Muse
My Role
UX Designer
UX Researcher
UX Designer
UX Researcher
Tools
Figma
Miro
Figma
Miro
Timeline
3 Months
3 Months
Research Members
Aidan Blackmore
Qingchuan Du
Qingyu Peng
Aidan Blackmore
Qingchuan Du
Qingyu Peng
1. OVERVIEW |
Problem
Museum visitors struggle to navigate complex layouts and consume knowledge on artworks while simultaneously attempting to document, revisit, and reflect on their experience.
Users are regularly encountering barriers in their museum experience with disorientating navigation, shallow + inaccessible information, and unstructured documentation, finding it difficult to revisit their own visits.
Solution
I designed a mobile app to streamline the museum experience to include AR navigation, informative descriptions, and a way to socially journal and reflect on artworks and visits to available arts & culture locations around you.
Museum visitors struggle to navigate complex layouts and consume knowledge on artworks while simultaneously attempting to document, revisit, and reflect on their experience.
Users are regularly encountering barriers in their museum experience with disorientating navigation, shallow + inaccessible information, and unstructured documentation, finding it difficult to revisit their own visits.
Solution
I designed a mobile app to streamline the museum experience to include AR navigation, informative descriptions, and a way to socially journal and reflect on artworks and visits to available arts & culture locations around you.
Designed with a user-friendly interface to easily access information on select museums and leave journal entries on artworks, exhibitions and displays. Integrating accessibility features with audio descriptive and colour blind filters to view artworks in an efficient way. Muse is a mobile companion app that will help with guided navigation, contextual artwork information, built-in AR exploration, and reflective journaling.
Efficient Discovery & Wayfinding
Guided & Accessible Learning
Reflective & Social Documentation
Guided & Accessible Learning
Reflective & Social Documentation
2. RESEARCH |
User Primary Research
Understanding Current Methods & Pain Points
To design a museum and arts & culture app that serves as a documentation tool, I needed to thoroughly understand the existing user base, current methods in place, and how and why these methods may or may not meet their needs.
To accomplish this, my team and I conducted a series of interviews with people who self-identified as art enthusiasts and/or frequent museum visitors from ages 18-30, using consented audio and video recordings and transcriptions via Microsoft Teams.
Each participant’s answers were summarized, and key insights, stated preferences, behaviours and insights.
These findings were then synthesized in an affinity map to identify patterns and pain points that will inform future design decisions in How Might We’s
Understanding Current Methods & Pain Points
To design a museum and arts & culture app that serves as a documentation tool, I needed to thoroughly understand the existing user base, current methods in place, and how and why these methods may or may not meet their needs.
To accomplish this, my team and I conducted a series of interviews with people who self-identified as art enthusiasts and/or frequent museum visitors from ages 18-30, using consented audio and video recordings and transcriptions via Microsoft Teams.
Each participant’s answers were summarized, and key insights, stated preferences, behaviours and insights.
These findings were then synthesized in an affinity map to identify patterns and pain points that will inform future design decisions in How Might We’s
“Categories Include: Social Connection, Documentation Concerns, Access, Navigation, Available Resources”
Based on the conversations of prospective users, I learned the following:
Navigation is the most consistent pain point. Participants across all backgrounds described museums as maze-like, with unclear signage and limited access to maps. Both P7 and P8 resorted to photographing physical maps or asking staff for directions, often still missing exhibits they came to see.
Documentation is fragmented but meaningful. All eight participants took photos during visits, primarily for memory and social sharing. A subset, including P3, P5, and P7, extended documentation to sketches and notes for academic or creative reuse. Despite this, these materials live scattered across camera rolls with no structured way to revisit or reflect on them.
Information access is shallow and incomplete. Artwork labels and museum platforms offer surface-level context. When visitors wanted to understand a piece more deeply, they turned to external searches, artist portfolios, or simply gave up. QR codes were the most well-received in-gallery tool. P8 noted they allowed her to read from a distance without crowding the label.
The social and solo experiences both matter. Visitors value going with others for the shared conversation and guidance. P8's experience was significantly shaped by her boyfriend's knowledge. But solo or small-group visits allow for deeper engagement and personal reflection. Both modes need to be supported.
Navigation is the most consistent pain point. Participants across all backgrounds described museums as maze-like, with unclear signage and limited access to maps. Both P7 and P8 resorted to photographing physical maps or asking staff for directions, often still missing exhibits they came to see.
Documentation is fragmented but meaningful. All eight participants took photos during visits, primarily for memory and social sharing. A subset, including P3, P5, and P7, extended documentation to sketches and notes for academic or creative reuse. Despite this, these materials live scattered across camera rolls with no structured way to revisit or reflect on them.
Information access is shallow and incomplete. Artwork labels and museum platforms offer surface-level context. When visitors wanted to understand a piece more deeply, they turned to external searches, artist portfolios, or simply gave up. QR codes were the most well-received in-gallery tool. P8 noted they allowed her to read from a distance without crowding the label.
The social and solo experiences both matter. Visitors value going with others for the shared conversation and guidance. P8's experience was significantly shaped by her boyfriend's knowledge. But solo or small-group visits allow for deeper engagement and personal reflection. Both modes need to be supported.
This was then redeveloped in Miro
3. DESIGN |
Ideation
Starting from the research findings and How Might We statements, the team held brainstorming sessions to generate design concepts. Ideas explored included AR navigation, a visit journal, artwork scanning via QR code and number lookup, multilingual captions, and loyalty/ticketing integration. Concepts were sketched as low-fidelity storyboards to quickly evaluate feasibility and alignment with user needs.
