01 | Macro UX

In the Teaching Module “Macro UX”, we MA User Experience Design students started to work with external partners for a 6-week long project: R/GA, Applied Works, Centre for Behaviour Change UCL and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Macro Unit encouraged us to align our studio practices and research methods working on live briefs in a professional environment.

Brief

Design a sensory, embodied experience of V&A’s online collection

The project was 6-weeks long, with a mid-point review with the partner and a final presentation to show our project outcome. The project involved weekly tutorials by our tutor and reviews by our class.

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Overview

The project started with a presentation from Jack Craig, Digital Design Lead of V&A Museum, and he took us through how online collections are at present and the challenges they are facing currently. He took us through the database of the group of objects from V&A’s Collection to get a more clear picture. He also stated the mission of V&A, which is to bring together the V&A objects and stories to inspire people to develop their creativity, understand and research over 1 million eclectic objects. 

Screen Capture from V&A Presentation by Jack

He gave us few thinking pointers to start our project with a kickstart of

HOW MIGHT WE?

• How might we better communicate the scale, range and tactility of the V&A’s collections digitally?

• How can we help people find a personal connection amongst the breath on offer?

• How might we open up the collections to different interpretations?

• How might we let users curate their own pathways and see objects in different contexts?

• How might we use the collections to encourage makers and making?

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Starting The Project

We were a team of eight students {} Manali Panchal, Ziyou Yin (Ines), Shiwen Shen (Svaney), Sanya Nayar, Max Hain, Sanjana Mehta, Jinsong Liu (Sylvester) working on the brief of the Victoria and Albert Museum. We were allowed to switch to more subgroup within this.

We all immediately got on the video call amongst us. I proposed to have a common first week of research altogether as this will help us gain all the possibility of directions to research and brainstorm our ideas.

We together collaborated through miro board and wrote down all the relevant research of Who are the people we are designing for?

Also we looked throught the existing V&A museum innovations and also other Museums all around world. Jack helped us by giving us few database of V&A which were really helpful for research.

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View fullsize

While looking for examples and recent work of museums, i found An outstanding example of this is the newly launched “The Queen and the Crown” digital exhibit by Netflix and the Brooklyn Museum, made in collaboration with MediaMonks. The exhibit highlights costumes featured in both Netflix-original series The Queen’s Gambit and  The Crown. We were amazed with the type of technology which is being used now days to get the embodied experience. Our minds were on a run throughout this week on what is happening currently and how we can make a visible change.

We also saw other museums offerings, tone of voices to reach people and different kind of services which they are providing to people in the pandemic time.

As our brief says to design a sensory experience to cater online audience, our minds were filling the gap of ideations between physical experiences on-site and online experiences. 

I did a quick read from a book Museum Of The Future found from publication of MU.SA: MUSEUM SECTOR ALLIANCE. This read gave me many insights of where is the future of museum heading? I wrote down major keywords of future which could help me as a tool to generate ideations.

• Sharing collections and spaces

• Co-creating with people

• Physical and digital dimensions more interconnected

• Storytelling which people empathize

On the next blog post, I will describe how we decided to divide ourselves in subgroups and deciding a direction for the project and began our design research.

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Research

• MediaMonks (2021) Something Old, Something New: Virtualizing a Museum Visit with Netflix. [online] Available at: <https://www.mediamonks.com/blog/2020/11/something-old-something-new-virtualizing-a-museum-visit-with-netflix>

• Axiell.com (2021) [online] Available at: <https://www.axiell.com/app/uploads/2019/04/digital-transformation-in-the-musuem-industry.pdf>

• Smithsonian Institution. (2021) Best of Both Worlds. [online] Available at: <https://www.si.edu/BestofBothWorlds>

• MuseumNext. (2021) Is the future of museums online and what might a virtual museum look like? - MuseumNext. [online] Available at: <https://www.museumnext.com/article/is-the-future-of-museums-online/>

• Windross, T. and Windross, T., (2021) ASMR at the V&A – with Charlie Chaplin's hat • V&A Blog. [online] V&A Blog. Available at: <https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/digital/asmr-at-the-va-with-charlie-chaplins-hat>
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

02 | Macro UX

Design a sensory, embodied experience of V&A’s online collection

WEEK 2

This week we split ourselves into subgroup by a random draw, that’s how everyone agreed and deciding on dividing teams.

