client:
mue.edu
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Challenge: museum education is more necessary than ever to help sustain the cultural integrity and diversity of a community. Unfortunately access to and engagement in these spaces is severely lacking to certain audiences.
Opportunity: Create a museum experience that is personalized to the patron which helps them easily navigate, participate, and return to the museum again.
Solution: mue.edu was created as a platform for users to personalize their museum visit. With mue.edu, users can customize their itinerary, navigate exhibits, and learn how to get more involved in any museum they may visit. mu.edu is dedicated to finding, and bridging, those gaps that keep audiences from getting most out of their museums.
Research, prototyping, branding
Mapping: mu.edu targets any individual who is interested in museum education and engagement. This could be a wide array from adults, students, parents, to preteens or children. The interface has paths that could take you on any of these users’ journeys. I created a user flow diagram that mapped out the experience a parent and child may have. This helped inform the information architecture.
User testing: I created a storyboard using a sequence of wireframes informed by the user flow. Through user testing, I was able to identify areas of improvement where I could simplify user decisions, consolidate information, and provide more seamless opportunities to engage with museum programming.
Business value: Returning patrons as essential to the continued success of a museum. However, many museum visitors' face is lack of knowledge on current events and programming. It was important for mue.edu to have business value. So I included moments within the user's tour to more seamlessly learn and engage with museum perks and programming. Additionally, mue.edu works with your native system to save personal information, dates, and set reminders.
process
Research: There is a wide variety of both museums and patrons. My first step was identifying the who, when, and what kind of museum do people attend. Through a robust survey, I was able to identify types of audiences and the different gaps they are experiencing in their current museum experience.
DESIGN SYSTEM
Keeping in mind that mue.edu has to support a variety of museum types, I aimed to create a neutral color scheme and design system that was easy to use, educational, and clear. I used color and iconography that a user would recognize to provide a more familiar journey.
REFLECTIONS
mue.edu was my senior year project. I have since graduated and worked for a large creative team. With a more experienced eye, there are several areas for improvement that could simplify the users journey while better emphasizing moments of engagement and education.
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Simplify your users choices. Asking too many questions of the user will cause them to lose interest or. become annoyed. Streamline their customization journey and incorporate user data to help do the work for them.
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Improve button placement. Put buttons where users expect to find them and where its easy to reach. Dont assume something in your UI is obvious to the user. Minimize the number of clicks the user needs to make.
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Improve legibility of type by simplifying copy and improving heirarchy of point size and weight. Consider bolder colors to create more energy and grab attention (helps keep user engaged and points out important moments).