new museum information architecture and interaction design strategy: student project, 2008

IA/ID Strategy for: The New Museum

Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary 2.0 Strategy Statement 3.0 Site Management Strategy 4.0 Architectural Strategy

4.1 Site Map 4.2 Wireframes

0.0 Homepage 1.0 Exhibitions Landing Page 1.1.0 Current Exhibition Page 1.1.1.0 Exhibition Pop-up template 1.4.0 Online Exhibition .0 Events Landing Page 2.1.1.0 Events Pop-up template 3.0 Visit Landing Page 3.1.0 Schedule a tour Page 4.0 Membership Landing Page 5.0 About Us Landing Page 7.0 Resources Landing Page 4.2.9 Basic Search Advanced Search 6.0 Contact Us My New Museum Dashboard Call-outs

4.3 Design Presentation: Page Layouts Homepage 1.0 Exhibitions 1.1.1.0 Exhibition Page 1.4.0 Online Exhibitions 2.0 Events 2.1.1.0 Event Page

5.0 Appendix

5.1 Personas and Scenarios 5.1.1 Summary 5.1.2 Two-by-Two Summary 5.1.3 The Hipster 5.1.4 The Tourist 5.1.5 The Artist 5.1.6 The Art Teacher 5.1.7 The Donors

5.2 Content Inventory 5.2.1 Scope

© Spring 2008 Hunky Dory Design


5.2.2 Definition of Terms 5.2.3 Data

Table of Contents, cont.

5.3 Competitve Analysis 5.3.1 Purpose Statement 5.3.2 Data 5.3.3 Summary Statement

5.4 Card Sort Study 5.4.1 Cards 5.4.2 Results 5.4.3 Summary

5.5 Features 5.5.1 List 5.5.2 Interactions Concept Drawings

5.6 Site Map 5.6.1 Summary 5.6.2 Drafts and Decisions

5.7 Paper Prototyping 5.7.1 Tasks 5.7.2 Paper Protoypes 5.7.3 Results and Summary



1.0 Executive Summary The New Museum (http://www.newmuseum.org) is a vibrant and modern contemporary art museum located in New York City. Its mission is to share “new art [and] new ideas” with the general public through exhibitions, events, and special programs. Our concept for the museum’s website marries user-centered design and improved navigation with a cutting-edge, graphically modern look. Approach Hunky Dory Design understands that the most successful websites strike a balance between organizational needs and user needs. Currently, the New Museum’s site meets the needs of no one. It is confusing and difficult to use. Its homepage is non-descript, cold and unwelcoming. Glocal navigation is misleading and frustrating. Once a user manages to drill down and navigate to secondary pages within the site, vital information appears below the fold and an overwhelming amount of redundant information appears in the sidebar. All of these problems mean that stakeholders cannot complete even the simplest of tasks, and as a result, the organization's goals of increasing attendance, awareness, and support for the museum are not being met. Our strategy simplifies navigation based on research and user studies, making it easier for patrons to complete tasks and access the information they need in order to truly feel a part of the New Museum's community. Research In order to create this IA/ID strategy redesign, Hunky Dory Design conducted research into the site, its competitors, and its users to determine the best way to move forward. This research included:

A content inventory of all of the components of the current site in order to determine what content already existed and what new features would need to be created

A competitive analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats presented by other contemporary art museum sites which revealed much about what the New Museum could be doing differently

A personas and scenarios brainstorming session that studied the motivations, needs, and experience of five major user groups

A card sort study with stakeholders from a variety of user groups which led to the development of a more intuitive labeling system and site architecture

A series of paper prototyping sessions which helped discover strengths and weaknesses in early versions of the site


http://www.newmuseum.org/



The data and results of this research are presented in an appendix to this document. Hunky Dory Design's user-centered research studies ultimately drove the decision-making behind this IA/ID strategy. Design Strategy Based on feedback from the user-centered studies and cutting-edge research into human information seeking behavior, we recommend a redesign of the New Museum's site to create a user-friendly, simplified, interactive, and highly personalized user experience. Some highlights of our design include:

Improve ease and flow of navigation by simplifying the menu choices to create an intuitive experience.

Provide an interactive calendar of all events and and an interactive image collage of exhibitions to replace the static list currently in use.

Encourage a welcoming atmosphere for all patrons of the museum as well as for participating artists.

Ensure that any and all information about the museum is easily accessible with a minimal number of clicks.

Allow for a personalized online experience through the use of a "My New Museum" login system that serves each user individually.

Conclusions Overall, implementation of Hunky Dory Design's strategy will result in a better experience for all of the museum’s stakeholders. Simple processes such as purchasing tickets to events, scheduling group visits, or renewing a membership will be easier to complete, improving sales and raising attendance. Important information about the New Museum including hours, location, mission, educational resources and press releases will no longer be buried within the site's architecture or difficult to find, raising awareness about all the great things being offered and improving public opinion. Most importantly, the redesigned New Museum website will be a welcoming space for all stakeholders to communicate with each other and with the museum, leading to a sense of ownership for users who might otherwise have felt alienated by the cold and impersonal approach of the current site. If the New Museum wants to make its art and artists more accessible to the general public, it must make changes to its IA/ID strategy. Contemporary art is confusing enough -- there's no reason why a contemporary art museum’s website should be confusing as well.


2.0 Strategy Statement Audience The New Museum website is aimed at a wide audience. Many different user groups access the site for a variety of reasons. These user groups include but are not strictly limited to:

New York City residents Members and Donors Tourists Contemporary artists Educators and their students

Hunky Dory Design created a series of personas and scenarios to determine the site features that would best address the disparate needs of the above stakeholders. We also conducted a series of usability tests throughout the design process, including card sort summaries and paper prototyping studies. Mission The mission of the redesigned New Museum site is to maintain a clean, modern design while validating the experiences and contributions of all stakeholders. Goals Hunky Dory Design's redesign of the website seeks to: 1) Improve ease and flow of navigation for the entire site This was accomplished by:

simplifying the labeling system and reducing the number of menu choices

reducing the depth of categories using a global and left-side local navigational system as opposed

to a malfunctioning and confusing glocal navigational system utilizing new technologies to make navigation flow experience

more intuitive including pop-outs and animations

2) Provide an interactive and eye-catching way to learn more about events and exhibitions This was accomplished by: creating an interactive calendar of events and an interactive collage

of images from exhibitions which allow users to browse and learn without clicking




creating an interactive floor plan which highlights exhibitions by their location in the museum and calls attention to the building’s unique architecture

3) Encourage a welcoming atmosphere for all patrons of the

museum as well as for participating artists. This was accomplished by:

conducting user studies with actual stakeholders to determine what people want from a contemporary arts website

increasing the number of images of actual patrons using and interacting with the museum

simplifying and clarifying navigation making the museum’s mission more prominent on all pages choosing welcoming and respectful language for all labels providing more opportunities to give feedback to the museum making options aimed at specific user groups more prominent

in the local navigation make common processes like purchasing tickets or scheduling

a group tour easier to complete online 4) Ensure that any and all information about the museum is

easily accessible with a minimal number of clicks This was accomplished by:

reorganizing information in a new site map based on the results of a user card sort study

utilizing more interactive and intuitive browsing systems as opposed to more local navigation

incorporating a header and footer on each page with more frequently used options

adding a global search feature on each page 5) Allow for a personalized online experience This was accomplished by:

creating a new “My New Museum” login system that serves each user individually

allowing users to comment on and provide feedback to the museum’s events and exhibitions

empowering users to create a list of “favorite” events, exhibitions, products and programs to come back to again and again

encouraging members to subscribe to rss feeds and email alerts through the prominent display of links to such services.