We were three of us in subgroup, and we were happy to work it out with a cheerful start.

Subgroup Members 🤝 :

• Max Hain

• Manali Panchal

• Sanjana Mehta

Last week we were encouraged to begin researching through design, meaning only one thing: time to stop reading, and start doing.

We collaborated on miro to map out the overview of the project and looked upon the brief again. We discussed narrowing down our initial ideation.

Mind Mapping on Miro (Collaboration tool online)

We altogether agreed on sticking to the Physical and Digital aspect to give an embodied experience, creating a relation with the museum. My mind wondered how we could design something very intuitive and natural to be experienced—an experience that could give a mind shift.

We started building a map where we understand the structure of collections and for whom these collections cater. Also, we discussed upon questing more on what kind of feeling or emotions dwell when visiting a museum.

As we were on-going through referencing, we as a group decided to start building something up to think out of the internet world. We didn't want to block ourselves in just the digital part of thinking in the sense of transforming the current website of V&A.

Each of us took some time individually and started playing with materials. I started thinking about my own experience with the museum I visited during my bachelor study in design. My experience has always been with India's heritage, which includes royal palaces and India's diverse culture with many art forms to study. I realised how to be so intrigued by historical architectural walls and the motifs carved on them. I remember using a sheet of paper and charcoal stick to trace the exact geometry of the motifs made centuries before.

I am mentioning my experience here because I wanted to capture those inbuilt actions that I experienced, and I wanted to bring that into concept building. I started reading about different gestural movements and ended up with a study of laban movements. Rudolf Laban "Founding Father of the Expressionist Dance" in Germany. Laban categorised human movement into four component parts:

Direction, Weight, Speed, Flow

From my opinion theories like this can provide meaningful insights as we begin to invent new ways of interacting with technology. Why not thinking from a communicating way of humans through gestures and bodily movements. I was exploring the direction of digital stimuli and movement.

My Individual Ideation

I shared my views on the movement theories and Sanjana could relate to it with her own experimentation with the hanging paper cuttings. She experimented with the hanging paper cuttings of letter and explored the role of light and shadow.

Max Hain also experimented with the objects hanging from the roof in his room to start imagining how we can take the physicality of various kind of objects into use by relating them to the museum's digital and online experience.

Meeting with Jack

We started our conversations with the plan of Weekly catch-up schedules, and then we started with the discussions of the workflow and tools we were thinking to explore for making a prototype. Jack mentioned his thinking process on how to go about it.

We also discussed about creating curations and building community. He stated that he is interested in that direction as, until now, the design team of V&A hasn’t brought a similar concept. He mentioned, ‘’there is a real appetite for own stories. A lot of scopes’’. He also gave his opinion to check other museums who have tried doing this and check about their problems.

At last, we concluded with what we need to build on now is clarifying what problems we are addressing and for whom. Being crystal clear about the user and constraints will help us progress.

Presentation Feedback

After presenting what we had done so far, they liked how we started using our studio practise skills. Professor Dr John Fass appreciated building up a concept by taking inspiration from dance form movements. He felt interested to know more about how we can include bodily movements and gesture. 

For the next week we were heads up with more experimentation in terms of creating an experience for people with technology at home.

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Research

• Espeland, T. (2015) The Eight Efforts: Laban Movement. Available at: https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/the-eight-efforts-laban-movement/

• Levy, J.A. & Duke, M.P.. (2003). The use of Laban Movement Analysis in the study of personality, emotional state and movement style: An exploratory investigation of the veridicality of "Body language". Individual Differences Research. 1. 39-63.

• Espeland, T. (2015) The Eight Efforts: Laban Movement. Available at: https://www.theatrefolk.com/blog/the-eight-efforts-laban-movement/

• Villaespesa, Elena & French, Ariana. (2019). AI, Visitor Experience, and Museum Operations: A Closer Look at the Possible.
  
