Seat At The Table

The "Seat at the Table" was an animated product created for an exhibition at the Museum of Vancouver, which had an annual visitor count exceeding 78,000.

Screen Based Product

Exhibition Design

Product Designer

Contracted by Museum of Vancouver

Team of 6

Background

As a product designer, I collaborated with a multidisciplinary team to design a section of an exhibition focused on creating a compelling and engaging historical narrative about Chinese immigration since the 19th century.

As A Product Designer:

Drafted personas and user journey to define the exhibition flow.
Conducted user research and field study to gather user insights.
Co-conducted user testing and usability testing with another UX designer.
Co-ran UX workshop to define UI guideline with other designers.
Design interactive UI on the map focused on user engagement.
Compelled UI documentation for the final deliverable.

Problem 1

Visitors could not comprehend the migration data

The migration data presented a challenge in translating it into a compelling story that is both easy to comprehend and navigate.

Problem 2

Difficult to attract visitors with hard-to-chew historical content

The museum struggled to connect with visitors from diverse backgrounds, finding it challenging to engage them with historical content that didn't resonate with their experiences.

Research

Designed a global style to attract diverse backgrounds

Investigated visitors’ journeys to understand their user journeys and behaviours while visiting the museum. Generally, the visitors were seeking information, knowledge, and inspiration from the culture.

Visitors were looking for hope and educational elements in the exhibition. The 2 keywords were considered 2 critical components for the mood board.

Solution 1

Visualized data though map

Incorporated a map that allows visitors to comprehend the idea of migrant activities and deepen their connection with the visitors on a personal level, reflecting Canada as a diverse cultural country.

low fidelity prototype visualized data story board

Solution 2

Used cartoon-style graphics to lighten users' cognitive load when processing data.

I utilized a cartoon style to visualize the heavy data, making it easier for users to connect with the stories and digest the information. The test results showed that 49% of the visitors enjoyed watching the entire video due to its friendly style.

cartoon style polaroid card displays a person mining story

cartoon style polaroid card displays the chinese migrant family

cartoon style polaroid card displays the chinese miners life style

cartoon style polaroid card displays the chinese migrant house in 1800

design system in showcasing layout and composition

design system in showcasing cartoon elements

design system in showcasing secondary design elements and art style

Thank you for your time!

Impact

Successfully delivered a completed map for the exhibitions that increased their attention span on the migration map.
The user-based story was revealed as an engaging interaction with museum visitors during user testing.
The museum expressed the accomplishment of the data visualization used to present extensive historical data on maps as an interactive way to draw in visitors.
The UI deliverable was proven effective, helping the museum design team to recreate the UI components from the museum design team.

Successfully delivered a completed map for the exhibitions that increased their attention span on the migration map.
The user-based story was revealed as an engaging interaction with museum visitors during user testing.
The museum expressed the accomplishment of the data visualization used to present extensive historical data on maps as an interactive way to draw in visitors.
The UI deliverable was proven effective, helping the museum design team to recreate the UI components from the museum design team.