3.0 Site Management Strategy The New Museum should immediately begin a job search for a qualified individual to take over the administrative duties that will come with the new site. This individual, hereafter referred to as the Webmaster, will be responsible for the following tasks, possibly with the help of a small staff of interns:

Keeping the interactive calendar updated and free of typos or other errors

Making sure the text based informative sections of the website such as the artist lists stay current

Correcting errors in the website's code should they occur. Repairing broken links should they occur. Answering emails directed at the New Museum that concern web

site functions. Training interns to assist with the above tasks should their

presence be required. The Webmaster will answer to the director of the Museum, but otherwise operate independently. The Webmaster will have full access to all information about upcoming and current New Museum events and exhibitions so that the information can be made available on the website. Should there be any problems with the website, the Webmaster bears sole responsibility for solving them. Ideally the Webmaster will be a person with a strong command of HTML, Java, and other emerging programming tools. The Webmaster will ideally have prior experience in a position of similar responsibility. The Webmaster will have a great deal of responsibility and thus will require a salary that reflects this. This will be costly, but necessary. The new website will not be able to function without the Webmaster to maintain it, as the task of keeping all the information across all the sections of the site current and updated will be too much for an IT department to handle in addition to their other work. However, it is anticipated that the redesigned website will increase revenue to the museum and thus decrease the financial burden of paying the Webmaster.



4.2 Wireframes 0.0 Homepage 1.0 Exhibitions Landing Page 1.1.0 Current Exhibition Page 1.1.1.0 Exhibition Pop-up template 1.4.0 Online Exhibition Page 2.0 Events Landing Page 2.1.1.0 Events Pop-up template 3.0 Visit Landing Page 3.1.0 Schedule a tour Page 4.0 Membership Landing Page 5.0 About Us Landing Page 7.0 Resources Landing Page 4.2.9 Search and Search Engine Results page My New Museum Dashboard Call-outs


New Museum: WireframeAdvanced Search Page

Logo

Sign Up

About us | Contact us | Resources | Jobs | Partners | RSS Feeds | Press E-News Signup | FAQs

© 2008 New Museum

Exhibitions Events Visit Membership

235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002 212.219.1222

Our MissionOur Calendar

Online Store Username:Password: Log In

BASIC SEARCH

ADVANCED SEARCH

Search History Back to Results

New Museum235 Bowery New York, NY 10002

(212) 219-1222

ADVANCED SEARCH

Exhibtions

Events

OPTIONS

1) Pages

Visit

Membership

ENTIRE SITE

2) Additional Terms

and or

and or

New Museum: WireframeBasic Search Page

Logo

Sign Up


© 2008 New Museum


235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002 212.219.1222

Our MissionOur Calendar

Online Store Username:Password: Log In

BASIC SEARCH

ADVANCED SEARCH

Search History Back to Results

New Museum235 Bowery New York, NY 10002

(212) 219-1222

BASIC SEARCH

New Museum: WireframeContact Us Page

Logo

Search: go

Sign Up


© 2008 New Museum


235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002

212.219.1222

Our Mission

Our Calendar

Online Store

Username:

Password: Log In

About Us

Resources

Jobs

Partners

RSS Feeds

Press E-News Signup

FAQs

General:

[email protected]

Membership:

[email protected]

Corporate Membership

[email protected]

Internships:

[email protected]

Volunteer Docent Program

[email protected]

Press Office:

[email protected]

Space Rental:

[email protected]

Tours:

[email protected]

New Museum

235 Bowery

New York, NY 10002

(212) 219-1222

CONTACT US EMAIL INQUIRIES

MAP

New Museum: WireframeMy New Museum Page

Logo

Search:

USER | Log Out

go


© 2008 New Museum


MY NEW MUSEUM

My Account

My Membership

My Exhibits

My Calendar

My Comments

235 Bowery, New York, NY 10002

212.219.1222

WELCOME, USER !

Personal Information

Username: USER

Password: *********

Name: Sam Smith

Address: 123 Grand Ave. New York , NY 10014 Phone: 212-555-3355

Email: [email protected]

CHANGE INFORMATION

SETTINGS

Payment Method

Membership Details

Saved Exhibits

Saved Events

Comments (save/edit/remove)

Our Mission

Calendar



4.3 Design Presentation: Page Layouts

Homepage 1.0 Exhibitions 1.1.1.0 Exhibition Page 1.4.0 Online Exhibitions 2.0 Events 2.1.1.0 Event Page


5.1 Personas and Scenarios

5.1.1 Summary 5.1.2 Two-by-Two Summary 5.1.3 The Hipster 5.1.4 The Tourist 5.1.5 The Artist 5.1.6 The Teacher 5.1.7 The Donors


MAX ROBERTS-SPRINGERThe Hipster

MR. & MRS. BENJAMINThe Donor

SAMUEL TRESCHThe Tourist

AMY LEEThe Artist

MARISOL MCLUHANThe Art Teacher

Most concerned with cost in comparison to value.

Initial visit to the site is to determine whether the museum is worth visiting

Will leave site quickly if not drawn in immediately.

Has low tolerance for hard to find information as that makes it harder to plan the vacation

Focused on finding information about cultural events.

Repeated visits to the site to check what’s happening.

Wants easy access to background information on the exhibitions, artists, and musicians related to the event.

May be interested in membership or other program for discounted admission to the museum and its events.

Need to feel they are giving something back to society

Interested in learning about how the museum’s mission fits with their philanthropic beliefs

Will visit the site frequently to learn about membership events and opportunities to support

Looking for social gratification and to feel their gifts are appreciated

Focused on finding out how to exhibit at the museum

Initial visit to site is to determine if museum’s mission fits with artistic vision.

Does not check back often, will communicate with museum via email.