  
  
  
  

03 | Macro UX

Design a sensory, embodied experience of V&A’s online collection

WEEK 3

We started the week with lots of questions among ourselves as we were re-reading the brief again. We were struggling to create an embodiment of online visitors with a physical environment. Our mind was jumping around technologies, and I started noting down how we prehend our environment through technology and also about how we participate, where the experience of art stretches beyond the limits of ocular perception. I started thinking about the existing interface designed for touching, listening, moving around, and breathing.

Our body is the centre of experience in participating with any technology, whether it be motion tracking video games, smart phones, touch screens and tablets. In the reading of Body as perception, Maurice Merleau-Ponty states that, “the body is not a transparent object” but rather “an expressive unity which we can learn to know only by actively taking it up.” 

Imagery of thinking about technology which makes ourselves induce in embodied experience.

Sensors of Smart Devices in the Internet of Everything (IoE) Era

A general observation from the past 10 years is how the experiences through sensors are rising steadily, introducing touch buttons to face detections and more to it. Arguably, the available sensors are mostly underutilized by existing mobile user interfaces.

I explore sensor-based user interface examples and all types of sensors used presently for mobile devices. My purpose was to gain insights into the types of sensor technologies and make better use of mobile devices' available sensing capabilities. I was particularly interested in how sensor technologies could implement and engage mobile user interface concepts.

Mobile sensors categorised through movement, light, sound, touch & temperature.

Tutorial.

We had a tutorial with Professor Dr John Fass the next day, and we discussed how we are questioning and moving forward. He agreed to the facts we spoke about the physicality we have and suggested the same insights of keeping in about what people already have at home in technology? How can we build on what people have already? There are a lot of functionalities in mobile phones that can be prehending in our day-to-day lives. 

Our design Idea

Concept building was getting more clearer with thinking of what people have built on what people have already? There is a lot more scope that does not yet deconstruct from already existing technology.

After the discussion within group, we came to deciding to use more resources and contact creative technology as soon we have a range of ideas that we could explain.

Whilst brainstorming with the group, we decided to go ahead with experimenting more from what we have. I individually explored Implementing of Holographic View on the Mobile/ Tablet screen. I used materials like an OHP sheet that is transparent, a scissor, and a scale for making it happen.

Implementing of Holographic View on the Mobile/ Tablet screen

My teammate Sanjana experimented using a projector. It was challenging to get the tech products in the pandemic time, but fortunately, she found a projector from a friend of hers. As it was not possible to be together as a group, she experimented with coordinating with us on call.

We experimented with projecting the collection of V&A on the wall, creating a 360º digital experience, and experimenting with creating an immersive interactive experience through scrolling, scaling, and rotating artworks from the museum's collection, as shown in the videos below. We used the software Artsteps to build a VR experience to define depth.

As moving forward, our aim was more about creating something that can be accessed remotely, whether in a pop-up museum or at home.

Movement + Artwork

Zoom In- out

Browsing

Interaction with multiple users

Virtual Museum Prototype made on software artsteps

Static Image Of Raphael Cartoon on V&A Website

Virtual Museum Prototype - with the visitor

Our discussion at end of the day

We all agreed with idea of building something which has attributes like navigation or (a compass) from which we can direct to different cultures. We initial thought of making one or two screens just to show where we are leading.

Feedback.

Our faculty liked how we experimented with the exciting technology, and they made it sound positive feedback. Also, everyone in the session was intrigued by using sensors of smartphones and wanted to see more in that direction. Overall we got a good discussion on how we can plan our next week and get going.

04 | Macro UX

Design a sensory, embodied experience of V&A’s online collection

WEEK 4

After receiving feedback we started building more contextualising thinking, we started building our concept with

What does our experience do? 

