Storykia
Interactive Museum Kiosk
Casestudy
Team Project (3) | 6 weeks |UX Designer/Reseacher
Audio-visual technology can help retain learning by engaging multiple senses and making information more memorable
Museums are fun places to learn about history and get a grasp of different civilisations, cultures, and art forms. However this experience is limited to the museum and when we leave that space, people can barely recall their experiences. Our goal would be to bridge the present with the past and its implications for the future through an interactive kiosk. A Voice-Based Kiosk was picked as its more accessible and can deliver a rich immersive experience. This project was carried out as a part of graduate school coursework.
Introduction
This project aimed to hone rapid prototyping skills. So the design process was kept simple and more focus was placed on the material selection and rapid iteration cycles to produce a looks-like/works-like prototype. The first step is to frame the design problem.
How might we create an immersive interactive experience that leaves a lasting impression through a voice-based kiosk?
The methods used centred around observing user behaviour in the existing scenario
Design Methods
1. User Observation
In this method, the users were observed in the Ezkenazi museum of art setting as they interacted with the artifacts and paintings.
Users interacting with the museum
Artwork write up aren't really inviting
2. User Interviews
The museum staff was interviewed to better understand how the users were interacting with the exhibits.
Key Finding:
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The museum staff emphasized how they noticed that visitors tend to shy away from interacting with them.
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There is a lack of awareness about the kind of knowledge you can get from interacting with the staff.
Conducting interview with the museum staff
3. User Journey Map
Based on the interviews conducted and the insights from user observations we came up with an experimental user journey that might enhance the user's experience.
Upon entering the museum, visitors receive an NFC card. This card enables them to scan codes accompanying each painting at dedicated kiosks, providing detailed information about the artwork. The kiosk boasts an interactive hologram screen, enhancing the user's experience with an immersive presentation. As a memorable conclusion to their museum trip, users can return the NFC card at the kiosk and choose between collecting a personalized polaroid or a thematic postcard.
User Journey Sketch
The final design should highlight the artwork rather than take attention away from it
Final Design
1. Initial ideation
In the initial ideation phase, several potential concepts emerged, including a draw-on-screen feature, interactive kits, an adjustable screen/projector, the possibility for users to interact with each other, and the innovative idea of a wall mount that doubles as a dynamic digital painting.
Some ideas that were deemed less viable include avoiding overly "artistic" features to prevent diverting attention from museum artifacts. Additionally, technical challenges were identified in implementing a portal kiosk that detects people. The idea of adjustable screens was considered less feasible due to the diverse user group, encompassing varying heights and motor abilities.
2. Key Features
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Our initial aim was to create an interactive experience entirely based on voice interactions. However, after conducting interviews and observing people in the museum we expanded on our initial form.
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Our final form consists of a screen and an interactive device. The screen serves the voice interactions and story-telling aspects of it, whereas the interactive device can be used by people to get a closer look at the artefact of interest.
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We decided on three iterations of the same idea. All these prototypes have common material composition, and components, although some functionalities may vary.
Iterations
3. Paper Prorotyping
Scrap material was used to create a quick rough representation of what our final outcome would look like. Our first step was to create a user flow which we did by sketching. We created physical functions that represented the ergonomics of the kiosk. We created a 3d model with paper. Cards were used to represent screens and combinations of paper, popsicle sticks, glue and cards.
Creating the prototype showed us our progress as well as our limitations. On user testability, we encountered several pauses due to a lack of consideration in terms of content and user flow. We did not take into consideration the information architecture and our flow kind of suffered from it. We need to polish more on the content of our kiosk and make a more detailed user flow.
4. Low Fidelity Prototype
"Feels Like" Prototype
A Low Fidelity Prototype was constructed out of discarded cardboard boxes. It was built to scale to emulate of the experience of using the final product. Through the Wizard of Oz method we were able to simulate the experience of using a voice based kiosk in a museum setting.
About the prototype
Components
Physical Card: This will be used by the user to start the session. The card can also store the session and remember the user’s preferences when they move on to the next machine
Interactive Screen: The sceen enables the user to interact with the character directly and to set accessibility settings
Hardware: Headphones (For privacy and immersive experience), Polaroid (The user can keep it as a souviner, making the experience more memorable.)
Materials
Cardboard: Used for form of the overall kiosk and other components (screen border, card scanner)
Paper: Used for character creation and user screens
Physical Hardware: Headphones
Scale
Height: 98cm
Width: 50cm
Breadth: 43cm
User Journey
Reflections
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Hologram: Test it on a smaller scale for the effect and decide whether we remove it or not.
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Form: Test if the product can function the same without the hologram.
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More interactions: See what other forms of interactions can work out. For instance, simple games/mini-interactions.
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Functionality: Interactive cards & and headphones.
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User journey: The user flow needs to be refined.
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We assume that every museum segment will have 1-3 kiosks. Users can select their own character and their own tour guide to build a relationship. The tour guide will change its appearance according to the theme of different segments for fun.
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The character will give the user a choice to either select an interesting topic that they want to know about or would recommend a choice from the given options.
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Finally, the kiosk would create a souvenir for the user and the card will save the user preferences that will be used when they interact with the other kiosk in the museum.
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"Works Like" Prototype
For this iteration of the prototype, the technical aspects of the design were the primary focus. The prototype was tweaked so that the user can get a feel of how the final product will work. The digital interaction screens and the VR character were added. Multiple tablet screens were added to the prototype so the user can have an immersive experience.
Iteration 2
Key additions
User Interaction Scenarios
Reflecting on the Project
1. Role of prototyping: Through this project, I was able to grasp the importance of prototyping products. It helped the team empathize better with the users and through multiple prototyping stages we were able to refine the final experience better.
2. Letting go of perfectionism: As someone from an architecture background, all the physical models we worked on had to be exactly scaled and function as close to the final product as possible. This caused me to develop a perfectionist ideology. Through this project I was able to take a step back and accept the fact that a low-fidelity quick prototype doesn’t necessary have to be perfect, we’re just testing out features and the process overall will be iterative.
3. Spontaneity: The VUI software we were initially thinking of utilizing didn't work out the way we wanted it to. We had to instead use the Wizard of Oz method to simulate the kiosk experience.