Smithsonian Unveiled
Smithsonian Unveiled is an augmented reality (AR) app designed to bring people closer to the incredible exhibits at the Smithsonian museums. The project began during the Covid pandemic when many of us realized how much we missed being able to go out and visit museums. Once restrictions began to lift, we wanted to create something that could bring the museum closer so users could interact with the exhibits in completely new ways.
Even before the pandemic, many people enjoy what they see at museums, but walk away leaving much of what they saw behind and only remember one or two details.
What if we could change this?
Is it possible develop an immersive way for museum-goers to engage with the exhibits while inside the museums, as well as carry their experience with them after their visit is over?
We designed a mobile app to help users navigate their museum experience through simple, immersive, memorable, and fun ways of engaging with the museum.
The design process was built around understanding where the opportunity lay, defining the problem, and building a solution that neatly fit the problem.
What do people prioritize in a museum?
What are potential limitations when visiting a museum?
What kinds of missed opportunities exist in the digital space for museums?
We started by conducting user interviews to identify museum habits, goals, and pains for our users. In particular, we were looking to answer a few key questions:
“I’ve never downloaded apps for museum exploration, but I’d try it out if it provided relevant information”
“I want to remember an experience more than any particular exhibit”
“I get frustrated trying to navigate through museums and large crowds”
Using as much information as we could from the interviews, we built an affinity diagram and organized details into common categories. This information became the foundation for our initial designs.
This lead us to the creation of our primary user persona, Enná Yardena.
Enná is a photographer living in Washington DC. He has a keen eye for capturing the beauty of the world around him, and he loves to experiment with different styles and techniques to create unique and memorable images. When he's not taking photos, Enna can be found wandering the halls of museums, soaking up the rich history and cultural significance of the art and artifacts on display. He is constantly seeking new inspiration and knowledge, and he is always eager to share his discoveries with others.
Deep appreciation for arts and culture.
Loves the storytelling in museums and brought up by his photographs.
Has heard about augmented reality and is curious about it
Self-led exploration
“I like to see exciting things that will blow me away”
Expects to learn and gain perspective. I want to find way to put myself in the shoes of the topic of the museum.
To be immersed by the exhibit and not just staring at walls of text with very little stimulation so that museum’s purpose can leave a meaningful impact.
“Museums can sometimes be difficult to navigate due to enormous crowds which causes me frustration”
Boring engaging experiences… Complex layouts with no clear direction or context… Need to plan a visit way ahead of time… Don’t like paid Guides…”
With our persona in mind, we build storyboards and style guides to cater to our target audience.
We wanted to create something appealing for all users, that fit within the context of Smithsonian museums. Our guiding light when coming up with our design language was to be “academic, but not stuffy”
All of our initial designs began on paper so we could quickly collaborate and build off each other’s ideas.
As we continued to iterate, we continued to reach out and do further research with users. Users were asked to complete three objectives, and their success rates allowed us to improve designs at each stage.
These changes were all built off of feedback from users. We were able to identify opportunities for improvements and weaknesses that need changing.
We added, changed or removed features to better suit the app. We introduced badges as a way for users to compete with friends and keep track of which exhibits they have (or haven’t) seen, and we redesigned the navigation feature to better integrate with other AR features. We added a virtual gallery to let people revisit their favorite exhibits from anywhere.
For later versions we added more accessibility and language options to ensure the final version would be usable by anyone regardless of ability. Directions can take into account whether or not someone can use stairs or read signs and adapt accordingly.
The final version of the app is an AR app that allows people to tour the Smithsonian, or any museum, in completely new ways.
No matter how much experience a user has with the Smithsonian Institutions, the Unveiled app will be able to give them a new perspective and new opportunities to engage with the exhibits.