1. Create new and innovative methods for interacting with a physical and virtual museum

2. Act as a tool for education

3. Provide an interactive way to learn about different cultures and periods of art history

We got into a group discussion, and yes, it's best to build ideation together and then think about it individually. We spoke about how we can make some kit. We ended up bringing card games that could connect people from physical to digital from scanning the cards kept in various places and then seeing masterpieces in augmented reality and discover the secrets of collections from different places of world.

In order to facilitate both physical and digital aspects of our pop-up museum, we will use location and orientation sensors of a smartphone, such as the GPS, rotation sensor, accelerometer, proximity sensors and gyroscope to create a Augmented Reality experience. 

The way I started seeing things made question, why cards, why not having something more purposeful and connected to our lives, I came up with the thought of

building miniature of objects. Yes, why not!!

A tool addresses human needs by amplifying

human capabilities.

Image: Victor, B. (2011) Available at:http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesign/

And that's great! I think hands are fantastic! (Victor, 2011)

Thought is to let the audience explore the environment and interface designed by the artist through touching, listening, moving around, and breathing. The Ritual of creating a physical aspect and connecting it to digital technology indulges the creative participation process of art-making. The experience of the digital dimension unfolds the art within a broader life experience.

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Our Final Concept

Allowing people to bring the treasures of the V&A collections into their own homes.

• Includes printing template of the object, making paper miniature through experience of origami to induce in the details of the object from collection and keeping it accessible to all at the same time.

• Put very simply augmented reality overlays after scanning 🤳🏽, your self made origami miniature in the world around you that can be seen through a smartphone, tablet and heard through your microphones or speakers.
  
  

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Let’s start Building

• Making of miniature model

  Our group decided mutually, and I took the initiative to start exploring the making of the miniature. In our group discussion, we gave a thought to many materials, but we want to keep this experience with accessibility on top. 

  I made a template of Islamic Vase to try out how it makes you feel.

Further, we started working on the steps which will make this experience a success. As it's the process of failures, Sanjana and I were in continuous conversations to build it the way we wanted. We discussed few initial ideas on the gestures and features, making the experience interesting for the people. We used software tools to create mockups and recorded the actions through our phone camera.

• Placing model in desired space

As soon you make the miniature, you place it in your space, it can be anywhere in your surrounding!

• Opening V&A Application and Scan the object

• Scrolling & Scaling 🤏🏽 Features

• Recontextualise 🪄 the object in the space

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Mid-Point Review Feedback

Our Review was with the team of V&A and our MA UX students and faculty. Our feedback on the work we presented was positive in creating something participatory and giving a recall value simultaneously.

Jack mentioned that the presentation was clear to understand and advised us to focus on a specific audience. He liked the 'miniature model' idea a lot. As his mind started building the blocks of what if? He also mentioned how you could create an experience for a post or pre-visit in the museum.

Jack said, 'Use of miniature models is very clever and gives original setting to it.' It can be beneficial to start thinking of what can be next to engage people. Our classmate Sylvester liked the idea of making a model of how it's accessible, download-print-experience.

He was curious and amazed about how context changes when you compare in the old period. Ines discussed how their group took it in another way round, so she liked the direction we took.

The discussion was on a high energy level, and everybody was interested in giving inputs. Alex liked the curation of the object for their collection. "Here is the stuff I made". Become your own curator. I can show my friends and family. How about Building community?? Building teams, personalising V&A, making a collection of my favourite object.

AL said, you guys have done annexing your home, invite v&a home.

John encouraged brain-storming, mind-storming, body-storming on the notion of used cases. We had a design idea, but now we had to open up to how we imagine it for whom.

It was time for us to stretch our imaginations.

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Research

• Craig, J. and Craig, J. (2021) How are the V&A’s online collections used? • V&A Blog, V&A Blog. Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/digital/how-are-the-vas-online-collections-used

• Victor, B. (2011) A Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design, Worrydream.com. Available at: http://worrydream.com/ABriefRantOnTheFutureOfInteractionDesign/

• AR Tools - Augmented Reality - Apple Developer (no date). Available at: https://developer.apple.com/augmented-reality/tools/ .
  
