An app for the Dayton Art Institute located in Dayton Ohio. Providing self guided audio tours that make experiencing art more accessible and engaging.

The Dayton Art Institute needed a way to provide tours without a guide, while also making the museum more engaging, informational, and inclusive.

Design an Audio Tour app that will help users engage with the art museum in a way that would be easiest for them.

Conducting interviews, paper and digital wireframing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.

I conducted interviews and created empathy maps to understand the users I'm designing for and their needs. A primary user group identified through research were individuals who go to the art museum about twice a year.

This user group confirmed initial assumptions about DAI visitors, like wanting something more fun or engaging, or wanting access to more information about an art piece. Research also revealed other limiting factors. Other user problems included accessibility, interests, or disabilities that make it difficult to navigate or engage with the artwork.

Rasheed is a concerned father of a child who is visually impaired. He needs a more accessible way for his child to enjoy the museum because he wants his whole family to equally have a nice time together.

Mapping Rasheeds user journey really cemented how the app has to be user friendly. People of all age groups will be navigating and using this app.

Taking the time to draft iterations of each screen of the app on paper ensured that the elements that made it to digital wireframes would be well-suited to address user pain points. For the Audio tour screen, I prioritized an intuitive and easy interface to help users find what they wanted and save time.

As the initial design phase continued, I made sure to base screen designs on feedback and findings from the user research. Easy navigation was a key user need to address in the designs, along with equipping the app to work with assistive technologies.

Using the completed set of digital wireframes, I created a low-fidelity prototype. The primary user flow I connected was searching and choosing an audio tour, so the prototype could be used in a usability study.

I conducted two rounds of usability studies. Findings from the first study helped guide the designs from wireframes to mockups. The second study used a high-fidelity prototype and revealed what aspects of the mockups needed refining.

Once the usability studies were complete, I compiled the information into an affinity diagram to pinpoint where the user struggled and where I could refine my design further to make the users experience better.

Taking the time to draft iterations of each screen of the app on paper ensured that the elements that made it to digital wireframes would be well-suited to address user pain points. For the Audio tour screen, I prioritized an intuitive and easy interface to help users find what they wanted and save time.

Before usability test

After usability test

The app makes users feel like The Dayton Art Institute really wants to provide a fun inclusive experience to every type of person.

One quote from peer feedback:

"I like to know more about the art I'm looking at when I'm at the museum, so this app makes me excited."

While designing Audile I learned that the first ideas for the app are only the beginning of the process. Usability studies and peer feedback are so important and influenced each iteration of the app’s design.

Conduct another round of usability studies to validate whether the pain points users experienced have been effectively addressed. Conduct more user research to determine any new areas of need.