maqportfolio
Vream
Vream is an interactive kiosk prototype created by exploring cognitive principles of thinking-through-making by introducing different methods and tools for prototyping user experiences.
Inspired by creativity and history, my team's focus turned to the Timken Museum of Art to create a high-fidelity kiosk prototype for depicting how users could better interact with art at museums.
Tools
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Miro
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Figma
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Axure
Team
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4 UX Designers
My Role
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UX designer
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UX Researcher
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Workshop facilitator
Timeline
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Overall
8+ weeks
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Discovery + Research
2+ weeks
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Design + Testing
6 weeks
Problem
Children between the ages of 5-7 often have trouble staying engaged at museums due to their shorter attention spans.
This can easily cause disruptions to other museum-goers and create a negative and unfriendly family environment.
Solution
By integrating interactive experiences that promote learning, children can achieve fun and unforgettable experiences at the Timken Museum of Art through Artist, Secret Agent, and VR activities.
Our Design Process
User Research
Field Observations
Our team went to the Timken Museum to see how people behaved and interacted with the museum. From our observations, we found the following:
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The museum consisted of 6 gallery sections with a large area dividing them in half called the Rotunda
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Most guests would loiter around the Rotunda area of the museum for a quick look around
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Most children looked disengaged and would either stand next to their parents or stay outside with one of their parents while the other parent would go inside the museum
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The museum had a free app for visitors to use for auditory tours, but most visitors seemed not to use the app nor know there was an app to use
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Signs were inconsistent with some providing information, while others only referred to the web app or sponsors with tiny circular signs that looked like pins
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There were activity pamphlets children could use but no families were seen using them
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On average, guests (families, couples, or individuals) would spend 10-15 minutes visiting the museum before leaving the museum to visit somewhere else in Balboa Park
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Field Interviews
During the research phase of our project, we wanted to get ourselves into the field with our users to help us build new personas and to inform the design.
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Our interviews consisted of general, open-ended questions to fill in the background of our target audience and focus on their values, motivations, and interests.
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INTERVIEW INSIGHTS
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Children are more likely to be engaged by something they can physically interact with.
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Families often split between viewing the artwork or babysitting their children, lowering that parent's chance of enjoying the museum.
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Workers at the museum would often find different ways to get children to engage with the paintings by finding something that might appeal to them rather than something that might appeal to an adult.
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Children have much shorter attention spans.
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The museum feels more like a classroom setting, instead of a place with the possibility of having fun and being stimulated by the artwork.
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"I would present the artwork in the perspective of the children… For younger kids, I would ask how many dogs are in the picture. As for the older kids, I would go into detail about brush techniques and colors."
Security Guard & Museum Ambassador
(Discussing her son’s playfulness) “[My son] likes those museums that allow you to interact with machines and obtain knowledge through play which I think is really great”
Mother & Teacher
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“My wife wanted to check out this museum but our son doesn't like this kinda stuff so much, so we're just resting a little bit from walking around the other places here [Balboa Park]”
Father with Young Son
(WIth his mom) “I think the museum is good. I like this museum”
(Without his mom) "There's nothing to do to have fun and play."
Young Son
Personas
We wanted to form a deeper understanding of our users' goals, needs, experiences, and behaviors. Using the data from our field interviews we created 2 personas for each of our user segments, updating them throughout the project as we gathered more data. We used these personas whenever we wanted to step out of ourselves and reconsider our initial ideas.
SAM
"Creation and the everlasting urge for learning is what leads to the unlimited potential of life"
BASIC INFO
Age: 38
Location: San Diego
Job: Software Developer
Education: Graphics Programing
CHANNELS
Social Media
Blogs
Podcasts
Forums
MOTIVATIONS
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Value for time and learning
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Discovering new skills
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Exploring new cultures
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Living life with his children
PAIN POINTS
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Overly crowded areas
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Poor internet connections
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Unclear directions and guidance
Storyboards
Our next step was to create storyboards that highlight our users' struggles and pain points while visiting the Timken Museum.