  

05 | Macro UX

Design a sensory, embodied experience of V&A’s online collection

WEEK 5

We started our week by compiling our feedback and building appropriate layers to engage people and mind-stormed about considering used case scenarios. How might an interior designer use it? A child? A student?

We were clear of our primary vision of building an experience that should be accessible easily to people. We develop our used case scenario around the three categories mentioned below.

We used storytelling research methods, talked to each of the three categories, and got insights from the audience. Further, we reconsidered, What does our experience do? (more focused on the audience for which we wanted to cater.

• Creation of a physical and digital system that is integrated within the existing V&A website

• Used as a tool for education for university-level students in areas like working with paper, model making, cultural information, knowing the process of how the artefacts are made (materials, method, environment)

• Creation of layers of information that range from general knowledge, unknown facts, how it made to an AR experience of interacting with the object

• Creates a community of curators that have the chance to develop their own collections and browse through the curation of their friends or other visitors of the V&A

I further started building functioning prototype for digital experience using the Figma software. While creating content and navigation for the audience, I kept all the aspects and feedback we received for our group.

Below is the first low fidelity working prototype

We further aimed to make the prototype more realistic with original Augmented Reality features to get the exact vision we were imagining. Sanjana started working with the Aero software to bring AR experience.

Credits: https://giphy.com

We collaborate throughout our process on Figma and worked for hours online playing on Figma with our cursors! Which was another crazy way of communication we explored while mind storming.

While building the content on the screens there was a good flow of many ideas of how can we include more and more realistic participatory experience.

Relationship of a user with museum has these basic notions of interacting with the objects which are displayed. But in most cases, their is protective glass, ropes and ‘do not touch’ signs-used in museum in order to prevent artwork from being touched. The interactions stays limited to ocular perception. ( ͡👁️ ͜ʖ ͡👁️)

As we learned from our collaborative unit about somatic experiences, my thoughts revolved around what if we can hear the sounds of material and get the feeling of thickness and texture of material. We added all the new features to our next prototype with more detailed User interface.

Next week comes with the final output of the experience.

06 | Macro UX

Design a sensory, embodied experience of V&A’s online collection

WEEK 6 | FINAL MACRO PRESENTATION

We grew up our imagination 🧘🏼‍♀️ 🧘🏼 🧘🏼‍♂️ with creative thinking for our final working prototype and set some parameters to added features to our concept for V&A’s online collection.

🪅 📲

To help users navigate through the experience on a mobile phone after printing and making a miniature object. We narrow down the list of items for users and categories to satisfy their specified criteria.

In our user research, we often hear people comment on how much they appreciate these tools for experiencing what they cannot participate in a museum, created as a filter bar at the bottom. When well-designed, they create a positive feeling of control and choice, even in the face of overwhelming numbers of options.

“That’s always helpful, the information on the bottom, the filters. When I explore the object, I appreciate that I get unknown and additional pieces of information that indulges me more inexperience, especially with the sound.” — Usability-test participant.

MAKING

We used software like Adobe Aero, Aftereffect, Photoshop, Invision and Figma to prototype. We collaborated throughout the process online with zoom calls.

We divided the work to make the final prototype. I took care of building elegant, easy to use, and human-centred user interface designs and keeping the visual hierarchy in mind of the V&A museum’s overall layout. For our presentation, we recorded our voice to make the audience understand more clearly.

Explained Prototype of the overall experience

To Build the experience more inculcating for the audience to experience the online collection with their embodied sense, we made add on features.

👉🏻 Discover and add to My Curations

👉🏻 Similar Objects - Recommendation Hotspot Button

📝 Note-taking

Recontextualise your surroundings 🪄

How was the object made? 🔨

Learnings & Feedback ⭐️

From the final output, everyone was impressed and thought the design concept was quite strong to reach the audience, especially when dealing with this pandemic. What I felt about the project was my speculative thinking on the brief and bringing out outputs on every stage of the project timeline. Overall the project went well in terms of outcomes, and there was lots of work done. I appreciated each endpoint with my teammates that we are growing well, which was visible in our work done!