Expects support from museum staff throughout application and exhibition process

Most concerned with educational resources and opportunities

Initial visit to the site is to determine if exhibits and events align with curriculum

Wants easy access to lesson plans and teaching materials

Expects to be welcomed and supported by museum

Max is a single male graduate student. He moved to NYC for

school several years ago and has a moder-ate amount of free time because he does not have a full-time job. Therefore, he at-tends many cultural events, either alone or with a date or friends. The New Museum is an ideal scene for him, as he enjoys contemporary art and considers himself a “culture vulture”. Because there are other events competing for Max’s attention and limited spending money, he wants to know as much about a potential event as pos-sible before committing, including some background information on the artists, ex-hibits, or musicians involved – he needs to feel well-informed.

Needs• Basic Event Information• Background information on the event• Direction on where to find more detailed information• Access to possible discounts or membership information

MAX ROBERTS-SPRINGER“When I get tickets to a cultural event, I want some background info in addition to the

standard date, time, and price information, so I can learn about the related exhibits, art-ists, or musicians in advance. That way I can explain the event to my friends or partner.”

The Hipster

DemographicAge group: 25-40Years Online: 10+Income: $25-50K

Tech ComfortPC: Medium

Web: High

MotivationsDiscover information on the exhibitions, artists, and/or musicians involved with a given event.

Buy event tickets and attend, either alone or with a date or friends.

ScenariosSeeking basic event information (date, time, price).

Learning enough about an event to answer basic questions about it.

Looking to do more in-depth research on connection artists, exhibits, or musicians.

Buying event tickets.

Wondering how he can get discounted or free admission.

FeaturesInteractive calendar of events

Hyperlinks for the names of artists, exhibits, and musicians for instant access to further information about the parties and objects involved in the event

Thorough event descriptions

Ability to purchase event tickets from event page without navigating away

Links to membership page (to earn discounts) and external websites (to allow for in-depth research.

BehaviorsMax clicks a link that takes him to the page for the exhibition related to the event.

On the events page, Max clicks a linked message about members attending events for free.

Max sees a “For More Information” menu with links to the websites of the parties/individuals involved with the event.

From the event page, Max can select the number of tickets he wants to purchase and begin the purchasing process.

On the events page, Max can select a specific event and/or choose a date from an interactive calendar to see what’s happening that day.

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin live on the Upper East Side of New York City.

They love the arts, particularly modern and contemporary painting and photography. They are well-connected, urbane, sophisticated, and enjoy socializing. They are seeking prestige and social approval and have decided that supporting the New Museum is a step in that direction.

Needs• Plan their social calendar based on upcoming events• Emotional and social gratification. The Benjamins need to feel they are giving soming

back to society.• Ability to securely donate large sums of money.

MR. & MRS. BENJAMIN

“We are proud patrons of contemporary art and want to feel like we are getting both social and intellectual benefits from our philanthropic efforts.”

The Donor

DemographicAge group: 50-65Online: 5-10 Income: $75+

Tech ComfortPC: LowWeb: Low

MotivationsTo be seen attending events.

Wants their names attached to their donations.

Demonstrate to their social network that they are well-informed about contemporary art.

Considering starting a personal collection of contemporary art.

ScenariosChoosing a lecture or event to which they can bring out of town guests.

Joining the New Museum at a high giving level.

Learning more about featured artists and how to begin a collection.

FeaturesCalendar

Events notification to Email or blackberry

Printable forms for donation and phone number

BehaviorsGo to the website and click on “Calendar” to see the updated events and exhibitions.

Go to “Events” page to check out the current events.

On the “Events” page, click a RSS to subscribe a regular events update.

Samuel has just recently graduated from business school and is look-

ing to make a grand tour of all the major cities of the country before he settles down. He is planning to do as much as he can on this one vacation, so each individual web-site he investigates needs to grab his at-tention for that museum to be considered amongst his already busy itinerary.

Needs• Quick and easy information about what can be found at the New Museum• Easily accessible cost information• Directions to the Museum are obvious and easy to find on the site

SAMUEL TRESCH

“I don’t want to have to spend a long time on a website in order to decide whether I want to visit it on my upcoming vacation.”

The Tourist

DemographicAge group: 25-40Years Online: 5-10Income: $50K+

Tech ComfortPC: Medium

Web: High

MotivationsWants to see as much of interest as possible before moving on to the next city.

Wants to judge which places are best to visit on his vacation, which may be his last in a long time.

Does not want to spend more money than he has to, but is willing to spend what it takes to have a fulfilling trip.

ScenariosComparing different museum websites to see which is most worthwhile to visit.

Accessing directions and figuring out how to navigate the city to find the address.

FeaturesComparison of the cost of admission on the visitor info pages.

Comparison of the different exhibits on the exhibit pages.

Interactive map or directions.

BehaviorsSamuel will not stay on a museum’s website if it does not interest him immediately. Should the site not almost immediately display exhibit information and/or a mission statement that Samuel can peruse, he will grow frustrated and not consider the site worth further investigation.

Samuel does not like to have to look too hard to find out basic visitor information such as directions or hours of operation. He wants to have an easy time planning his vacation and views every obstacle to an easy plan to be something best avoided. A museum site that does not allow for easy planning for a visit will be such a site that he will avoid.

Amy has been creating and showing her original art since college. She

paints with acrylic paints and mixes different mediums to craft innovative pieces. She wants to find new and exciting places to visit for inspiration and to display her best work so far.

Needs• Information on hours, fees and location• Special events and appropriate details• Application process for exhibitions and membership

AMY LEE

“I want to find new museums and galleries where I can show my work. I would like the right people to see my new projects and ideas.”

The Artist

DemographicAge group: 25-40Years Online: 5-10Income: $25-50K

Tech ComfortPC: MediumWeb: High

MotivationsLearn if the museum fits her personal needs and preferences.

Research museum’s guidelines on artists’ shows and exhibitions.

Finding out who to contact about becoming a featured artist

ScenariosComparing different museums and galleries in advantageous locations .

Determining if the New Museum will fit with the philosophy and quality of her personal artwork.

Learning about the application process for artists

FeaturesInformation page that highlights all details concisely and accurately.

“About” page shows up-to-date collection statements and policies.

“Artists” section that displays summaries of past and current artists’ exhibitions.

“Applications” section with information about portfolio submission, requirements and contact info

BehaviorsAmy clicks on a link that will display basic visitors’ information including cost, directions, and hours.

Amy clicks on a link that displays the New Museum’s mission statement.

Amy clicks on a link that shows a peer’s success at last month’s show.

Amy explores the “Applications” section and sends an email to a coordinator

Marisol is a young and inexperienced NYC teacher. She has been

teaching art at a Brooklyn high school for two years, and feels like she’s starting to make some real headway with her students. She thinks its time to reward her best kids with a visit to a local art museum. Because her class has shown an interest in contemporary art, she decides to learn more about The New Museum and the programs they offer to class groups. Because there are a number of contemporary art galleries and institutions in the city competing for Marisol’s class’s time and attention, she needs to known what makes the New Museum unique and why it would be the best place to bring her class before deciding to make the trip.