Through a few interactions and mockups, we settled on our final storyboard showing the most recurring struggle visitors faced and concluded with our most interactive solution.
final
Prototyping & Testing
Wireframe #1
Knowing that our kiosk will have some form of a technological interface, we decided that we would use an iPad tablet to act as the kiosk's screen interface. With that in mind, we created our first wireframe mapping out our user's experience.
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This wireframe experience highlights three activity categories for the user users to choose from via tablet, with four different activities per category:
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Tours using VR Goggles
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Tactile Art Games on the tablet
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Secret Art Agent Missions using pamphlets
Paper Prototype #1
Incorporating our ideas from our first wireframe, we created a paper prototype to show how the user flow would work.
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We used one sheet of red construction paper to act as the frame of the kiosk tablet. We then drew each interface page separately to represent each wireframe screen. Then, taping them together to create one long sheet and sliding one end through the slits, we made each end of the red construction paper so that only one screen is presented at a time. As the user swipes or clicks on the screen, we pull on the left side of the paper so that the paper slides through the red frame until the appropriate page is displayed.
Kiosk Prototype #1
With our first attempt at designing and creating our kiosk prototype, we tried to implement two main functionalities using cardboard box cutouts:​
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Shelves to store equipment for interactive activities
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VR Goggles​
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Pamphlets
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An adjustable screen that can be moved to different heights so parents and children can comfortably interact with the kiosk screen.
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User Testing #1
For our first round of user testing, we would give each user a brief description of the activity and background information regarding their specific scenario.
Scenario
You’re at Balboa Park with your two kids, aged 5 and 7. You came to enjoy a nice stroll through the park and noticed a free art museum in the park's central area. You enjoy art and museum atmospheres so you decide to take a quick detour into the museum. Your kids, however, are visibly and audibly unhappy with the decision to go into a quiet space after running around in the rest of the park. They’re tugging your sleeve trying to get you to change your mind about going to the museum, but you go in anyway, hoping your kids can keep quiet for a short period while you briefly enjoy some art. You walk into the museum and notice a kiosk in the center of the lobby area, right as you walk in. You decide to see what the kiosk is all about and if it’ll give you useful information for your museum visit.
Task
Go through all three activities available to you and see how your children interact with them.
Insights
After having three users perform their activities on our paper and kiosk prototypes, we recorded what aspects they liked and disliked about the experiences.
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Paper Prototype #1 & Kiosk Prototype 1a
User #2
Design Student
Interface
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Liked how easy it was to use and the flow of the interface
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Not as aesthetically pleasing for a child, the addition of characters or something similar could draw their attention more
User #3
Teacher/Parent
Interface
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The interface is pretty good but could use clearer instructions for each activity, not sure if their child could understand on their own
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For the drawing sections, what would happen if their children were to fight over it, could potentially have a crowding problem
Final Wireframe and Paper Prototype
For our final wireframe and paper prototype, we incorporated aspects that developed throughout the process of creating the initial prototypes and from the feedback we received from our first round of user testing.
Mood Board
Design Specifications
Screen Designs #1
Kiosk Prototype #2
With our second attempt at designing and creating our kiosk prototype, we are now trying to create a more lifesize prototype which will be used for our second round of user testing.
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Three shelves for the following activities
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VR Goggles​
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Art Tablets
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Pamphlets for Secret Art Agent
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Sheild to portray that the kiosk is designated for only one person at a time
User Testing #2
For our second round of user testing, we would give each user a brief description of the scenario and their tasks to be performed throughout their test.
Scenario
You’re at Balboa Park with your two kids, aged 5 and 7. You came to enjoy a nice stroll through the park and noticed a free art museum in the park's central area. You enjoy art and museum atmospheres so you decide to take a quick detour into the museum. Your kids, however, are visibly and audibly unhappy with the decision to go into a quiet space after running around in the rest of the park. They’re tugging your sleeve trying to get you to change your mind about going to the museum, but you go in anyway, hoping your kids can keep quiet for a short period while you briefly enjoy some art. You walk into the museum and notice a kiosk in the center of the lobby area, right as you walk in. You decide to see what the kiosk is all about and if it’ll give you useful information for your museum visit.
