MCA Guide

Enhancing Museum Engagement

ROLE

UX Designer & Researcher

TIMELINE

Fall 2025

10-week academic project

SKILLS

UX Design, User Research, Usability Testing

OVERVIEW

The Challenge

Museum visitors struggle to balance guided information with personal exploration, often finding themselves overwhelmed by content or disconnected from the art. Our goal was to enhance engagement with art by providing contextual information while minimizing disruption to the natural flow of appreciation.

RESEARCH

Understanding Museum Visitors

We conducted contextual inquiries with 6 museum visitors, ranging from frequent explorers to infrequent visitors.

Key Insights:

Ambiance Over Navigation

Users cared more about the museum's atmosphere (noise levels, crowding, and overall ambiance) than about navigation or information gathering systems.

Self-Paced Exploration

Most visitors preferred to wander and explore at their own pace rather than follow a set route or tour.

Photos as Memory Anchors

All users took photos of exhibits as their primary way to reflect on and share their experience later, often posting to social media.

Technology Tension

Visitors believed phone use would detract from the experience. They want tools that enhance learning without creating distraction.

Despite our initial focus on wayfinding and engagement, subjects revealed that ambience had a stronger impact on their overall enjoyment than maps or signage. This insight fundamentally shifted our design approach.

SYNTHESIS

User Personas

Based on our research, we identified two distinct user types with different needs and motivations.



DESIGN

Conceptual Design

MCA Guide is a mobile app that helps visitors plan, explore, and reflect on their museum experience. It balances guided learning with self-paced exploration through interactive maps and QR codes.

Key Features

Interactive Maps

Mood-based personalization that suggests exhibits aligned with how visitors are feeling.

QR Code Integration

Quick access to information about artworks without forcing technology or disrupting the natural flow of appreciation.

VALIDATION

Usability Evaluation

We conducted usability testing with 7 participants using two primary task scenarios:

  1. Scanning QR codes for artwork information

  2. Using the interactive map with mood-based personalization

Task Performance

TASK 1: QR Code Scanner

  • Success Rate: 100%

  • Avg. Completion Time: 1-2 min

  • Errors: 0

Task 1 was highly intuitive with smooth completion and zero errors from all users.

TASK 2: Personalized Map

  • Success Rate: 100%

  • Avg. Completion Time: 2-4 min

  • Users Needing Hints: 3/7

While all users completed the task, several needed guidance finding the personalization feature.

Key Findings

Confusion Around Personalization

The "How are you feeling today?" prompt was interpreted by some as optional or out of place. Its placement didn't clearly communicate its purpose as a personalization entry point.

Multi-Step Workflow Issues

The personalization workflow required multiple steps that users didn't immediately associate with planning their visit, indicating a need for clearer labeling.

Strong Concept Validation

Users who successfully completed the interaction found personalized suggestions helpful and engaging, confirming the concept's strong potential.

OUTCOMES

Proposed Design Changes

Based on our usability findings, we identified several improvements that would make the personalization feature more transparent and intuitive:

  1. Clear Entry Point: Add a prominent "Plan My Visit" button on the home screen so users immediately understand where personalization begins.

  2. Enhanced Mood Selector: Redesign with more intuitive buttons including images associated with each mood, plus descriptions of what each option means for the visit.

  3. Improved Visual Hierarchy: Use highlighting or color coding on the map to distinguish recommended exhibits from the rest of the museum.

REFLECTION

Lessons Learned

What Went Well

  • Early Research Impact: The contextual inquiry phase provided a strong foundation that shaped all subsequent design decisions.

  • Clear Task Scenarios: Our usability test scenarios were clear and easy for users to understand, yielding actionable feedback.

  • Iterative Approach: Moving from research to personas to prototyping created a logical progression that kept us grounded in user needs.

Challenges & Opportunities

  • Card Sort Adaptation: Card sorting proved difficult to translate into a mobile context where screens and categories are more compressed.

  • Balancing Research Focus: Our initial questions focused on wayfinding, but we should have asked more about the role of ambience in shaping the visit.

  • Prototype Fidelity: Some elements needed more explicit affordances to support quick user comprehension.

Future Directions

If we were to continue this project, we would:

  • Prototype richer interactions earlier in the process to test complex features like personalization more thoroughly

  • Adapt the card sort methodology to better suit mobile navigation patterns

  • Simplify the navigational structure before moving into evaluation

  • Conduct more focused testing on the balance between ambient experience and digital tools