Needs• Basic Information about group tours including costs, availability and how to book• Information about the current exhibits and how they connect to her curriculum• Curriculum resources to use before, during, and after her visit

MARISOL MCLUHAN“I don’t want to waste my time taking my class on a trip to a cultural institution

where we won’t be welcomed or supported. Before I book a visit, I want to know that the museum’s education program will provide a valuable and challenging experience that reflects my students and my curriculum.”

The Art Teacher

DemographicAge group: 25-40Years Online: 10+Income: $50-75K

Tech ComfortPC: MediumWeb: High

MotivationsDiscover information on the current exhibitions.

Learn more about the museum’s education program and whether it aligns with her class’s curriculum.

Book a class visit or program.

Download curriculum materials related to current exhibitions.

Contact someone in the education department.

ScenariosLearn enough about an exhibition to answer basic questions about it including what educational value they hold.

Learn enough about education programs to evaluate their appropriateness for a particular grade/subject.

Schedule a visit during school hours with a particular series of dates in mind.

Access reproducible pdfs of lesson plans, worksheets and materials.

Further questions or concerns not addressed by general site.

FeaturesHyperlinks to additional information regarding state standards addressed.

Thorough description of the educational program, broken down by grade and subject area.

Interactive booking form with calendar of available dates.

Database of materials is linked to both exhibit and program descriptions.

Interactive contact form.

Phone number and email address of an actual human in the Education

BehaviorsMarisol reads about an interesting exhibit and clicks on a link which explains its educational value.

Marisol finds a link in the glocal navigation to the Education department and reads about the programs available.

Marisol clicks on a “Book your tour today” button and is taken through a process filter.

Marisol can access this database when browsing exhibitions, browsing programs, and after booking a tour.

Marisol sees a “Contact” link on the Education landing page and in several other spots that will allow her to send an email or make a phone call.

complex interactions

simple interactions

infrequent interactions frequent interactions

The Hipster

The Art Teacher

The Artist

The Tourist

The Donor


5.2 Content Inventory 5.2.1 Scope For the purposes of this content inventory, Hunky Dory investigated each page in the New Museum website's hierarchy. Each piece of information on each page was cataloged and examined. Sections of information were "chunked." We did not catalog the entirety of the online store or the "Museum as Hub," as both are maintained by third-party vendors and not the New Museum. 5.2.2 Definition of Terms ID Column - used to identify the main section and pages within it Sub-ID Column - used to identify sub-sections within a particular page 2nd Sub-ID - used to identify sub-chunks within sub-sections Page Name - Title assigned by newmuseum.org to a given page

Category Column Notations

Page Types - Identified with a number in the "ID" Column (e.g. 1.0) Home page - www.newmuseum.org ONLY Landing page - the page you land on when you click on a link in the glocal navigation Form - an interactive form that pops up in a new window RSS Feed - used by patrons to subscribe to updates through a news reader service. XML format.

Chunk Types - Identified with a number in the "Sub-ID" Column (e.g. 1.0.1) Local Navigation - the navigation that appears below the primary navigation within a section Page Navigation - anchor tags that jump between sections on a given page Page Title - large text that identifies the page Page Section Title - Title on gray bar within the page Page Sub-Section Title - title under Page Section Title, in orange Image Banner - wide banner that displays across the entire frame Image - an image that does not act as a banner Narrative Description - A chunk of narrative text, usually preceded by a heading or title in a grey bar that acts as an anchor tag (but not always) Contact Information - email addresses or phone numbers Sponsor Information (with or without logo) - A description of corporations or individuals who sponsored a given event or program. Sometimes with logos or links Link - link to an external site Internal Link - stand-alone link to a site within the architecture Date - date of an event Calendar - the list of events that appears on every page Visitor Info - the interactive box that appears on every page with hours, directions and admission prices

Content Column - Used to summarize information contained within a chunk URL - assigned by newmuseum.org to a given page. Only note this when describing the page itself Notes - additional information that might be helpful



5.3 Competitive Analysis

5.3.1 Purpose Hunky Dory conducted a SWOT competitive analysis of five contemporary art museum websites in order to determine which traits are ideal to include in our redesign of the New Museum website as well as which traits to avoid. The seven categories that were evaluated (Home page design, Interior page design, Search functionality, Features offered, Navigation, Interaction design, and Commerce design) provided a wide range of information taken from all over the target websites, allowing for an in-depth analysis of the sites’ structures for the benefit of our project.


5.3.2 Competitive Analysis Data

1

Walker

Mass MoCA

The Whitney

Museu de Arte Contemporanea de

Niteroi

The Saatchi Gallery

URL www.walkerart.org www.massmoca.org www.whitney.org www.macniteroi.com.br www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/

Home Page Design (+) Moving image banner at the top of the home page shows all current events and exhibitions right on the front page (-) The page is much too long; users have to scroll down continuously to see everything (-) Contact information is located at the foot of the home page – requires too much scrolling (-) Site utilizes too many clashing colors

(+) Graphics and colors are aesthetically pleasing (+) Includes flash slideshow (+) Footer contains logo and contact information (+) Utilizes tabs for global and local navigation (+) Sidebar displays current events & news (-) Ads and extraneous info below logo makes page too long (-) Global navigation bar is less dominant than local navigation

(+) There is a link to "Tickets" on the homepage (+) Address and phone number are available on the homepage (-) No alternative html version (-) Glocal navigation font is too small (-) No visual logic, priority, or sense of spatial organization (-) Upcoming Events are listed in a font that is too small (-) When a user clicks on the tickets link, it does not bring the user to “Tickets”

(+) Image banner at the top of the homepage is a slideshow of images of the exterior of the museum building and shots of interior (+) Glocal navigation along left-hand side (+) Central panel has narrative description of current events and exhibits (+) Contact information in footer (-) Dropdown in upper right corner navigates to external sites and organizations without warning (-) Site looks low-tech and somewhat dated

(+) Strong central image, with focus on name recognition (+) Artist names in are in a drop-down menu (- ) Dead space under the central image (-) The home page is much too long; users have to scroll down continuously to see everything

http://www.walkerart.org/

http://www.whitney.org/

http://www.macniteroi.com.br/

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/



2

Walker

Mass MoCA

The Whitney


Niteroi

The Saatchi Gallery


Interior Page Design

(+)Comprehensive narrative descriptions on most pages (+) Easy to navigate to secondary and tertiary pages (-) The design for the secondary pages lacks unity (-) Glocal navigation not available on every interior page (-) Difficult to navigate to home page without using the back button

(+) Calendars, In the Galleries, Performing Arts pages consist primarily of images and captions (+) Left sidebar shows corresponding pages in relation to sub-navigation (-) Visit, Support & About pages are primarily narrative with few images

