SAM
The Singapore Art Museum Mobile App
Duration
May - Jun 2022
Roles
Research, Visuals, Interactions, Prototyping
Summary
The SAM mobile app is a personal design project for the Singapore Art Museum that I undertook as part of the Google UIUX Certificate. Having identified that there was no unified virtual platform that allows the museum to tie its various programmes together, I sought to propose a digital mobile application design that could serve as a virtual museum buddy of sorts.
The Singapore Art Museum displays contemporary art from a Southeast Asian perspective for artists, art lovers and the art curious in multiple venues across the island. Its latest campaign, SAM M.I.A (Museum In Action), seeks to decentralise the museum and bring art to the public in everyday and unexpected spaces.
[ Current Impressions ]
User Research Insights
User research was conducted by collecting data using a survey in order to understand users' experiences with the current SAM webpage and how that impacts their museum experience. The survey was distributed to various social groups in order to gain a wide range of perspectives. Insights were extracted from the findings to inform the direction of the project.
01.
One-dimensional exhibition experience is insufficient to engage users
02.
Multiple museum event timelines cause users to forget or overlook events
03.
Lack of preview content for exhibitions does not inspire further exploration by users
[ Challenge ]
How can we deliver the online museum content to users in a concise, interactive and engaging manner?
[ Solution ]
01. One Stop Hub - Conveying a library of information in a clean and concise manner
Users interact with the What's New screen first thing when they open the app, which updates them on any upcoming events.
Event cards and the calendar view are also used as a strategy to consolidate information for better browsing for users.
02. Interactive Experience - Injecting novel choices at different stages to let users create their own experiences
The exhibition description provides users a glimpse of the contents through text and a carousel of images from the exhibition.
Exhibition Description
Exhibition Description
Exhibition Preview Carousel
Users are able to gain a sense of physical awareness through referencing the mini map, where they are able to view the on-site physical locations of each gallery.
Selecting a gallery card brings them into the respective photosphere gallery.
Individual Galleries
Expanded Minimap
Individual Galleries Selection
The photosphere gallery provides an immersive exhibition experience by allowing users to access a 3D virtual space.
Information on the gallery and artworks are presented on cards for the users, which can be minimised for users to explore the gallery without obstruction.
Photosphere Gallery
Photosphere Gallery Walkthrough
Photosphere Gallery
03. Engaging Users - Creating a space for shared experiences and taking a proactive stance to informing users about events
Users are kept engaged through the establishment of the reArt community.
They are able to express their creativity and opinions by doodling on a copy of the artwork, creating a reArt sticker. Completed stickers can be posted in the community where users can see what others are saying about the artworks as well.
reArt Community
Event reminders are also used as a long term strategy to keep users engaged with new and upcoming museum content. These help users to keep track of events that they are interested in and also uses the content to recommend related events that they might find interesting.
Event Reminders
[ Prototype ]
Interactive Prototype
There is definitely still more to explore for the design of the app.
How can the virtual exhibition interface be cleaner? How are other forms of media hosted on the app? What more can the app do to enhance the user's experience given that there are newer technologies coming up these days?
These are just some of the questions that I would like to explore as well. For now, do check out the latest high fidelity prototype that was created using Figma.
Mobile App Prototype (Portrait)
Photosphere Gallery Prototype (Landscape)
[ Takeaways ]
Putting concepts into practice, making rational decisions.
Designing a mobile app for the first time was definitely not simple. Learning UIUX concepts while designing meant that there were many revisions to it. However, this allowed me to really understand what I was doing at each step and to make each design decision rationally.
Digital or physical, design is design.
I realised that the skills that I have learnt in architecture were very transferrable. The columns and beams in architecture are just like the various visual elements and interactions within the app. Both require finesse when designing in order to ensure that the design intention is not lost and that the user has a smooth and comfortable experience.