Task
Go through all three activities with your child
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VR Activity
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Secret Art Agent Activity
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Artist Activity
Insights
After having three users perform their activities on our paper and kiosk prototypes, we recorded what aspects they liked and disliked about the experiences.
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Final Paper Prototype & Screen Designs 1 & Kiosk Prototype 2
User #1
Design Student
Interface
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Liked the drawer idea and the possibility of the drawers being color coded to their activity
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Not a fan of the all caps for the descriptions (screen design)
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The color contrast between the text and the background is too distracting, would be better to have a more cohesive color scheme
User #2
Teacher/Parent
Interface
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Had a hard time distinguishing the home button and the back button (the user would click the home button instead of the back button)
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Couldn't understand the scenario and needed additional explanations to determine what the kiosk did versus what the user should do
User #3
Parent and Child (7 years old)
Interface
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The shield on the sides made it difficult to click the home/back buttons - the space was too confined
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The parent had to lean a lot to look over the shield to see their child's progress
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Child kept kicking the bottom of the kiosk when trying to get a closer look at the screen
Final Designs
Final Screen Designs
Final Kiosk Prototype
Final Kiosk Prototype Features
Fixed screen angle for most children and parents can see/interact with ease
Color-coded drawers for corresponding activities
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Yellow for the Artist activity
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An art tablet is provided for the user to practice and become an artist themselves
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Blue for the VR Traveler activity
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Provided Google Cardboard goggles for the user to have an immersive experience with the art
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Red for the Art Agent scavenger hunt activity
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The museum's pre-made pamphlets will provided for the user to ​
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More open kiosk shield so parents can easily look over their child's shoulder
Left a gap at the base of the kiosk so users can freely step up to the kiosk without kicking it
Final User Testing
For our final round of user testing, we displayed our kiosk prototype on our campus' busiest walkway at the busiest time of day (noon) for anyone willing to come up and test it out. For those who did approach, we would give them the same scenario and tasks as our previous user tests.
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Goal
Give all users a fun and exciting experience as well as smooth transitions between all activities.
Scenario
You’re at Balboa Park with your two kids, aged 5 and 7. You came to enjoy a nice stroll through the park and noticed a free art museum in the park's central area. You enjoy art and museum atmospheres so you decide to take a quick detour into the museum. Your kids, however, are visibly and audibly unhappy with the decision to go into a quiet space after running around in the rest of the park. They’re tugging your sleeve trying to get you to change your mind about going to the museum, but you go in anyway, hoping your kids can keep quiet for a short period while you briefly enjoy some art. You walk into the museum and notice a kiosk in the center of the lobby area, right as you walk in. You decide to see what the kiosk is all about and if it’ll give you useful information for your museum visit.
Task
Go through all three activities with your child
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VR Activity
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Secret Art Agent Activity
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Artist Activity
Next Steps
Continue more rounds of user testing at the Timken Museum
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We will need permission from the Committee Board and Staff
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This would provide us with useful feedback from users who specifically fit the demographic our kiosk was designed for
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This will allow us to develop and iterate upon our designs to better benefit those users within our demographic
Pitch the idea of developing an actual kiosk for the museum to the Timken Museum of Art Committee Board
Team Info & Acknowledgements
Team Info
Mark Quinby
Cognitive Science B.S.
Specialization in Design and Interaction
Janselle Justo
Cognitive Science B.S.
Specialization in Design and Interaction
Kyoko Ishikawa
Communication B.A.
Design, Critical Genders Studies Minor
Anthony Morrell
Cognitive Science B.S.
Specialization in Design and Interaction
Acknowledgemments
Timken Museum of Art
1500 El Prado, San Diego, CA 92101
UCSD Design Department
Professor Steven Dow
Teacher Assistants
Shristi Palani
Erika Barbosa
Instructional Assistants
Jonathan Funes
Marissa Hing
Sumedha Gupta
Jan De Castro
Sara Mei-Yuen Wang
Ludi Duhay