Wireframing
Lo-fi wireframes were built in Figma to establish the core information architecture and interaction flows before any visual design decisions were made. Key screens covered: the home discovery feed, museum screen, artwork lookup (QR scan + number entry), AR map navigation, artwork info detail, journal logging, and camera integration.
User Feedback & Design Revisions
Wireframes were reviewed with peers and iterated upon before moving to high fidelity. Feedback focused on the clarity of the navigation flow, the journal entry structure, and how the AR overlay communicated directional information. Revisions tightened the lookup flow and refined the information hierarchy on the artwork detail screen.
Mockups & Prototyping
Starting from the research findings and How Might We statements, the team held brainstorming sessions to generate design concepts. Ideas explored included AR navigation, a visit journal, artwork scanning via QR code and number lookup, multilingual captions, and loyalty/ticketing integration. Concepts were sketched as low-fidelity storyboards to quickly evaluate feasibility and alignment with user needs.
Wireframing
Lo-fi wireframes were built in Figma to establish the core information architecture and interaction flows before any visual design decisions were made. Key screens covered: the home discovery feed, museum screen, artwork lookup (QR scan + number entry), AR map navigation, artwork info detail, journal logging, and camera integration.
User Feedback & Design Revisions
Wireframes were reviewed with peers and iterated upon before moving to high fidelity. Feedback focused on the clarity of the navigation flow, the journal entry structure, and how the AR overlay communicated directional information. Revisions tightened the lookup flow and refined the information hierarchy on the artwork detail screen.
Mockups & Prototyping
High-fidelity screens were designed in Figma with a refined typographic system, real artwork imagery sourced from MoMA's collection, and a dark, editorial colour palette consistent with the Muse brand. The prototype was built as a fully linked Figma prototype covering five primary user flows: discover a museum, look up an artwork, navigate via AR, log a journal entry, and view museum info and purchase tickets.
4. ITERATE |
Usability Testing
The prototype was tested with participants across a series of task-based sessions. Participants were asked to complete five flows: finding a museum, looking up an artwork by number, navigating to a specific gallery via the AR map, logging a journal entry, and purchasing tickets. Sessions were observed, and notes were taken on points of confusion, hesitation, and success.
Results Analysis
Testing surfaced three recurring areas for improvement: the AR navigation arrival confirmation needed to be more visually distinct, the journal entry flow benefited from a clearer indication that the artwork was successfully linked, and several participants expected a back button to be consistently placed across all screens. Overall, task completion rates were high, and participants responded positively to the artwork detail page and the social journal feed.
Re-design
Based on testing feedback, the following changes were made: the AR arrival card was given higher contrast and a larger "Done" affordance; the journal logging screen was updated to show a preview of the linked artwork before publishing; and navigation consistency was improved across the art info, lookup, and map screens.
The prototype was tested with participants across a series of task-based sessions. Participants were asked to complete five flows: finding a museum, looking up an artwork by number, navigating to a specific gallery via the AR map, logging a journal entry, and purchasing tickets. Sessions were observed, and notes were taken on points of confusion, hesitation, and success.
Results Analysis
Testing surfaced three recurring areas for improvement: the AR navigation arrival confirmation needed to be more visually distinct, the journal entry flow benefited from a clearer indication that the artwork was successfully linked, and several participants expected a back button to be consistently placed across all screens. Overall, task completion rates were high, and participants responded positively to the artwork detail page and the social journal feed.
Re-design
Based on testing feedback, the following changes were made: the AR arrival card was given higher contrast and a larger "Done" affordance; the journal logging screen was updated to show a preview of the linked artwork before publishing; and navigation consistency was improved across the art info, lookup, and map screens.
5. PROTOTYPE |
6. FUTURE STEPS
Takeaways
Research before assumptions. Having eight participants independently raise the same navigation frustration gave clear confidence in prioritizing AR wayfinding as the core differentiator. Every major design decision traces back to a direct participant quote; nothing was assumed.
Fewer features, executed well. Early brainstorming produced over ten concept directions. Narrowing to four well-developed flows: navigate, lookup, journal, and museum info made the prototype significantly stronger and more cohesive than a broader, shallower approach would have.
Social and solo modes are both valid. The journal feature needed careful framing. Users document for memory and personal inspiration, not just for sharing. The distinction between Entries, Following, and Explore tabs in the journal reflects that nuance rather than defaulting to a generic social feed.
What's next? Future iterations would prioritize formal usability testing on the AR navigation flow, deeper development of the accessibility layer (colour-blind filters, adjustable text size), and expanding the multilingual access feature identified in the research phase for non-native English-speaking visitors.
Fewer features, executed well. Early brainstorming produced over ten concept directions. Narrowing to four well-developed flows: navigate, lookup, journal, and museum info made the prototype significantly stronger and more cohesive than a broader, shallower approach would have.
Social and solo modes are both valid. The journal feature needed careful framing. Users document for memory and personal inspiration, not just for sharing. The distinction between Entries, Following, and Explore tabs in the journal reflects that nuance rather than defaulting to a generic social feed.
What's next? Future iterations would prioritize formal usability testing on the AR navigation flow, deeper development of the accessibility layer (colour-blind filters, adjustable text size), and expanding the multilingual access feature identified in the research phase for non-native English-speaking visitors.