Product and visual designer focused on objects, visual systems, and how they are documented, experienced, and shared across digital and physical spaces.

INFO/CV

The Virtual Art Museum

A mobile app concept that helps users discover new art, explore exhibitions nearby, and personalize their museum experience.

UX/UI Design, Case Study

October - November 2023

Role: UX Researcher, UX Designer

Art discovery is fragmented across museum websites, making it difficult for casual users to know where to start or find work they connect with.

I designed a mobile app that centralizes discovery through a visual-first, personalized experience.

Context

While interest in art is high, many users feel overwhelmed in museum environments and instead rely on social media or online browsing to discover new work.

Existing platforms either focus on events or static archives, lacking a personalized and intuitive way to explore art based on individual taste.

Solution

A mobile app that combines location-based discovery, personalized recommendations, and visual browsing to help users find artists, exhibitions, and inspiration.

Focus

  • Make art discovery approachable for non-experts

  • Replace search-heavy exploration with visual, intuitive browsing

  • Consolidate fragmented museum and exhibition information into one platform

Key Insights

  • Users are interested in art but often don’t know where to begin when exploring museums or exhibitions

  • Discovery is driven more by visual browsing and social media than by structured search

  • Traditional tools like audio guides feel passive and less engaging

  • Existing platforms lack personalization and require users to already know what they’re looking for

  • A survey was distributed to students and non-art peers across creative and non-creative fields

  • Shared via social media and group chats to capture a range of familiarity with art

Key Findings

  • High interest in art, but low confidence in how to explore it

  • Users struggle to know where to begin or find work they connect with

  • Discovery is driven by word of mouth and social media

  • Audio guides have low appeal and feel passive

Data

Overview

Research Methods

Quick scroll through of the Google Form sent out to my peers and posted on social media platforms.

How do you find out about exhibitions/museums?

Most people discover museums via word of mouth & social media → need for a strong online presence.

Do you use audio guides/tour guides in person or via an app?

Users don’t enjoy audio guides → opportunity for a visual-first discovery tool.

To better understand the needs of potential users, I conducted a survey with several participants from both creative and non-creative fields. The results showed that interest in art and museums is consistently high, with no negative responses to visiting art spaces. However, barriers to engagement often stemmed from uncertainty about where to start or difficulty finding art that felt personally meaningful.

Most users learn about exhibitions through word of mouth and social media, underscoring the need for a digital platform that centralizes this information. Respondents also showed a strong preference for visual discovery tools over audio guides, suggesting that scanning and image-based features would better match their habits.

When asked why they don’t enjoy museums, participants cited not knowing where to begin or struggling to find art they liked. This insight emphasized the importance of personalization and recommendations.

In comparing existing tools, I found that Smartify offered a valuable scanning feature but lacked personalization, while SeeSaw helped users find local events but didn’t extend beyond exhibition listings. These gaps highlighted an opportunity to combine location-based discovery with a personalized, for-you feed.

Insights & Opportunities

While interest in art is consistently high, users often feel overwhelmed when navigating museums and unsure where to begin.

Discovery is largely driven by social media and word of mouth, rather than structured platforms, highlighting a gap in how art is accessed and explored.

Users also showed a clear preference for visual exploration over guided experiences, suggesting an opportunity to design a more intuitive, image-driven interface.

These insights pointed toward a product that combines personalization, visual browsing, and location-based discovery.

Design Implications

Users rely on social + visual discovery → prioritize image-based browsing

  • Users feel overwhelmed → simplify entry point (no heavy filtering upfront)

  • Audio guides are unpopular → remove reliance on audio-based UX

Concept Direction

Inspired by platforms like Pinterest and Spotify, the goal was to create a discovery-driven experience where users can explore art through visual curation, personalized feeds, and lightweight interaction rather than structured search.

Comparative Analysis

Existing tools

  • Smartify: strong artwork scanning, limited personalization

  • SeeSaw: event discovery, lacks deeper engagement

Opportunity

  • Combine location + personalization + visual discovery