artist or by piece. •  Kids section.

•  Good way of showing the work per floor. You can navigate per the work itself or through a map of the floors.

•  Great way of presenting features and navigating new users through the app.

•  Nice search by number of piece.

•  Single minded and straight to the point benefit. •  Super personalized experience.

•  Friendly and easy to understand voice.

•  Good section divides: Staff Picks, For Members, Today’s Events, Highlights, Exhibition, Featured Events, The Latest…

•  Large images.

•  Integrates events.

•  Organic Navigation - Swipes and Scrolls.

User Flows

Enter the Museum

Launch the App Select Time

Casual Stroll

Quick Peek

Exciting Exploration

Select images that are the most

compelling Your Path Navigation The Pieces

Delete Piece?

Art Marathon

Found a Piece

Unlock Interactive Content

Finish Path Badge Unlocked

Geo Location Museum ID

Your Profile

On-Boarding

Restart

Edit Current

Path

Prototypes

NEXT LATER NOW

•  Museum Selection

•  Time Selection

•  Image Selection

•  Profile

•  Route selection based on

user profile

•  Piece by Piece Information

•  Interactive Route •  Save Route •  Interactive Audio Guide

•  Museum Selfie

•  Show Specific Flow

Feature prioritization!

https://invis.io/3Z5YON6MP