(-) Secondary pages look like a different website (-) No features to orient the visitors (breadcrumb trail, etc.) (-) Glocal navigation is inconsistent

(+) Maintains the layout conventions from the home page – slideshow banner, left-hand navigation, and footer (+) Content is displayed in main panel (+) Simple, predictable and easy to use (+) Banner image under main banner changes to reflect content of the section

(+) Retains strong central image motif from home page (using different images) (+) Secondary pages obviously describe differing exhibitions (-) Internal links are located on both left and right hand side of the pages

Search Functionality (+) Available on the glocal navigation bar

(+) Search bar available for events, calendar, performances, and gallery exhibits (+) Calendar, events, performances, and exhibition pages have search functions through date range, title, or category

(-) No search engine

(-) No search engine

(-) Search engine buried in left-hand side local navigation (-) No advanced search feature







3

Walker

Mass MoCA

The Whitney


Niteroi

The Saatchi Gallery


Features Offered (+) Exhibit, event, and tour information (+) Online store (+) Annual report (+) Contact information (+) Online exhibitions/ photo galleries (+) Directions and hours information (-) No map of the building itself

(+) Informational Pages include directions, information on lodging, dining & tickets (+) “Support” page includes different types of membership, donor levels & annual fund information (+) “About” page includes history, jobs & FAQ’s, and other features related to the museum’s mission; all include search bars & links to specific pages for each event or piece of art (+) MASS MoCA Store (though it is called “Hardware”, which is a confusing label) (+) MASS MoCA Blog features news and updates

(+) Users can buy tickets online (+) Google map shows location of museum (+) Section for online education (+) WhitneyCat, the museum’s library OPAC

(+) Information about exhibitions (+) Information about events (+) Information about educational programs (+) Information about the building itself (+) Contact information (+) Directions to and floor plan of the museum (+) Photo gallery

(+) Information about current and past exhibitions (+) Contact info (+) Virtual tour of gallery (+) Information about artists (+) Information about hiring the gallery for events (+) Saatchi online – individual webpages for artists (users can create their own)







4

Walker

Mass MoCA

The Whitney


Niteroi

The Saatchi Gallery


Navigation (+) The menus are very specific and comprehensive (-) Glocal navigation has an overactive dynamic menu (-) Local navigation (where it exists) appears inside frames; bears no resemblance to the glocal navigation

(+) Local navigation is through the left sidebar (-) Primary navigation has smaller font and is dominated by museum logo on the left (-) Contextual navigation is through images & bylines as direct links

(-) Main navigation design is not visually attractive (-) Narrative descriptions are not consistent (-) Font used in pop-ups is too small (-) No designated local navigation

(+) Global navigation is clear and consistent (-) Local navigation is limited to a “read more” button on each section that opens up yet more text; no real navigation within sections (-) Many links are unexpectedly external

(-) Relies too heavily on narrative descriptions (-) No global or local organization of the features (-) Most information on the site is gathered on the primary page; therefore, there is no sense of organization or categorization (-) Many links are unexpectedly external







5

Walker

Mass MoCA

The Whitney


Niteroi

The Saatchi Gallery


Interaction Design (+) No broken links (+) Available information is comprehensive (-) Difficult to navigate if user is unfamiliar with site

(+) Sub-navigation is clear and easy (consistently located on left sidebar) (+) Museum logo on left of top banner consistently linked to the homepage (+) “About” Page had general and essential information including “Contact” and “FAQ’s” (+) The only external link is the online store

(-) Rollover menus are inconsistent (-) Local navigation is confusing (-) ’Help’ is an external link; leads to Yahoo without warning

(+) Links work and take the user where they purport to (+) Provides current information (-) Narrative is entirely in Portuguese

(+) Left and right hand glocal navigation with clear labels (+) Central images and drop down menus for artists and exhibitions (-) Nearly everything is located on the homepage, rendering it cluttered and overwhelming (-) Unclear which links are part of the gallery site and which are not







6

Walker

Mass MoCA

The Whitney


Niteroi

The Saatchi Gallery


Commerce Design

(+) Wide range of merchandise available, from clothing and accessories to media and publications (+) Can buy membership online (+) Store is easy to navigate and all objects are displayed well

(+) Most shop pages have products with images, prices, short descriptions and “Add to Cart” buttons (-) The shop’s “Wearables”, “Kids” and “MASS MoCA” pages are not updated or empty

(-) Cannot navigate back to home page (-) Search box is at the bottom of the commerce page (-) Navigation within the store is inconsistent within the rest of the site

(-) List of publications, but no online store (-) No online purchasing

(+) List of publications for purchase (-) Must call or email gallery to purchase (-) No other products for sale







5.3.3 Summary

Implications for New Museum Website Redesign

After the completion of our competitive analysis, Hunky Dory determined that there are many opportunities to improve the New Museum's website that could add to the museum's prestige and bottom line. These included:

Home Page Design We generally saw it as a good thing to have all the important contact information for the museum on the front page, above the fold. We will use colors and images in moderation in order to avoid a cluttered and visually disorienting page. We will make sure not to use small font for important information, and we will avoid having links to outside websites as part of the glocal navigation. Interior Page Design We found that the best interior pages were simple and easy to use, with a design layout that clearly indicated where in the site we were and had local navigation on every page. The worst pages that we reviewed lacked those qualities and had redundant or otherwise unnecessary information cluttering up the space, in addition to poor navigation. We decided that longer pages are more tolerable for interior pages than on the home page. Search Functionality We decided the worst search function is, of course, to not have any kind of searching at all. All the websites that we reviewed that had search functions had them built into the navigation bar or tabs, so that appears to be the standard that should be applied. Features Offered The best features that we frequently found were online stores, artist information, and exhibit/event information. All but one of the museums we reviewed had all of those on their website. The ones that we didn’t see used as often were maps of the buildings and photo galleries, but we think they are good to include. Navigation Our review shows that the best type of primary navigation is one that is visually attractive, obvious, and specific. We found that the worst type of navigation is hard to click on (in the case of poorly designed




dynamic navigation) and opens pop-ups to external websites. We thought that the best design for secondary navigation was where it was integrated into the primary navigation, but not to the extent where it eclipses it or is eclipsed by it. We liked when numerous sub-sections were available. Interaction Design We found a lot of problems in this section on the websites we reviewed. We need to learn from these mistakes and make certain we keep ads and content visibly separated, make the links clear and obvious, and be consistent. We also need to do right what they did right, by not having any broken links and having clear sub-navigation. We found that external links are best kept to a minimum as well. Commerce Design From our research we found that by far the most important thing to include in the website’s commerce section is tickets and membership. If the store is missing that, we don’t think it’s very good. We also learned that visual consistency and frequent updates are of the utmost importance in the store section, as it becomes very obvious when this isn’t the case.


