Museums, Tech & UX: The Future of the Museum Experience
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Museums have embraced interactive technology – previously hallowed halls of ancient artifacts and priceless artwork are now glowing with electronic screens in the form of digital kiosks or mobile apps in visitors’ hands. How has this shift impacted the nature of the museum’s user experience? Are museum goers engaged in unanticipated ways, or are they distracted from the true nature of an experience that has existed for centuries? The answer, of course, is, “It depends…” In a world where physical and digital experiences collide, this presentation explores what museums and UX can learn from each other. Based on live UX research in museums and beyond, we’ll explore how the cultural sector can leverage UX methods, and how those of us working on more mundane interfaces can learn from the bold explorations of interactivity in museums.
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Museums, Tech & UX: The Future of the Museum Experience
- 1. @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Museums, Tech, & UX: The Future of the Museum Experience UXPA 2017 Kathi Kaiser Centralis
- 2. “Museum”?
- 4. Museums @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX The museum experience has traditionally been passive. @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 6. Museums @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX The best experiences are the ones that engage us.
- 7. Museums @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Science museums have engaging visitors for years because they showcase technology.
- 8. Museums @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Now, museums of all kinds can use tech to engage visitors.
- 9. But should they? Museums 9@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 10. My Plan @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Today I’ll share: • Museums’ experiments with tech in the gallery • Tensions that emerge when combining physical and digital experiences • What museums and UX can learn from each other @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 11. Types of Digital Experiences in Museums @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX In Gallery Interactives Museum Mobile Apps Interactive Experiences
- 12. In-Gallery Interactives @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Goal: Go beyond the bounds of the gallery space @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 13. In-Gallery Interactives @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 14. In-Gallery Interactives @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 15. In-Gallery Interactives @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Bite-sized chunks of info Minimal navigation @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 16. In-Gallery Interactives @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Shows object in larger context Connects to present object @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 20. In-Gallery Interactives @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Where are the objects?
- 21. In-Gallery Interactives UX Principles for In-Gallery Interactives: • Zero learning curve • Less is more • Respect the object @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 22. Museum Apps Goal: Guide the visitor throughout the visit
- 24. Museum Apps Where am I? @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 25. Museum Apps @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Where do I go next?
- 26. Museum Apps @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Dictate the path vs. choose your own adventure
- 29. Museum Apps @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX Cue the sad trombone…
- 30. Museum Apps UX Principles for Museum Apps: • Orient me • Connect the dots • Don’t let me down @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 31. Interactive Experiences Goal: Break out of the boundaries of the museum @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 40. Interactive Experiences Museum or Theme Park? @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 41. Interactive Experiences Educate or Entertain? g @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 42. Interactive Experiences Educate or Entertain? g Virtual or Physical? g @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 43. Interactive Experiences Educate or Entertain? g Virtual or Physical? g @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
- 44. Summary @kathikaiser @Centralis_UX In Gallery Interactives • Zero learning curve • Less is more • Respect the object Museum Mobile Apps • Orient me • Connect the dots • Don’t let me down Interactive Experiences • Educate or entertain? • Virtual or physical?
- 45. Museums + Tech = UX Who decides? 45@kathikaiser @Centralis_UX
Editor's Notes
- What do you think of when you hear the word “museum”?
- What images pop into your head? What words come to mind?
- Perhaps you imagined a big building with lots of columns. Whether in a traditional or modern style, museums look stately. Their architecture says, important stuff is in here.
- Or maybe you imagined the inside of museums. How we behave in museums? We walk slow, we used hushed tones. Again, stately, formal, an air of respect. Unless you’re a kid, of course. Maybe your first experiences with museums were on school field trips, where most of the kids are not walking slow or using hushed tones. In fact, when I think about museums, I think about the most memorable thing I saw on a school field trip…
- I remember this staircase. Does anyone know what this is? Technically, it’s called “Soundstair”, but I knew it as the musical stairs at the Museum of Science in Boston. This is why I remember it so well… [play video] That’s not me, but it could have been. Of all the great stuff to see in museums in Boston, why do I remember this after all these years? It was fun. It was fun because it was interactive. I was engaged in the experience, so it has stuck with me.
- I remember this staircase. Does anyone know what this is? Technically, it’s called “Soundstair”, but I knew it as the musical stairs at the Museum of Science in Boston. This is why I remember it so well… [play video] That’s not me, but it could have been. Of all the great stuff to see in museums in Boston, why do I remember this after all these years? It was fun. It was fun because it was interactive. I was engaged in the experience, so it has stuck with me.
- If you thought about science museums, maybe you thought about experiences like these – because science museums are showcasing technology, they’ve been using these types of interactives for years.
- But now, with digital devices everywhere in our lives, museums of all kinds can use technology to engage visitors. Museums – art museums, history museums – are doing all sorts of fun things with technology to engage visitors and enhance their experience. But it begs the question….
