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Client Project

  Product Design

OverviewWest Bund Museum began its collaboration with Centre Pompidou in 2020. During the pandemic, the museum launched "The Shape of Time," an exhibition curated from Centre Pompidou’s permanent collections. To enhance the visitor experience, the museum aimed to provide extensive contextual information through digital transformation. While the provided context and labels were helpful, visitors sought a more engaging journey. Previously, the museum offered guided tours by volunteers, but due to Covid-19 safety measures, it needed to shift from in-person tours to digital media enabled by a mobile app experience.

As a product designer for the museum, I designed and proposed a mobile app navigation system. This app aimed to offer a more vivid and rapid access to information about the museum's works, transforming the visitor experience and ensuring a richer and more engaging journey through the museum with features of AR scanning, audio podcasts, and easter egg secrets waiting for the visitors to unlock.

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medium

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technology

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dimension

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timeline

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smartphone

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Figma, Adobe Creative Suites, AR

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screen based

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1 month

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Technical Details
The West Bund Museum App revolutionized traditional 2D wall text and in-person guided tours by offering multiple digital branches of contextual information directly on visitors’ smartphones. Adhering strictly to the museum’s brand identity guidelines, the app provides a cohesive yet non-linear customized museum visit experience. Embedded sensors on the artwork feed data into the app, allowing visitors to access detailed information about each piece through immersive AR journeys or audio podcasts. This hands-free experience lets visitors enjoy the artwork while listening to contextual information in the background.

The app also features AI-embedded conversations that mimic the artists’ tones, enhancing the interactive experience. When visitors spend a certain amount of time with a specific artwork, the app suggests related museum merchandise, promoting further engagement through physical goods. Furthermore, algorithms customize the journey by predicting and suggesting related artworks, ensuring visitors have better access to works of interest.
Problem


How can we transform traditional museum guides and contextual information into an engaging and customized digital experience that enhances visitor interaction and accessibility?

The prototype was introduced during COVID-19, a time when personal guidance was strictly regulated. In-depth research revealed that over 63% of participants reported that while wall texts are helpful, they also distract from the actual artwork. Through qualitative research, including focus groups with people from various age groups, we discovered a strong preference for more convenient and hands-on access to information. Over half of the visitors expressed a desire for a digital solution that provides contextual information without detracting from their engagement with the artwork.

To address these insights and still provide visitors with a customized and engaging experience, I designed a mobile app that transforms traditional wall texts and guided tours into an interactive digital experience. This app aims to enhance visitor interaction and accessibility, ensuring a more immersive and personalized journey through the exhibition. Research

I conducted both qualitative and quantitative research using a combination of focus groups, group interviews, and online questionnaires to gather comprehensive insights. The qualitative research involved focus groups and group interviews with diverse age groups, allowing us to delve deeper into visitor preferences and pain points. Participants shared their experiences and provided detailed feedback on how traditional wall texts and guided tours impacted their museum visits.

The quantitative research, through online questionnaires, allowed us to reach a broader audience and collect statistically significant data. This approach helped us identify trends and measure the extent of the issues visitors faced with traditional museum guides. Detailed process of research and analysis can be viewed in the documentation page.
10+online user interviews
asking qualititative questions and indepth analysis, analyzing painpoints
50+questionnaire  reports
measuring visitors’ preferences across a wide spectrum of demographics, ranging from ages 18 to 6510+competitor case studies
analyzing market trends and pre-existing methodologies for improvementsMethodologypain points

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hard to balance the wall text and the work 

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voice-over audio podcasts feature in the app

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boring to see serious explanations

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AI embedded conversations with the artists of the works

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museum products difficult to locate

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easter egg feature unlocking related merch

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confusing to find related or similar works

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recommendations and customized tour with navigation and location sharing

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non-attractive modular design

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customized color choice User Flow & WireframeWireframes and user flows were essential in designing the museum's mobile app, ensuring an intuitive layout and seamless user journey for an enhanced visitor experience.



Prototype



Logo Animation
In order to provide better readability to the logos combining West Bund Museum, Centre Pompidou and the exhibition’s name, I animated them sequentially with vivid hierarchy.

Custom Features
Visual System