5.4 Card Sort Study 5.4.1 Cards [Attached] 5.4.2 Results

5.4.2.1 The Hipster: Aaron, age 30 5.4.2.2 The Tourist: Jeff, age 40 and Maria, age 30 5.4.2.3 The Artist: Melody, age 26 5.4.2.4 The Teacher: Jeremy, age 32 5.4.2.5 The Donors: Susan, age 51 and Richard, age 51



5.4.2.1

New Museum Website Redesign Card Sort

Subject: Aaron, Age 30 User Group: Hipster

1.0 New Museum (Home) 1.2 Link to Rhizome Events and Exhibitions P Interactive Calendar 7.4 Calendar 2.2 Exhibition Pages 2.1 Current Exhibitions 2.3 Upcoming Exhibitions 2.4 Past Exhibitions 8.0 Exhibition Update (RSS) 6.2 Limited Editions 2.5 Special Projects M Online Collection & Exhibitions O Application and Submission Process for Artists 4.5.5.3 Bowery Artist Tribute 3.4 Get Weird 3.3 New Silent 3.2 Night School 7.2.1 “New Art, New Ideas” 3.1 Target First Saturday for Families 9.0 Events Update (RSS) E Event Ticker 3.5 Past Events Thank You 7.6.3 Thank You C Pictures of Patrons Contact Us 7.10 Contact Us 7.10.4 Specific Inquiries 7.10.3 General Inquiries Teaching Resources 4.2 Museum As Hub 4.3 Resource Center 4.3.5.4 Past Programs and Lesson Plans 4.3.5.2 Global Classroom Program 4.4 School and Youth Programs G Curriculum Resources 4.5 Teacher Resources 7.6 Leadership Visiting the Museum 4.0 Tours 7.1.7 Admission 7.3 New Building 7.1.7.2 Online Ticket Purchases 7.1 Visitor Information 7.3.4 Video of New Building



7.1.6 Visitor Policies 7.1.9 Map of Location H Schedule a Visit Form L Interactive Floorplan K Purchase Tickets (Events) 4.1.4.1 Tour Reservation Form 4.1.1 Info About Docent Tours 4.1.2 Info About Group Tours 4.1.3 Info About Self-Guided Tours A Animated Views of Building 4.1.6 Links to Downloadable Audio Tour by Floor B Dynamic Map 6.1 New Museum Store 7.1.8 New Food Cafe 7.8 Space Rental 7.8.2.2 Creative Edge Parties About the Museum 7.7.2 Significant Years 7.7.1 History 7.3.6.2 Grand Opening Press Kit 7.1.5 Museum Hours 5.2 Get Involved 5.2.5 Volunteer F Blog 7.5.5 Press E-news Signup 5.2.4 Intern I Reviews & Forums 7.1.3 Location N Jobs 7.1.4 Directions 7.2 Mission Statement 7.5.1 Press Releases Membership 5.1 Membership 5.0 Join 5.2.3 Donate 7.6.3.1 List of Corporate Sponsors 7.6.1 Trustees 5.1.3.4 Questions About Membership 5.1.3.2 Council Membership 5.1.3.3 Gift Membership 5.1.3.1 General Membership L Donation Form 5.4.1 Membership Calendar 5.3.1 Corporate Membership 5.3.4 Current Corporate Members D Pictures of Donors



5.4.2.2


Subject: Jeff, Age 40, Maria, Age 30 User Group: Tourists

Homepage 1.0 NEW MUSEUM K Purchase Tickets 7.1.7.2 Online Ticket Purchases 7.1.7 Admission 7.1.5 Museum Hours 7.1.3 Location 7.10 Contact Us 1. 7.1 Visitor Information 7.1.4 Directions B Dynamic Map L Interactive Floor plan 4.0 Tours H Schedule a Visit Form 4.1.4.1 Tour Reservation Form 4.1.3 Info About Self-Guided Tours 4.1.2 Info About Group Tours 4.1.1 Info About Docent Tours 4.1.6 Links to Downloadable Audio Tour by Floor 7.1.6 Visitor Policies 6.1 New Museum Store 7.1.8 New Food Café 7.10.3 General Inquiries (FAQ) 7.10.4 Specific Inquiries 2. 2.2 Exhibition Pages (Exhibitions) 2.1 Current Exhibition 2.3 Upcoming Exhibitions M Online Collection & Exhibitions 2.4 Past Exhibitions I Reviews & Forums 8.0 Exhibition Update - RSS 3. 7.4 Calendar P Interactive Calendar E Event Ticker 7.8.2.2 Creative Edge Parties 3.1 Target First Saturday for Families 3.5 Past Events 4. 2.5. Special Projects 7.2.1 New Art New Ideas 4.5.5.3 Bowery Artist Tribute 3.3 New Silent 3.4 Get Weird 6.2 Limited Editions O Application & Submission Process for Artists 5. 7.3 New Building A Animated Views of Building



7.3.4 Video of New Building 7.1.9 Map of Location (Interactive Map?) 7.7.1 History 7.7.2 Significant Years 7.3.6.2 Grand Opening/Press Kit 7.8 Space Rental 6. 4.5 Teacher Resources 4.3 School & Youth Programs 4.3.5.2 Global Classroom Program 3.2 Night School 4.3.5.4 Past Programs & Lesson Plans G Curriculum Resources 5.2.4 Intern 7. 5.1 Membership 5.1.3.1 General Membership 5.1.3.2 Council Membership 5.1.3.3 Gift Membership 5.3.1 Corporate Membership 7.6.3.1 List of Corporate Sponsors 5.3.4 Current Corporate Members 7.6.1 Trustees C Pictures of Patrons 5.4.1 Membership Calendar 5.2.3 Donate J Donation Form 5.1.3.4 Questions about Membership 4.4 Resource Center 5.0 Join 8. N Jobs 5.2.4 Intern 5.2.5 Volunteer 5.2 Get Involved Footer 7.2 Mission Statement F Blog 7.5.1 Press Releases 7.5.5 Press E-news Signup 1.2 Link to Rhizome UNCLASSIFIED 7.6 Leadership 4.2 Museum as Hub 9.0 Events Update – RSS 7.6.3 Thank You



5.4.2.3


Subject: Melody, Age 26 User Group: Artist

(Link to Rhizome was excluded) 1.0 New Museum (Home) Membership 5.4.1 Membership Calendar 7.6.3.1 List of Corporate Sponsors 5.3.4 Current Corporate Members 5.1.3.4 Questions about Membership 5.3.1 Corporate Membership 5.1.3.1 General Membership 5.1.3.2 Council Membership 5.1.3.3 Gift Membership 7.6.1 Trustees 5.1 Membership Forms & Applications H Schedule a Visit Form O Application & Submission Process for Artists 4.1.4.1 Tour Reservation Form J Donation Form Activities K Purchase Tickets 7.1.7 Admission 4.0 Tours 7.1.8 New Food Café 7.8 Space Rental 5.0 Join 5.2.3 Donate Museum Information 7.5.5 Press E-News Signup 8.0 Exhibition Update (RSS) 9.0 Events Update (RSS) 7.3.6.2 Grand Opening (Press Kit) 7.5.1 Press Releases 7.6.3 Thank You Online Information C Pictures of Patrons D Pictures of Donors



