Visitors at Miniature Art Dollhouses Museum
How might we make visitor experience in miniature art museum more interactive and engaging to enhance their learning? Visitors often encounter difficulties exploring the intricate details of miniature art dollhouses due to their small scale and the limited angles and height of the exhibition space.
I created an AR application with three distinct features, incorporating various interactive elements, designed to enhance visitor’s learning in museum by allowing them to directly play and manipulate miniature dollhouses.
I've always had a strong passion for crafting creative projects that bring joy to people through immersive technology. To further my learning and skills in AR/VR, I seized the opportunity to combine this interest with my love for creating miniature art dollhouses. Currently, visitor experiences in miniature art museums face challenges in engaging people to explore deeply and clearly, often resulting in reactions limited to "Wow! This is cool!" However, I believe there's more to be gained from this museum experience. To address this question, I've identified the potential of Pocket World to slow people down and help people explore how artifacts are created, their stories behind, and the detail-oriented nature.
ROLE
Interaction Designer
TIMELINE
Sep 2021 - Nov 2022
TOOL
Figma • Adobe Premiere
MAKAR (XR Development Platform)
Concentrating on the design and development of the AR application, I dedicated my efforts to exploring various ways for users to interact, in order to investigate the feasibility and impact of each feature on users. Specifically, our design incorporates three functions: Pocket MEGA, Pocket PALM, and Gulliver World, which will be further explored below.
Pocket PALM
Pocket PALM employs marker-based AR to perform operations, allowing users to manually zoom in or rotate the AR models for a closer look at the mini art on their mobile devices. They can also press the flashcard to access additional information. This hands-on manipulation provides users with a more engaging way to learn from the art.
Pocket MEGA
Utilizing spatial augmented reality (SAR), users can view virtual models projected onto any physical platform using their mobile devices. They can physically approach or walk around the virtual dollhouses in a 360° manner, allowing them to view them from any direction. This shift from visual interaction to body motion enhances their engagement with the experience.
Gulliver World
Imagining themselves standing inside the dollhouses, users are immersed in the world of miniature art from a first-person perspective. This feature brings art to life and extends into the visitor's real world, leaving them with a deeper understanding of the piece.
A spark of this idea stemmed from my curiosity about the integration of technology in museums. I observed a growing trend in the use of AR/VR and other engaging technologies aimed at enhancing people's learning experiences in museum settings. One particular project that captured my interest is "A Virtual Door to Vincent van Gogh's Bedroom in Arles," which revolutionized people's interaction and engagement with famous art pieces. However, I noticed a lack of similar instances or effective applications focusing on engaging people with miniature art. Therefore, I viewed this as a significant opportunity to conduct further research and refine my interaction design and prototyping skills.
Embarking on Interaction Design Exploration: Experimenting with various interactive elements and user-test the feasibility & effectiveness
Pursuing Proficiency in Immersive Experiences: Leveraging different sensory and/or engaging technology
Broadening Skill Set: Published paper & conference poster
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the current visitor experience at the Taiwan Miniature Museum, I employed a multifaceted approach. This included conducting Contextual Inquiry (observations and 6 semi-structured visitor interviews), analyzing 34 survey responses to gauge their feelings and understanding of the miniature art. Additionally, I conducted literature reviews and sought expert consultations to gain further context.
Assumption
Visitors prioritize interactive and hands-on experiences over passive observation when engaging with the exhibits in the museum settings.
Increasing the memorability and the uniqueness of the exhibits could boost visitor satisfaction, self-motivation of further exploration and willingness of return visits.
Augmented reality (AR) technology has the potential to enhance visitor engagement and learning experience.
Findings & Insights:
Validating my assumptions
Several factors contribute to the inferior experience at the miniature museum:
Of interview participants expressed a desire to ‘Play’ with the dollhouses to view them from various angles.
Of respondents were unable to pick one of the most impressive artworks and explain or recall it in detail.
Despite encountering potentially remarkable pieces during their visit, the majority of visitors failed to form lasting impressions or connections with specific artworks. This finding underscores the importance of providing visitors with memorable and engaging experiences that go beyond simply showcasing artwork.
Of participants expressed positive feedback regarding their previous experiences with adopting augmented reality (AR) technology in museum settings.
AR technology has the potential to enhance the traditional museum experience by offering interactive elements that attract visitors and sustain their motivation in new and exciting ways. Their positive experiences indicate a growing acceptance and enthusiasm for incorporating digital innovations into traditional museum spaces, highlighting the potential for AR to enrich the overall museum experience.
AR or VR ?
Why Augmented Reality Works Better for This Project?
From the literature reviews, I realized that AR offers several advantages over VR when it comes to enhancing the museum experience. AR seamlessly integrates digital content with the physical environment, providing users with additional layers of information and interactive features while preserving the integrity of the physical artwork. Unlike VR, which requires users to be fully immersed in a virtual environment, AR experiences can be accessed using familiar mobile devices, offering greater comfort and accessibility.
I used sketches to solidify ideas and draw out how I wanted the interactions to work, and also used them to communicate with my teammate.
Challenges for this design
Since I didn't collaborate with the museum, I lacked access to the actual artwork needed to construct my prototype, resulting in a less realistic prototype that didn't seamlessly integrate into real-world settings. While striving to explore a diverse range of interaction types to optimize outcomes, I encountered difficulty in validating design decisions without direct user involvement in the design process, leading to much uncertainty in the entire design process.
Originally aiming to participate in an innovative XR competition in Taiwan, I utilized their XR development platform, MAKAR, that allows users to create AR/VR products without requiring complex coding skills, streamlining my development process and making it more intuitive and engaging.
Bringing everything together, I developed an AR immersive experience that allows visitors to freely interact and play with the miniature art houses, overcoming the limitation of viewing them from only one angle.
We conducted usability tests and interviews, organized into various groups, to comprehend user feedback and compare the usability and impact of different features. We asked participants to score their experience based on different aspects
Users found the 'rotating' and 'zooming-in' functions in Pocket PALM to be straightforward and easy to use, achieving the highest avg. score of usability
Gulliver World received the highest score for overall experience and visitors’ motivation. Participants indicated that the feature of first-person perspective encourages deeper exploration and delivers a more immersive and enjoyable experience for users.
Pocket MEGA's spatial AR feature offers users a helpful means to 'get close to' exhibits, for a deeper learning of details and overcoming physical space limits
1. Is the museum the optimal setting for deployment?
I kept this idea inside the museum settings as I thought the environment also plays an important role in visitors’ learning. However, I can see the opportunity to explore the feasibility of implementing the AR immersive experience outside the confines of the museum setting, such as through pop-up installations or mobile outreach programs, to broaden accessibility and reach a wider audience.
2. Can we explore alternatives to mobile platforms while maintaining user-friendliness?
Investigating alternative platforms or devices, beyond mobile devices, that offer a seamless and user-friendly experience for interacting with the AR immersive experience. I would like to consider options like wearable AR devices or interactive kiosks to enhance engagement and accessibility.
1. The trending and coolest technology isn't necessarily lead to the best solution.
In this project, the central challenge lies in choosing the right technology, amid the appeal of AR and VR. Through this journey, I've learned that the trendiest technology doesn't always lead to the best solution, underscoring the pivotal role of designers in shaping technology interactions. As a result, prioritizing user understanding and comprehensive testing are essential for optimizing design outcomes.
2. Research is to make my design more persuasive, effective and valid.
This marks my long-term project, focused on conducting comprehensive research to validate my design decisions. While I may have not dedicated sufficient time to iterating on solutions, I've diligently conducted user testing to gauge public perception of my products.
Get in touch to collaborate or just to talk.
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