Google UX Design Case Study 2 -
Google UX Design Case Study 2 -
MusuemMuse Web Design
MusuemMuse Web Design
Embedded Files
The product:
The product:
MuseumMuse is an events scheduling website meant to help find museum exhibits and events. The typical user can range from 18 all the way way to the elderly, as most users are late career professionals and the retired. MuseumMuse goal is to make scheduling, and the ability to sync a calendar, simple and easy for any user.
MuseumMuse is an events scheduling website meant to help find museum exhibits and events. The typical user can range from 18 all the way way to the elderly, as most users are late career professionals and the retired. MuseumMuse goal is to make scheduling, and the ability to sync a calendar, simple and easy for any user.
Project duration:
Sept 2024 to Jan 2025
Project overview
The problem:
Museum sites do not make it easy to find events and exhibits, as well as save the date, and a lot of them don’t even have apps.
The goal:
Design the MuseumMuse website and app for users to have no trouble finding and selecting an event or exhibit, then being able to save the date to their device.
My role:
UX designer leading the MuseumMuse’s web and app design, as well as the research
Responsibilities:
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, iterating on designs and responsive design.
Understanding
the user
User research
Personas
Problem statements
User journey maps
User research: summary
I first looked at different museum websites and apps, in which I learned most museums don’t even have an app. From there, I looked at how museums handled scheduling and ticketing, which I noticed there’s no option to sync a saved/scheduled date to any device. Afterwards, I conducted user interviews, which I turned into empathy maps to better understand the purchasing and scheduling practices of museum patrons. I discovered that most apps weren’t simplistic to users, and finding events could be a hassle.
User research: pain points
1
Selection
Finding events or exhibit on some museum webpages aren’t simplistic.
2
Marketing
Only a light social media presence and websites for most museums, which makes a lot of events unknown.
3
Searching
When finding an event/exhibit, most sites don’t have a filtering feature, so as to be able to centralize a specific art selection.
4
Lack of App
There are very few, if any, apps that are made for museums to procure tickets and events.
Persona: Janice
Persona: Janice
Problem statement:
Janice is a retired Health Policy Analyst who needs a museum with an active website and events calendar because a lot of museums don’t have apps or consistently updated websites for upcoming events.
User journey map
User journey map
Creating a user journey map of the user Janice allowed me to help identify possible pain points and improvement opportunities that came from her experiences from museum searches.
Starting
the design
Sitemap
Paper wireframes
Digital wireframes
Low-fidelity prototype
Usability studies
Sitemap
Sitemap
Not easily seeing and finding events and exhibits was a strong user pain point that I wanted to address with my sitemap layout.
In order to address the goal of making the visual marketing more prominent and accessible, I needed to adjust the strategic information architecture decisions, so as that the structure I chose made things front and center for better efficiency.
Paper wireframes
Paper wireframes
To begin the process, I sketched out several paper wireframes for the home screen, carefully selecting the parts that I felt were the strongest, and culminating a final wireframe that allowed users to see events front and center.
Paper wireframe
screen size variations
I made sure I designed layouts for different devices, because I know museum users come in a wide variety. I need to see that the design would work responsively.
Digital wireframes
Using my paper wireframes as a foundation, I was able to develop a design with the events and exhibitions accessible at first glance.
Allowing users to see all the current events front and center was the main focal point, for ease of seach and selection.
Digital wireframe
screen size variation(s)
Low-fidelity prototype
In order to make my low-fidelity prototype, I established how the user would flow through the navigation and then I connected all the screens. I wanted to make sure that the main pain points I seen from my research and interviews were top of the things addressed, like having a very distinct and visual calendar, and quick navigation to the available events.
Usability study: parameters
Study type:
Unmoderated usability study
Participants:
6 participants
Location:
United States, remote
Length:
20-30 minutes
Usability study: findings
These were the main findings uncovered by the usability study:
1
Searching
Users didn’t see events high in the hierarchy of the site, so searching for dates, shows, venues, etc. wasn’t always easy due to them not standing out
2
Selection
When finding events and exhibits, many users found the selection process limited or inhibited in what was visually seen
3
Calendars
Being able to see a calendar, which generally was lacking on some sites, as well as being constantly updated so users have a visual tool to assist with scheduling
Refining
the design
Mockups
High-fidelity prototype
Accessibility
Mockups
I wanted to make sure the event selection aspect stood out in the site flow. I used images,color and typography to show that this is at the top of the hierarchy.
Before usability study
After usability study
Mockups
Making sure users had clear and concise directions, as well as detailed instructions for parking was another important aspect for me.
Before usability study
After usability study
Mockups: Original screen size
Mockups: Screen size variations
I included considerations for additional screen sizes in my mockups based on my earlier wireframes. Because users use a variety of devices, I felt it was important to optimize the browsing experience for said device sizes, such as mobile and tablet, so users have the smoothest experience possible.
Going forward
Takeaways
Next steps
Takeaways
Impact:
Our target users loved the inclusion of very visible events, calendar dates, and the simplicity of the website’s design. The straightforwardness of the navigation was also a big plus as it helped users to immediately find what they were looking for.
What I learned:
I learned that the design needs to be flexible and adaptable, because the user has different devices they’re using, and many different ways they approach it . The most important takeaway for me is making sure I keep minimalistic designs in order for the graceful degradation process to work.
Next steps
1
Take another look at which new features could be included in the app, to make even greater improvements towards the app’s accessibility.
2
Follow up the website with a usability study, so as to see what pain points exist.
3
Complete and test the mobile and tablet sizes of the website, so see the functionality and usability of the responsive web design.
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