- …should they? Is all this technology making the experience better? What does it take to engage a visitor? If you’ve seen the movie, you know Cameron is highly engaged with this Seurat painting. Should technology mediate this experience? If so, how?
- These are the questions I’d like to explore with you today. I’m Kathi Kaiser, from Centralis, a UX research and design consultancy based in Chicago. We help companies make their products and services easier to use. Over the past few years, we’ve had the pleasure of working with a few museums, and helping them grapple with the role of technology in the gallery. So today I’m going to share: Examples of how museums are experimenting with technology, including some successful and not so successful ideas The tensions that museums must reconcile when incorporating tech into their galleries What museums and UX can learn from each other to create better experiences for all
- I’m going to talk about three main types of digital experiences in museums: In-gallery interactives Museum apps And full interactive experiences
- Type 1: in-gallery interactives These are digital displays that live within the gallery Single purpose/focus Goal = allow a deeper dive into the object being displayed Can be limited in scope or quite detailed
- Excellent use of in-gallery interactives are the digitally labels in the recently re-opened “Saints & Heroes” exhibit at the AIC Large scale objects Cool to see armor staged as it would have been used, as opposed to only static in a case You may notice that throughout the exhibit, there are touchscreens of various sizes
- Many of these displays are “digital labels” – our colleagues at the Art Institute wanted to provide more info about the object without creating a long wall panel about each. There’s just not enough room in the gallery, and people don’t stop to read anyway. Some studies say people spend 15-30 seconds in front of an object, others say as little as 7 seconds. Many studies over the years have explored the role of labels in museums and how to best design them for visitor impact. Other than “keep it short” there’s not much consensus about what makes a good label. With few standards for printed labels, what should guide our design for digital labels?
- First off, the display needs to communicate its purpose and function at a glance. Bite sized chunks of info are approachable, and can be larger, so can be viewed from a slight distance and entice people to wander over. There are 12+ pages in this interactive, but the only navigation required is a simple swipe. Learn it once and you’re set. Status bar shows you where you are. Easy peasy.
- What about the content? These labels are doing two opposite but very important things – broadening your view by showing you how the object sits in the real world, and also focusing your attention on details of the object, which is right there. Placement of the interactive right where the object is is critical to form that connection and help enhance the experience of the object, which is the goal.
- One risk of interactives is that they draw attention away from the objects and into a digital world, which is less authentic. Here’s a game at gallery one at the CMA. Awesome place – go there!
- This is an interesting digital interactive about the motif of “lion”. I spent 5-10 minutes playing with it.
- But look, I didn’t even notice the objects in the game were right in front of me.
- Digital can go too far. This is the Muhammad Ali center in Louisville, KY. Interesting guy, neat building right downtown, overall a good way to spend an hour or two. But what’s missing? Where are the objects? Nearly everything was digital. It got old. It wasn’t real.
- So, to summarize for in-gallery interactives: Walk up and use – transparency is key Tweet length text Don’t forget the object. THIS IS A PIECE OF THE MOON. What more do you need to say?
- The next type of digital interactive experience is the museum app. These have a broader scope than in-gallery interactives – they tend to include a range of activities throughout the museum, and cover things like wayfinding, restrooms, café, etc., as well as supporting content about the collection.
- At Centralis we’ve had the opportunity to conduct usability testing on both the Field Museum app and the Art Institute app. I’ve given other talks about the nuts and bolts of how to do this – the set up, the equipment, tasks, analysis, etc. Here, I want to focus on what we learned about these apps and what it means for designing something digital that is meant to be used throughout a physical space.
- So first off, navigating that physical space is critical. If the app leads you astray, the phone goes back in the pocket. Keys to good wayfinding are: You are here. If you don’t know where you are, you can’t figure out where to go AIC which floor am I on?
- #2: Connect the dots. Don’t lose someone along the way, then they’ll get way off track. Apps don’t do this great. Signage is often better at it. But apps CAN do it – there’s google maps, waze, etc.
- There’s debate in the museum field about how directive the museum should be. It’s not visitor-centered to say which way to go, many believe, but there is a role for the expert as guide. Different types of experiences may benefit from differing levels of guidance, and showing the most beaten path is probably a good thing.
- An app sets the visitor’s expectation for value. It needs to deliver.
- The stakes for usability are higher for museum apps, because people don’t NEED to use them. But how sad if they don’t.
- So, there are many principles and other findings for apps – but here are 3 key ones: orient the user, connect the dots, and deliver.
- Interactive experiences are about the boundaries of the museum – what does it exist to do?
- Sometimes the artifact is so powerful that digital would detract.
- Who decides? This is where museums can be truly user-centered. UX can help here. Envision, prototype, evaluate. Let’s see where these tensions take us.
- Thanks!