“Who Am I” Exhibit Research + Redesign l UAL Study Abroad 2024
I spent a study abroad semester studying user experience at The University Arts London. Not only did I have the opportunity to live like a local but worked with a range of students and collaborated on projects.
Over this semester we were tasked to attend and observe the “Who Am I?” exhibit at the science museum in Kensington, London. The exhibit invites you to explore the science of who you are through intriguing objects, provocative artworks and hands-on exhibits. While observing we were expected to collect first hand observations. Using those observations and collecting preparatory and secondary research we had to define a problem and identity a research question to propose an enhanced layout.
View the full process book here.
Skills
Primary & Secondary Research
Experiential Design
Environmental Design
UX/UI
Research Question:
How can we enhance this exhibit’s overall user experience by emphasizing sensory engagement to create a more immersive environment?
Current Exhibit
Primary Research
I observed 6 different people, of all ages, and how they interacted with the museum. I collected their behaviors, interactions, how long they were there for, if they stopped along the way, and sketched the route they took in the museum. I created a rainbow chart to synthesize my findings.
Rainbow Chart
I created a rainbow chart to synthesize my findings from my observations. Many people skipped the glass shelves and just went straight to the gamification elements. This was a crucial finding when determining to switch my research question to something more sensory focused.
Secondary Research
I benchmarked successful and unsuccessful museum layout experiences. This led me to explore the world of sensory engagement.
Layout Sketching
After identifying the pain points and successes from the exhibit, I began to ideate new museum layout ideas. Even though, my abroad semester ended before finishing the project we ended this section with an infographic of our findings.
Infographic
Here is a complete infographic of my in-depth findings. My abroad semester ended before being able to complete the final part of this project, however, I am excited to continue to think about how designing for user experience within a physical space can be sensorial and engaging .
