Our Process
Getting to our final prototype required numerous ideation sessions, quick prototypes, and testings. We had to be flexible and move between exploring widely and then  narrowing down and iterating quickly on our design based on user feedback. Over the summer, we completed:

31

100

Prototypes

User Interviews

Surveys

11

Ideation

From Paper to Product

Throughout the design process, we needed to ideate several times to explore wide range of novel ideas to test.

One of the methods that we employed is called Crazy 8’s where each member of the team individually ideates at least 8 rapid ideas.

From here, we often voted or discussed next steps.This process was needed while we were deciding on the overall structure, how the artifact pages would look, and entry points into our experience.

Opportunity Spaces

With our primary research, we saw that the most fundamental aspect to our type of museum experience is rich, relatable storytelling and discussion. Since our challenge is to deliver these stories remotely and virtually, we began building and testing pretotypes to test how we could combine interactive virtual elements with rich storytelling.

Exploring Virtual Exhibits
in Minecraft

(Generative Research 2021)

Pretotyping
To observe how people engage with museum-like virtual spaces, our team turned to one of the quickest rapid prototyping tools we could think of: Minecraft!

We crafted different rooms with artifacts, each with a different combination of narration and interactivity, letting people touch and move artifacts as well as trigger stories about them. Even in this blocky, low-fidelity world, people were hesitant to interact with the space and artifacts during our interviews. They brought with them the social inhibitions of real-world museums, even without consequences.
“When I knocked over the [virtual artifact], it felt as if I had done something wrong. I had to get out of there.”

“This place makes me feel like ‘look, but don’t touch.’”

Fostering Virtual Discussion

(Generative Research 2021)

Pretotyping
To deepen our exploration of how people might engage with virtual exhibits, we drew on inspiration by an integral behavior noted in our primary research: 7 out of 8 of those interviewed noted they favored going to museums with friends, and talking about what they experienced.
‍
To preserve that less tangible but key aspect of museum visitation, we created a pretotype that offered a space for both live and asynchronous reflection and commenting over a shared multimedia experience.

A Closer Look At:

The Sprints

During the summer semester, our team engaged in “sprints” which allow us to generate, test, and validate ideas in a short amount of time. Each sprint ideally last two weeks. During the first week, we mainly devoted our time to discuss directions and elements to test, quickly sketch ideas, and build them into prototypes. Then, for the second week, we brought these ideas to actual target users, get their feedback and reactions, and iterated our design.

There were a total of four sprints.

Sprint #1

“How do we move between artifacts while providing a cohesive experience?” To our team, exploration of a virtual space to house these artifacts was an intriguing concept that offered potential for rich storytelling, and appeals to a younger audience. A virtual space offers room for interactivity, but how should it be structured?
Having 3D models allows users to interact with artifacts without fear of breaking them or having the materials wear down over time. These pages also help to embed the story behind the artifact, including the museum’s story, rather than having just a floating object.


Opportunity Spaces

With our primary research, we saw that the most fundamental aspect to our type of museum experience is rich, relatable storytelling and discussion. Since our challenge is to deliver these stories remotely and virtually, we began building and testing pretotypes to test how we could combine interactive virtual elements with rich storytelling.

Exploring Virtual Exhibits
in Minecraft

(Generative Research 2021)

Pretotyping
To observe how people engage with museum-like virtual spaces, our team turned to one of the quickest rapid prototyping tools we could think of: Minecraft!

We crafted different rooms with artifacts, each with a different combination of narration and interactivity, letting people touch and move artifacts as well as trigger stories about them. Even in this blocky, low-fidelity world, people were hesitant to interact with the space and artifacts during our interviews. They brought with them the social inhibitions of real-world museums, even without consequences.
“When I knocked over the [virtual artifact], it felt as if I had done something wrong. I had to get out of there.”

“This place makes me feel like ‘look, but don’t touch.’”

Fostering Virtual Discussion

(Generative Research 2021)

Pretotyping
To deepen our exploration of how people might engage with virtual exhibits, we drew on inspiration by an integral behavior noted in our primary research: 7 out of 8 of those interviewed noted they favored going to museums with friends, and talking about what they experienced.
‍
To preserve that less tangible but key aspect of museum visitation, we created a pretotype that offered a space for both live and asynchronous reflection and commenting over a shared multimedia experience.

