Museum Experience
An interactive mobile app that uses AR navigation, curated tours, and personalised features to transform the museum visit from passive observation into an engaging, educational journey.
Project details
Overview/
Content
The British Museum attracts millions of visitors every year, yet many people leave after a quick walk-through and a few photos, without truly engaging with the artefacts. Through research, it became clear that issues such as overwhelming information, confusing signage, and a lack of interactivity made the experience feel monotonous.
This project set out to reimagine how museum visitors, especially young adults and first-time guests, could connect more meaningfully with collections by using digital tools that enhance rather than replace the experience.
Problem Statement
Visitors with limited time or cultural background knowledge often struggle to navigate the museum, engage with artefacts, and leave with a sense of connection. The challenge was to design a solution that supports discovery and interaction, while making the visit feel personal, accessible, and inspiring.
Research Process
The research began with behavioural observation inside the museum. Visitors were observed for several hours across different galleries. Most people were seen glancing briefly at signs, taking photos, and moving on, while children ignored labels almost entirely. This indicated that static text-heavy signage was not effective at creating engagement.
Research Process
Secondary research included reviewing academic studies on interpretive labels and attention span, as well as analysing TripAdvisor reviews. These revealed frustrations with crowds, lack of context in signage, and the overwhelming scale of the museum.
To deepen the understanding, four semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants aged 21 to 41 who had visited the British Museum. Empathy maps were created to capture their goals, emotions, and pain points.
Common frustrations emerged: information overload, difficulty navigating the galleries, lack of interactive features for children and international visitors, and the challenge of planning within limited time.
Design Process
Sketches were generated using the Crazy 8s method to quickly visualise potential layouts. Low-fidelity wireframes were developed to map out key flows such as onboarding, curated tours, AR navigation, and artefact information.
Prototypes were tested with three users. Feedback confirmed that AR navigation felt more practical and engaging than traditional maps.
However, testers requested more clarity between saved and liked artefacts, multi-language options, and offline availability. Iterations focused on simplifying navigation, adding personalisation, and making the experience usable even with poor signal inside the museum.
Final concept
The final concept is a mobile app that transforms the museum visit into an interactive and customisable journey.
Visitors can choose curated tours based on themes or time available, navigate with an AR map that overlays directions and artefact details, and interact with objects through 3D views, quizzes, and saved favorites.
The app also supports multiple languages, kid-friendly features, and pre-visit planning to reduce overwhelm.
