CASE STUDY
Carnegie Mellon University
Link UX + AR
An interactive museum concept that helps museum visitors understand their impact and relationship to the natural world.
OVERVIEW
Our challenge was to reimagine the Carnegie Museum of Natural History 10 years in the future by developing an interactive experience to keep tech active visitors engaged.
Today, many museums are facing the challenge of transitioning from rigid institutions to experiential and flexible spaces. As competition increases for visitors, and visitor engagement, Museums are turning to virtual reality and interactive experiences to keep visitors active and interested.
TEAM
Anna Boyle
Ji Young Ohn
Nandini Nair
Stefania La Vattiata
TIME
2019
6 Weeks
Carnegie Mellon University
ROLE
Concept Development, Ideation, Design Research, Visual Design, UI/UX Prototyping, Project Management
TOOLS
Adobe Illustrator, Adobe XD, After Effects, Laser Cutting, 3D Printing, Arduino Prototyping
OUTCOME
Link is an interactive and immersive museum experience that explores the relationships between humans and the natural world.
Composed of four interactive touchpoints including a hand-held guide, reflection table, kiosk, and collective wall.
The goal is to help visitors see and understand these connections while giving them the opportunity to reflect on how human actions can make a difference and how working together to make a positive impact is a collective effort.
UNDERSTANDING THE ANTHROPOCENE
Anthropocene - the current era when human activity has profoundly impacted the planet.
More specifically the museum is looking to communicate stories about environmental changes that are happening in our world today through the Anthropocene.
The plan is to make these concepts accessible to their visitors so they can recognize themselves as stewards of the natural world and ensure sustainable futures.
Joan Wong Illustration For Foreign Policy
1.0 | PROCESS
Exploratory Research
We were first introduced to Becca Shreckengast, Director of Exhibition Experiences at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Becca informed us about some of the current issues that the Museum exhibitions are facing as well as the museum’s current goal.
THE GOAL
“Communicate the unity and interdependence of humanity and nature, and advocate for the protection of the earth and its inhabitants while encouraging participation in the natural sciences.”
OBSERVATIONS & INTERVIEWS
While conducting exploratory research at the Museum we were able to conduct 15 interviews with both Museum staff and visitors while also observing how visitors moved around the exhibitions and interacted with different content. From our research, we developed 3 key insights.
Knowledge to Share
Museum Staff want to preserve artifacts and share their knowledge.
Need for Personalization
Visitors want to have more personalized and interactive experiences.
Lack of Connection
The exhibits have limited information on human connections with nature.
How might the museum enable visitors to understand the relationships between humans and the natural world?
DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES
Our observations informed our design opportunities and considerations for the experience.
Connection
Connect stories of humans and their relationship to nature.
Understanding
See and understand the complexity of the interconnections between humans and nature.
Collaboration
Participate and work together to make a positive impact.
USER GROUP
We identified our museum user as an Expressive Explorer type through the framework of Understanding Museum Visitors Motivations and Learning, by Dr. John H. Falk. and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History Audience Atlas for 2019.
Behaviors
Curiosity-driven
Enjoys wandering
Expects to find interesting things
Community-orientated
Welcome new perspectives
Needs & Goals
Feeling special, and having a unique museum experience
Inclusive spaces
Immersive experiences where relationships are built
2.0 | PROCESS
Generative Research
After working together as a group and discussing the different directions and concepts around human impact and immersive museum experiences we landed on the concept below which helped guide us to our final design.
STORYBOARDING
Our initial concept was centered around the idea of selecting an animal at the beginning of your museum experience and having this object act as a personal guide or companion. This concept was then modified and broadened to the final LINK concept and hexagon screen device.
Storyboard | Jiyoung Ohn
PROTOTYPING
We experimented and prototyped a lot of our interactive touchpoints. Below is a sample of images from our process.
Since the device was not a standard shape, we did some user testing to determine the size of the device and where to put the navigational elements. Through many iterations, we were able to decide on the ideal size that was easy to hold. The final prototype included: a 3D Laser Printed mock-up and Arduino haptic nudge simulation.
VISUAL DESIGN
After refining our concept we developed a visual design system and branding for the experience we were creating.
We chose to move forward with the name LINK as it explores the relationships between humans and the natural world while helping visitors see and understand these connections within a larger ecosystem.
Form
We chose the hexagon shape as our brand identity because it is a common shape that appears in nature and represents growth and harmony.
Style
We decided to use a modern and user friendly typeface and simple iconography alongside a minimal color palette with a pop of green to highlight connections to the natural world throughout the experience.
Photography
We chose to include wildlife photography and focused on animals that were endangered or or at risk because of human impact.
INTERACTIVE TOUCH POINTS
1.0 Link Device
The LINK device is a hexagonal interactive screen that visitors can carry through all the exhibitions. LINK has the ability to provide directions, introduce relevant human impact stories to visitors, and enable interactions on the reflection table.
Discover Animals
Collaborative Learning
Collect Along The Way
2.0 Interactive Table
The table gives visitors the opportunity to view and interact with different human and animal relationships. Once the device is activated it guides the user through the experience. The table prompts a variety of different social interactions by creating links between the animals that each user has selected and showing how the animals are related to one another and different human impacts.
Select an Animal
Once another person approaches the table and places their device on the screen, a link appears to show the connections between the two different animals that have been selected by each visitor.
Connect + Understand
Once another person approaches the table and places their device on the screen, a link appears to show the connections between the two different animals that have been selected by each visitor.
Explore + Discover
The table shows the trajectory of species, populations, and ecosystems. It helps visitors explore the evolution of the animal over time and its relationships with other organisms, both living and extinct while displaying the ecological systems and relationships the animal has through the food chain.
3.0 Kiosk + Collective Wall
At the end of the experience, visitors come into contact with the LINK Kiosk where they are able to return their LINK device. After returning the device, visitors are prompted to take a personal video and write a personal note showing their support for the natural world. The selfie and handwritten message on the screen are then displayed on the LINK collective wall.
Return
The kiosk is activated by returning the handheld device at the end of the experience.
Contribute
After returning the device, visitors are prompted to take a personal video and write a personal note showing their support for the natural world. The selfie and handwritten message on the screen is then displayed on the LINK collective wall.
Reflect
Collected images and reflections are displayed on the immersive wall at the entrance of the museum. By contributing a personal message at the end of their experience visitors will be able to gain a better understanding of how small actions can make a difference.
User Journey
Reflection
Design Systems
We learned a lot about design systems and developing clear transitions through a multi-touchpoint interactive experience.
We also had the opportunity to test these transitions to gain a better understanding of the user experience through prototyping and developing user flows for each individual device.
We were very inspired by Google’s AI Design Guidelines and tried to use their principles to guide our design. This included using short, simple, concise words and prompting users with task-oriented responses.
Navigating Complex Information
Our concept focus of visualizing and communicating human impact to a large and diverse user group proved to be challenging but relevant.
we would welcome the opportunity to do more research on developing the content around this experience. i.e. identifying more animals that have been effected by human impact or are threatened or endangered.
Next Steps
est our concept with Museum stakeholders.
Refine the LINK Device and LINK Reflective table UI experience to include smoother device transitions and relevant information.
Conduct more user testing to refine the LINK device size and shape for younger and older visitors.
Develop a stronger brand identity that would appeal to a wider audience and that would be more fun and engaging.