Sprint #2

Artifact pages highlight specific objects, their history, story, and significance towards Roberto Clemente.
‍
Some pages feature photo-captured 3D models: this allows users to interact with artifacts without fear of breaking them or having the materials wear down over time. These pages also help to embed the story behind the artifact, including the museum’s story, rather than having just a floating object.

Opportunity Spaces

With our primary research, we saw that the most fundamental aspect to our type of museum experience is rich, relatable storytelling and discussion. Since our challenge is to deliver these stories remotely and virtually, we began building and testing pretotypes to test how we could combine interactive virtual elements with rich storytelling.

Exploring Virtual Exhibits
in Minecraft

(Generative Research 2021)

Pretotyping
To observe how people engage with museum-like virtual spaces, our team turned to one of the quickest rapid prototyping tools we could think of: Minecraft!

We crafted different rooms with artifacts, each with a different combination of narration and interactivity, letting people touch and move artifacts as well as trigger stories about them. Even in this blocky, low-fidelity world, people were hesitant to interact with the space and artifacts during our interviews. They brought with them the social inhibitions of real-world museums, even without consequences.
“When I knocked over the [virtual artifact], it felt as if I had done something wrong. I had to get out of there.”

“This place makes me feel like ‘look, but don’t touch.’”

Fostering Virtual Discussion

(Generative Research 2021)

Pretotyping
To deepen our exploration of how people might engage with virtual exhibits, we drew on inspiration by an integral behavior noted in our primary research: 7 out of 8 of those interviewed noted they favored going to museums with friends, and talking about what they experienced.
‍
To preserve that less tangible but key aspect of museum visitation, we created a pretotype that offered a space for both live and asynchronous reflection and commenting over a shared multimedia experience.

Sprint #3

The Wall of Stories is housed at the end of our experience  to provide visitors an opportunity to read other’s stories and/or share their own. It presents stories that respond to specific prompts, such as family or community, that are inspired by Clemente.
The need for reflection for lasting impressionsEarlier in our research phase, we identified that physical museums provide visitors the time and space to reflect and process the stories they’ve just read. In addition, visitors today visit museums with others and engage in discussion around the story and artifacts which help them process their thoughts more. These moments help visitors remember their visit and the information consumed better.

Taking this feedback, it was crucial for our design to incorporate and mimic aspects of these moments in the physical museum so visitors can connect more with Clemente and remember his stories. 

Opportunity Spaces

With our primary research, we saw that the most fundamental aspect to our type of museum experience is rich, relatable storytelling and discussion. Since our challenge is to deliver these stories remotely and virtually, we began building and testing pretotypes to test how we could combine interactive virtual elements with rich storytelling.

Exploring Virtual Exhibits
in Minecraft

(Generative Research 2021)

Pretotyping
To observe how people engage with museum-like virtual spaces, our team turned to one of the quickest rapid prototyping tools we could think of: Minecraft!

We crafted different rooms with artifacts, each with a different combination of narration and interactivity, letting people touch and move artifacts as well as trigger stories about them. Even in this blocky, low-fidelity world, people were hesitant to interact with the space and artifacts during our interviews. They brought with them the social inhibitions of real-world museums, even without consequences.
“When I knocked over the [virtual artifact], it felt as if I had done something wrong. I had to get out of there.”

“This place makes me feel like ‘look, but don’t touch.’”

Fostering Virtual Discussion

(Generative Research 2021)

Pretotyping
To deepen our exploration of how people might engage with virtual exhibits, we drew on inspiration by an integral behavior noted in our primary research: 7 out of 8 of those interviewed noted they favored going to museums with friends, and talking about what they experienced.
‍
To preserve that less tangible but key aspect of museum visitation, we created a pretotype that offered a space for both live and asynchronous reflection and commenting over a shared multimedia experience.

Sprint #4

Now that we know that 1) users loved to orient themselves around a historical figure using a timeline, 2) enjoyed all-in-one artifact detail page with mutlimedia, and 3) also found the virtual spaces as the best way to really immerse people in Clemente’s story, it was our final push to figure out how do we combine all these elements into one cohesive experience.
‍
Then, for the second week, we brought these ideas to actual target users, get their feedback and reactions, and iterated our design.There were a total of four sprints and this session will outline the the goal of the sprints, the prototypes we built, and what we learned.
CMU MHCI x CLEMENTE MUSEUM 2021