This was a project where we worked in a team of 5 looking at ways to better experience the "samlingen"-section of the Nasjonalmuseets homepage. My main responsibilities in this project was to conduct user research and do the main part of the prototyping,
Year 2023
Duration 5 weeks
Role UX Researcher and UI Designer
Tools used Figma, Figjam, pen and paper
The new visitors to the National Museum's website experience significant frustrations. This includes a lack of overview of popular artworks, cluttered navigation, confusing text, and an inadequate search function. This, in turn, negatively impacts the user experience and may lead to a loss of interest and engagement. To address these challenges, a better information architecture on the website is required.
The goal of the project is to improve how the National Museum's digital collection is organized. We aim to make it easier for visitors to find artworks, information about artists, and other relevant content on the museum's website. This will provide a better experience for new visitors and help anyone interested in art to more efficiently access the museum's resources.
Our project initiation involved thorough examinations of the National Museum's current website. This provided us with insights into user needs and opportunities for improvement. We discovered, among other things, that the filter for artists/producers was not in alphabetical order, which inspired our way forward.
The filter for artist/producer is not alphabetical. Unidentified Artist (790) is not very helpful in a search.
The filter for artist/producer is not alphabetical. Unidentified Artist (790) is not very helpful in a search.
To enhance the digital collection, we first identified the target audience by conducting a quantitative survey tailored to this purpose.
After distributing a survey through social media, it became evident that the National Museum's website had not been visited by many, and the majority had limited interest in art. As a result, we decided to concentrate on creating a more user-friendly experience for new visitors and tourists. We believe that by making the solution easier to use for those not familiar with art, it will also enhance the experience for those who already have an interest in this field.
We conducted in-depth interviews with the target audience, including a receptionist, an employee at the National Museum's shop, and a student. The latter two had no prior experience with the website. This insight was used to create personas that represented the target audience.
"I react to the fact that you need to know specifically what you're looking for, and that you must have more knowledge about art and who the artists are to find artworks. The website seems to cater to those who are above average in their interest."
"There is too much information at once, it's cluttered, and it doesn't make sense what is being displayed."
"I am an impromptu visitor who takes museum visits spontaneously. Because I have studied art, I look at art differently than others and quickly move through various exhibitions at the museum."
We also conducted a competitive analysis of the Munch Museum's website and found inspiring features, including collection filtering, sorting options for search results, a "Show more" option for details, and thematic categorization in categories such as nature, interior, and landscape.
Creating user journeys for two personas allowed us to identify pain points, expectations, and experiences with the current solution. Through this process, we gained a deeper understanding of how users interact with the service over time, as well as their experiences, needs, and emotions throughout the user journey.
With the purpose of understanding how people categorize artworks and how they name these categories, we conducted a Card Sorting test. The analysis of the test reveals the following:
We also conducted a Treejack test. The purpose was to assess how well the menu navigation of the current solution performed. The analysis of the test reveals the following:
We used the Crazy Eights exercise to get ideas on paper. The exercise involves spending one minute to sketch an idea before moving directly to the next of a total of eight boxes. The purpose is to drive idea generation without being critical, as even the less realistic ideas can lead to new, good ideas.During this exercise, we decided to implement a filtering function on the left side of the website, allowing users to choose what they want to see. We also opted to display 'most viewed', 'exhibitions', and 'entire collection' on the homepage of the digital collection.
Creating a sitemap of the current website is a great approach to understanding its structure. It's clear from your description that the current site is quite complex, and organizing a vast amount of information in a logical and intuitive manner for a diverse audience can be challenging. This insight will be crucial in redesigning the website to enhance its usability and user experience. If you have specific questions or if there's anything specific you'd like assistance with regarding the redesign, feel free to let me know!
Creating an overview of the site as it would be in your solution, particularly focusing on the path from the National Museum's main page to the collection and beyond, is a strategic approach. By concentrating on the changes made to the collection, you're effectively highlighting the specific areas of improvement. This helps in communicating the scope of your work and ensures a targeted focus on the aspects that have been modified. If there are specific aspects or elements you'd like further feedback on or assistance with, feel free to provide more details!
It's a valuable learning experience to create low-fidelity prototypes and conduct user testing. Recognising the importance of navigation in information architecture is crucial, as it can significantly impact the user experience. Understanding that navigation limitations affected the usability, and incorporating improvements based on user test results, demonstrates a user-centric approach.
A crucial part of the work was user testing the low-fidelity prototype before moving on to create a more comprehensive prototype. In this project, it wasn't just about testing that buttons and elements worked, but that the navigation made sense for the user and that the mental models we had based the prototype on also worked for other individuals. To structure user testing and ensure that we gathered data based on the same questions (same starting point), we created a script that all testers used. Three user tests were conducted, with two being physical and one digital.
After the user tests, the group discussed the findings together. To visualize the changes we needed to make in version 1.1 of the prototype, we used Post-It notes on a copy of the prototype pages and placed them accordingly. This was helpful as we moved forward in our work.
After revising the low-fidelity prototype, we began working on the high-fidelity version. We had decided in advance to adhere to the National Museum's visual identity, allowing us to allocate our resources towards improving information architecture and the user experience for our target audience. In the high-fidelity version, we created a more comprehensive prototype to facilitate easier navigation through the pages and to visualize the information architecture for both the client and participants in upcoming user tests.
We have added a button next to the search field that takes the user directly to our own filter page (see image below). Previously, the filtering was hidden, and one had to press Search to get there.
One of the most important things we have done in our solution is to merge the menu for the National Museum and the menu for the National Museum's collection into one. Then, we extracted the content from the collection menu and placed it on the collection's homepage. This way, no links have been lost, while also eliminating confusion.
To make art more accessible, even for those less familiar with it, we have chosen to feature several collections of works on the main page of the collection. Here, one can explore popular artists, notable works, new additions to the collection, and undiscovered treasures. This section can be updated as needed, allowing the addition of new collections.
The user can choose to browse through the left-side filter, use the search field, or both. The search results will display the artist and their works, and from there, one can click through to the pages to find additional information.
To ensure a better user experience, suggested searches will appear as you type in the search field. The search field will also display prompts such as 'Did you mean: Edvard Munch?' if you enter a similar but potentially misspelled term like 'Edvard Munk.' This feature helps users refine their searches and find the desired information more easily.
To enhance the depth of the artists' information pages, we have chosen to include a image carousel for pages with multiple images. This allows users to navigate and view images seamlessly without encountering a pop-up window for each one.
Previously, a large number of artworks were displayed under each artist. To make the page less overwhelming, we have curated a selection of well-known artworks. If you click on 'See more,' you will be presented with a comprehensive overview of all artworks.
Our goal has been to make it easy to explore the collection, even for those less familiar with art. That's why we've added a section on the page where you can explore other artists. By clicking through, you'll find popular artists, as shown previously.