7.10.4 Specific Inquiries 7.10.3 General Inquiries 4.1.6 Links to Downloadable Audio Tour by Floor I Reviews & Forums 4.1.1 Info about Docent Tours 7.1.7.2 Online Ticket Purchases 4.1.3 Info about Self-Guided Tours M Online Collection & Exhibitions 4.1.2 Info about Group Tours About Museum 3.5 Past Events 2.4 Past Exhibitions F Blog 7.7.1 History 7.4 Calendar 7.10 Contact Us 7.1.5 Museum Hours 7.1.6 Visitor Policies 7.1 Visitor Information 7.1.4 Directions 7.1.3 Location 7.2 Mission Statement 2.3 Upcoming Exhibitions 2.1 Current Exhibitions 2.2 Pages for Exhibitions Architecture & Design 7.3 New Building 6.1 New Museum Store 7.1.9 Map of Location A Animated Views of Building B Dynamic Map L Interactive Floorplan 7.3.4 Video of New Building Projects 2.5 Special Projects 7.6 Leadership Resources G Curriculum Resources 4.4 Resource Center 4.5 Teacher Resources 3.2 Night School 4.3 School & Youth Programs 4.3.5.2 Global Classroom Program 4.3.5.4 Past Programs & Lesson Plans 3.1 “Target First Saturday for Families”



7.8.2.2 Creative Edge Parties E Event Ticker Jobs 5.2 Get Involved 5.2.4 Intern N Jobs 5.2.5 Volunteer Miscellaneous 4.2 Museum as Hub 4.5.5.3 Bowery Artist Tribute 7.7.2 Significant Years 3.3 “New Silent” (images & description) 3.4 “Get Weird” (images & description) 6.2 Limited Editions 7.2.1 “New Art, New Ideas”



5.4.2.4


Subject: Jeremy, Age 32 User Group: Teacher

Teacher Resources 4.4 Resource Center 4.3.5.4 Past Programs & Lesson Plans P Interactive Calendar F Blog 4.3 School and Youth Programs 4.3.5.2 Global Classroom Program 4.5 Teacher Resources G Curriculum Resources Schedule a Tour 4.1.4.1 Tour Reservation Form 7.8 Space Rental 7.1.7 Admission K Purchase Tickets 4.1.1 Info About Docent Tours C Pictures of Patrons 4.1.3 Info About Self-Guided Tours 4.1.2 Info About Group Tours 4.0 Tours H Schedule a Visit Form 7.1.7.2 Online Ticket Purchases 4.1.6 Links to Downloadable Audio Tour by Floor Views of the Museum L Interactive Floorplan 7.3 New Building 7.3.4 Video of New Building A Animated Views of Building B Dynamic Map Opportunities to Work with Us N Jobs 5.2.4 Intern Mission Statement 1.0 New Museum (Home) 7.2.1 “New Art, New Ideas” 7.2. Mission Statement Buy Our Stuff 7.1.8 New Food Café 6.1 New Museum Store General Information 5.2 Get Involved 7.4 Calendar 7.7.1 History 5.2.5 Volunteer 7.1.3 Location

7.6.3 Thank You



7.10 Contact Us 7.10.3 General Inquiries 7.1.6 Visitor Policies 7.1.5 Museum Hours 7.8.2.2 Creative Edge Parties 7.10.4 Specific Inquiries 7.3.6.2 Grand Opening Press Kit 7.1 Visitor Information 7.1.9 Map of Location 7.1.4 Directions Reviews and Outside Links 1.2 Link to Rhizome I Reviews and Forums

4.2 Museum as Hub 7.5.5 Press E-News Signup 7.5.1 Press Releases

History 2.4 Past Exhibitions 3.5 Past Events

7.7.2 Significant Years Be a Part of Us 5.1.3.4 Questions About Membership 5.0 Join 5.1.3.1 General Membership 5.2.3 Donate

5.1.3.3 Gift Membership 5.3.1 Corporate Membership 5.1.3.2 Council Membership 5.1 Membership 5.4.1 Membership Calendar J Donation Form Who We Are 7.6 Leadership 7.6.1 Trustees 7.6.3.1 List of Corporate Sponsors D Pictures of Donors 5.3.4 Current Corporate Members Updates and News 8.0 Exhibition Update – RSS 9.0 Events Update – RSS E Event Ticker Special Events 4.5.5.3 Bowery Artist Tribute 3.4 Get Weird 3.3 New Silent 3.1 Target First Saturday for Families 3.2 Night School Current and Future Exhibitions O Application and Submission Process for Artists M Online Collection and Exhibitions 2.3 Upcoming Exhibitions

2.3 Exhibition Pages



2.1 Current Exhibitions 2.5 Special Projects

6.2 Limited Editions



5.4.2.5


Subjects: Susan, Age 51, and Richard, Age 51 User Group: Donors

UNCLASSIFIED 1.0 New Museum (Home) 1.2 Link to Rhizome 7.10 Contact Us 6.2 Limited Editions 2.5 Special Projects O Application and Submission Process for Artists 4.5.5.3 Bowery Artist Tribute 4.2 Museum As Hub SPACE AVAILABLE 7.8 Space Rental 7.8.2.2 Creative Edge Parties EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES N Jobs 5.2.4 Intern VISITING THE MUSEUM 7.1 Visitor Information 7.1.5 Museum Hours 7.1.7 Admission K Purchase Tickets 7.1.7.2 Online Ticket Purchases 7.1.6 Visitor Policies H Schedule a Visit form TOURS 4.0 Tours 4.1.1 Info about Docent Tours 4.1.2 Info about Group Tours 4.1.3 Info about Self-guided Tours 4.1.6 Links to downloadable audio tour by floor 4.1.4.1 Tour reservation form DIRECTIONS 7.1.3 Location 7.1.4 Directions 7.1.9 Map of location EXHIBITIONS 2.2 Exhibition pages 2.1 Current Exhibitions 7.2.1 “New Art, New Ideas” 3.4 Get Weird 3.2 Night School 3.3 New Silent 3.1 Target First Saturday for Families M Online Collection & Exhibitions



