UX/UI RESEARCH & DESIGN (2019)
Methods:
Researching, Hi-Fi Video Prototyping, Storyboarding, Infographic, Sensitising exercises, Contextual Mapping, Design Matrices
Tools:
Adobe Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Microsoft Word
Team:
Indira Bhaskaran, Aamir Husain, Bao Minh Chau Ngo
Art isn’t Logic – It’s Discussion
Despite the inherent subjective nature of art museums, some young adults remain unfamiliar with themes that are ambiguous and abstract. Such unfamiliarity leads to an overwhelming lack of appreciation for subjective art, and ultimately creates an unsatisfactory museum experience. Therefore, to create a museum experience that is more inclusive of such young adults, our vision was to create a space that facilitates discussion in order to open up avenues for new thoughts, perspectives and emotions, as “Art isn’t Logic – it’s Discussion”.
Our idea of discussion was to provide exposure to diverse perspectives and stimulate different interpretations and understanding. In our ideal museum space, visitors would be encouraged to interact, share ideas and develop a better understanding of subjective art as something that isn’t defined by logic, but rather by how it is viewed and interpreted. Ultimately, our vision aimed to bridge the gap between art and its audience, and lead to satisfying and enjoyable museum experiences.
Research Objective
The objective of our research was to understand the current attitudes, behaviours and responses of young adults towards museum environments in order to enhance and/or maintain their engagement with unfamiliar art themes and mediums. The following study details the research and methods that were performed by my team and how the findings led to the vision that “Art isn’t Logic – it’s Discussion”.
Research
A variety of methods were carried out in order to better research young adults and their responses to art museum environments. This was done through questionnaires, contextual observations, sensitising exercises and context-mapping sessions. Conducting multiple research methods allowed for the results to be “more robust and compelling than single method studies” (Davis, Golicic & Boerstler, 2011, p. 467).
Questionnaires
The distribution of 30 questionnaires in the Museum of Contemporary Art allowed us to observe the demographic of visitors, obtain feedback regarding the visitors’ “current experiences”, and establish a target audience for our research objective (Tomitsch et al., 2018, p.102).
Contextual Observation
While questionnaires were handed out at the Museum of Contemporary Art, contextual observation provided additional data on visitors’ genuine interactions with artworks, whilst also exposing their behaviours, workflows and habits during the museum visit. This data led to an improved understanding of the design problems and constraints in a museum context (Tomitsch et al., 2018, p. 44).
Sensitising Exercises
For this study, we distributed eight sensitising exercises to seven participants – providing clear instructions to ensure they completed one exercise per day. Our designed sensitising exercises aimed to understand young adults in their preferred art styles, emotional attachment/reactions to art, the people they visit museums with etc. With exercises ranging from broad and specific tasks, we obtained a balance of both quantitative and qualitative responses.
Context Mapping
Our context-mapping sessions consisted of two main activities. In the first activity, participants mapped their journey to a museum on a timeline whilst also recording their moods during each stage. In the second activity, they captured the personal and emotional aspects involved in art museum experiences in a collage. Directing the participants to make these artefacts enabled them to access and express their experiences through a visual framework (Visser, Stappers,& Lugt, 2007, p. 28). The reflective discussion after participants created their artefacts revealed stories and rich data regarding their experiences (Visser, Stappers,& Lugt, 2007, p.28).
Sensitising and Context Mapping Activities
Data Analysis
The collected data (through audio and video recordings) was analysed and synthesised through statement cards as a team. The findings we derived were translated into the following infographic visualisation.
Product Development
After narrowing down our research objective into the themes above, our group split up into smaller teams of two to ideate and prototype a product that would address our design vision. Hence, Indira and I developed storyboards, brainstormed through concept sketching and implemented design matrices to execute our vision.
Design Vision
Understanding subjectivity is like a jigsaw puzzle – while some assemble interpretations to form a cohesive picture, others dissemble the picture to form their own personal interpretations. With this understanding, our vision introduced interactive elements to facilitate immersion, discussion, and enable positive responses to subjectivity. Ultimately, the foundation of our vision was to create an inclusive space where those unfamiliar with subjectivity found it more encouraging and stimulating, while those comfortable with it better enjoyed them.
With this vision, Indira and I prototyped ARt Glasses – made for understanding art with augmented reality. These glasses that would help young adults better connect with artworks through the conceptual and cultural frameworks, enhancing their museum experiences.
References
Davis, D.F., Golicic, S.L. & Boerstler, C.N. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2011) 39: 467. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-010-0204-7
Tomitsch, M., Wrigley, C., Borthwick, M., Ahmadpour, N., Frawley, J., Kocaballi, A. B., . . . Loke, L. (2018). Design. Think. Make. Break. Repeat a handbook of methods. Amsterdam: BIS B.V.
Visser, F. S., Stappers, P. J., Lugt, R. V., & Sanders, E. B. (2007). Context Mapping – A hands on Introduction. Context and Conceptualization Reader,25-50. Retrieved March 20, 2019.