The goal of MUSE is to inspire creativity by allowing users to learn about art history through exposure to art from all geographical areas and time periods. The main feature is a daily timeline, featuring different locations and time spans.
Competitive Research
Wires
Visual Identity
Figma
Adobe CC
2.5 weeks
My initial concept was to create an art history learner app directed toward people with little art history knowledge. My idea came from my own use of Instagram’s saved feature. As an artist, I find it incredibly useful to follow art history profiles on social media and save specific paintings/sculptures for inspiration. However, sometimes I find it difficult to find works from specific locations or time periods. How can I create app that I would personally use? How might I create a product that focuses on visual examples from art-history and serves as a mode to inspire artists and fellow creatives?
Since I only had 2.5 weeks for the entire project, I focused my research on pain-points within the current digital art history space. I looked at several art history and museum resources as part of my research. I focused on Khan Academy, Google Arts and Culture (website and app), and the MOMA app and website.
Khan Academy great resource for learning art history. It has great collection of articles, video lectures, and quizzes. It features topics across the world and time periods. It is obviously managed by knowledgable curators and mixes various media to communicate knowledge. It is very accessible.
Khan Academy only focuses on "traditional" art history, it does not include design or contemporary art. It also seems more like a study guide for the AP Art History exam rather than a resource for inspiration.
Google Arts and Culture has many high-resolution photos and a lot of engaging content (such as games meant to involve users with fine art with the integration of technology). It has a great search function with useful filters.
GAC has, at times, a confusing array of content. It can be hard for new users to navigate. It is also hard to find specific art pieces. In my experience, the site layout and UX changes all the time.
Both the MOMA site and app have great organization and navigation. It has a great search feature with useful filters as well as it has audio lectures/tours for visitors who are visiting MOMA's physical location.
The app and website only focuses only on MOMA's collection; It is more a complimentary product to MOMA's physical location and collection than a resource to learn about art history.
Next, I came up with several ideas on how to teach art history and to others. I made a feasibility matrix and tried to think of all possible solutions, regardless of any technical or time restraints. I decided to create and prototype an app that would feature a visual art history timeline within a mobile app. Every day, this app will present a new visual timeline of works of art. This timeline will be randomized by location and timespan and will be close to never-ending scroll. This way, users can learn art history by the art of looking and observe art’s evolution in different places.
The main explore page would feature the randomized timeline. I wanted users to have a method of saving individual works and timelines, as well as a search function for those looking for specific works or artists. This workflow shows the three main pages of the app.
I kept my visual identity clean and simple. The main color is a cream/gray (#E4DEDC) as it conveys a sense of warmth without distracting the user from the artworks. The yellow color will be used with the main icon (star) and select buttons. Since I wanted this app to inspire users, I utilized the icon of a seven-pointed star within Muse's visual identity. Within the app, this star acts as a save button. Everything that is saved is categorized within the saved page.
The timeline is set at all locations (global) and all time periods. If the user wants to change the parameters of the timeline, they would change the filters. There, users can generate a new timelines. They can select specific counties and dates or general geographic regions/swaths of time. Within the saved page, users view past saved timelines and artworks. By clicking on a column, the user is taken to the saved timeline. If the user wants to focus on a specific artwork, they are taken to a page with its general information and a grid of related works.
I had little over two weeks to complete this school project. Due to the time constraint, I used myself as the primary "persona" for whom I was designing for. In retrospect, I realize that my own bias and above-average knowledge base of art history affected many of my design decisions.
Figma is a powerful design software that is quite easy to learn compared to other applications. Using auto-layout, components, and a smart selection of plug-ins have improved my productivity and increased quality of my work.
This was the first UX/UI project I ever completed. In creating this case study, I realize that I should have focused more on user research during the beginning of my design process. I also realize that some of my UI choices would not hold up in testing (too small buttons, for example). Like everything else in art and design, to become a successful UX/UI designer requires practice, curiosity, and the consistent willingness to learn.