2.3 Upcoming Exhibitions 8.0 Exhibition Update –RSS 2.4 Past Exhibitions INTERACTIVE I Reviews & Forums F Blog INQUIRIES 7.10.3 General Inquiries 7.10.4 Specific Inquiries EVENTS 7.4 Calendar P Interactive Calendar E Event Ticker 3.5 Past Events 9.0 Events Update – RSS 5.4.1 Membership Calendar RESOURCES 4.2 Resource Center 4.4 Teacher Resources G Curriculum Resources 4.3 School & Youth Programs 4.3.5.2 Global Classroom Program 4.3.5.4 Past Programs & Lesson Plans OUR BUILDING 7.3 New Building L Interactive Floor plan 7.3.4 Video of new building A Animated views of building 7.1.8 New Food Café B Dynamic map 6.1 New Museum Store VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES 5.2 Get Involved 5.2.5 Volunteer DONORS AND PATRONS 5.2.3 Donate L Donation Form 7.6.3 Thank You D Pictures of Donors C Pictures of Patrons 7.6.3.1 List of Corporate Sponsors INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP 5.0 Join 5.1 Membership 5.1.3.1 General Membership 5.1.3.3 Gift Membership 5.1.3.4 Questions about Membership GROUP MEMBERSHIP 5.1.3.2 Council Membership 5.3.1 Corporate Membership 5.3.4 Current Corporate Members




FOR THE MEDIA 7.5.1 Press Releases 7.5.5 Press e-News signup 7.3.6.2 Grand Opening Press Kit MISSION AND HISTORY 7.2 Mission Statement 7.7.1 History 7.7.2 Significant Years 7.6 Leadership 7.6.1 Trustees


5.4.3 Summary

We conducted a card sort study with 7 individuals. We made an effort to select participants that reflected user groups identified in our personas. Participants included a hipster, a teacher, an artist, two tourists, and potential donors. Several patterns emerged from our card sort study immediately.

Many participants expressed confusion about several of the cards. Items like "Get Weird" and "Target First Saturday For Families" when taken out of context, were very odd to people. This confusion influenced our decision to remove these recurring events from the local navigation and instead present them in the same manner as other events. Also confusing were links to outside organizations like "Rhizome" and "Museum as Hub." Most participants gathered together background information about the museum in similar categories. 2 out of 7 participants included information like "History," "Mission," and "Leadership" in a category called "About" or "About the Museum," while others created separate categories for "New Building" or History. 4 out of 7 participants created a category called “Membership” in which they included all information related to members and becoming a member. 2 participants further subdivided this category into “Individual Membership” and “Group Membership.” Only one of the participants elected to use a schema similar to the current site’s “Join” category name, calling this category “Be a Part of Us” and including volunteering and employment opportunities in the same category. Almost everyone included lesson plans and the Resource Center in a category called, "Teacher Resources" or "Educational Resources," or just "Resources." All seven participants rejected the current site's convention of using a verb like, "Learn" for this category. Most participants created separate categories for Exhibitions and Events, while one participant combined them in one category. Some participants included Events under a section called, "Calendar" or "What's Happening," which led to our idea to present the museum's events in calendar form.




Based on the feedback generated through this study, we created the following labeling system: Global Navigation Labels: Exhibitions Events Visit Membership Header and Footer Labels (on every page) My NewMuseum Login Online Store Search About Us Contact Us Resources Jobs Partners RSS Feeds Press E-news Signup FAQs Local Navigation Labels: Exhibitions Current Exhibitions Upcoming Exhibitions Past Exhibitions Online Exhibitions Artist Application Events Current Events Upcoming Events Past Events Special Projects Visit Tours Schedule a Group Visit Café Information for Teachers Visitor Policies Membership Individual Group Gift Membership Calendar

About Us History Leadership Trustees Corporate Sponsors Press Releases Space Rental Our Mission Resources Resource Center Target First Saturdays Curriculum Resources Global Classroom Museum as Hub


5.5 Features 5.5.1 Features List In addition to the content and features currently available on the New Museum website, Hunky Dory Design’s IA/ID Strategy includes the creation of the following additional features:

The addition of a “My New Museum” login feature which will allow users to access “members only” portions of the site including the ability to:

o Create an online “My Events” calendar to keep track of events of interest

o Shop online o Renew memberships online o Maintain RSS feeds, comments, and email alerts o Schedule group tours o And more!

An interactive “talk back” system that will allow users to post comments and feedback about events and exhibits

Animated of views of the new building’s architecture Interactive Floor plan/Dynamic Map which allows users to scroll over a floor

and learn more about exhibitions by location An interactive collage of images from upcoming exhibits that, when rolled

over, will pop up information about exhibitions and artists An interactive calendar that, when scrolled over, will pop up information

about events Forms to ease the process of donating, scheduling a group tour, and other

common tasks Enhanced search capabilities Addition of Online Collection & Exhibitions Application Process for Artists & Submissions

5.5.2 Interactions Concept Drawings [attached]



5.6 Site Map Drafts Before arriving at our final IA/ID Strategy, Hunky Dory Design went through a series of design drafts. Attached is documentation of our design process.



5.7 Paper Prototyping 5.7.1 Tasks The following tasks were given to the participants in our paper prototyping study. 1) If you landed on this homepage randomly, what would you be drawn to first, or what would you like to do? 2) Find an event taking place two weeks from tonight. 3) Find a map to the museum. 4) Buy a ticket to the museum. 5) Find the museum's mission. 6) Find the name of one of the artists currently on exhibition. 7) Find the store. 8) Schedule a group tour. 9) Read reviews of a current exhibition. 10) Buy a gift membership for a friend. 11) Download a lesson plan for your classroom. 5.7.2 Paper Prototypes [Attached] 5.7.3 Results [Attached] 5.7.4 Summary Paper prototyping was conducted between April 16th and April 23rd, 2008. Seven individuals were tested. A number of patterns emerged from our study. Design elements that worked across all participants included our interactive floor plan concept, the event calendar, and the exhibition landing page graphic. All users were able to easily locate basic information about the museum including location, hours, and were able to figure out how to purchase tickets online. A number of users suggested that we include artist’s names in our exhibition landing page interactive graphic, but most participants expressed excitement about the clean design of the site. Several problems became apparent over the course of our study. Two participants expressed confusion between the “About” tab and the “Visit” tab, which led to our decision to remove “About” from the global navigation and move it to the footer instead. Many users had a hard time locating the online store in its original location in the footer, so




we moved it to the upper right and added a shopping cart icon to make it more prominent. Another task that seemed to be universally confusing was the “Schedule a visit” prompt. The problems users had with this task led us to modify the label on this link to read “Schedule a Group Tour.” All users struggled in locating information for teachers when we labeled this section “Resources” or “Educational Resources,” so we decided to create more prominent “For Teachers” links in a variety of locations on the site. After completing our paper prototyping study, we used the data collected to make some important decisions about the site, including changing the tab “Support” to “Join” and then finally to “Membership.” We also followed user feedback in our decision to create a “My New Museum” personalized login service on the site. Our final wire frames presented here represent our best effort based on feedback gleaned through this study.