Re-imagining the Science Gallery Melbourne Website Experience
Science Gallery Melbourne is a part of the acclaimed Global Science Gallery Network, and embedded in the University of Melbourne the Gallery will be a dynamic new model for engaging 15–25 year olds with science.
The Brief
Our brief was to re-imagine the Science Gallery website, delivering a strategy and structure which would engage 15–25 year-olds , encouraging them into science-related careers.
The Competitive Landscape
We considered 17 “competitor” sites, whittling it down to six. Although there were no direct competitors we considered them based on the tone of voice and imagery each site used. They all displayed a clear identity and acted as a bridge between the physical space and the digital content.
Key Information
- Mobile devices account for more than 60% of digital time in the majority of global markets.
- 88 percent of Australians now own a mobile phone, with market growth being driven by older generations.
- 84% of Australians access the internet daily.
Key Findings — Client Research
The interviews conducted with the client provided important details about the current website and its origin, the future of the Gallery in Melbourne and the broader target audience.
- Science Gallery Melbourne wants to encourage young people to participate in STEAM, through creativity and in future choosing careers in one of the fields.
- Science Gallery Melbourne wants to discontinue the model adopted by Science Gallery Dublin of developing micro-sites for individual exhibitions. It is not cost effective and takes away from the continuity of the website.
- The website will act as a portal to generate interest and showcase research, programs and exhibitions.
- The Leonardos inspire the co-creation of themes the Gallery’s exhibitions and programs are based upon.
- Sci-curious are advocates and provide balance and perspective to the world views held by the Leonardos.
Key Findings — User Research
20 interviews and contextual enquiries were conducted.
The following are the key findings from the interviews regarding behaviour.
- Friends are the authority when it comes to attending events. Facebook and Instagram inform users about events, acting like a ‘new word of mouth’, with Twitter being a less popular option.
- Users are not actively planning visits to museums or galleries, but they use Google to search for venue and travel information.
- The phone is the primary means for connecting with friends. Desktops are more widely used for work and study. Websites are frequently accessed on mobile via links, articles and posts.
- Learning about new things and cultures is a key driver for visiting museums and galleries.
- The practical side of science is more appealing than the theory and there is a lack of awareness of the term STE(A)M and what it entails.
- The physical space of a museum or gallery is as important as the artwork and exhibitions.
- High school is the point in time when career choices are made, making it highly critical to whether or not an individual looks toward STEAM for their future.
Contextual Enquiries
- The site is content heavy, most users had a preference for videos and gravitated toward the YouTube videos first.
- There was positive reaction to the events being held and many commented that they would follow Science Gallery on Facebook and Instagram.
- The perception of the website is that it is not innovative and does not reflect Science Gallery. The overall site structure is difficult to navigate.
- Labelling of events were confusing, users did not know that the ‘Blood’ event had concluded and were confused it had launched in a micro-site.
- Users were unaware of the connection between the Science Gallery and the University of Melbourne.
- There was a lack of clarity on how open calls or subscription worked.
Problem Statement
The website is the first point of contact for a diverse audience and needs to provide relevant experiences for the demographic that Science Gallery serves. The website must stimulate young people aged 15–25 to consider a future in STEAM while providing a platform to engage and connect scientists and researchers with artists to create cutting edge exhibitions.
The website is essentially an extension of Science Gallery, and has to fulfil many roles in order for it to be successful.
User Journeys
Three user journeys focused on the primary demographics: Students aged between 15–21, Artists and Researchers and the Science Gallery visitor.
Their goals and frustrations as well as the different ways they would interact with the website, informed the feature prioritisation.
Feature Prioritisation
Responsive Website
The research conducted revealed that the majority of individuals accessed websites from their mobile phones. Therefore a responsive website design was chosen for a variety of reasons: faster and lower development costs over time, lower maintenance needs, improved loading times by way of caching and responsive image display, lower bounce rates and higher conversion rates, easier analytics reporting and improved SEO. This is to ensure an improved and consistent online browsing experience, no matter how individuals access websites.
Modular Design
The navigation of the website was improved by introducing a modular design that scales according to the device being used and enables Science Gallery to easily introduce new sections to the website.
Website Restructure
Built upon existing Information Architecture and prioritised the most important sections of the website in order to improve flow.
Landing Page
The landing page was changed to emphasise imagery. As a result of choosing the responsive website model the overall look and feel of the website changed.
Education and Research
From our interviews with the client, the decision was made to introduce new sections that would emphasise the Gallery’s focus on Education and Research.
Key Changes
These are the key changes made based on feature prioritisation.
Moving away from Micro-sites
As they are expensive to build and break continuity of the overall site, elements were brought back to the internal site, with a consistent framework used for each exhibition.
Hamburger Menu
The current navigation is confusing. By introducing a hamburger menu it simplified navigation and reduced the number of headings.
Twitter Feed
A limited number of users engaged with Twitter and the feed also detracted from the look of the overall site. The decision was made to remove the feed.
Education and Research Sections
The current site does not facilitate these elements of the gallery. As a result placeholders for these sections were put in place to demonstrate what they would potentially look like.
The Leonardos
Found under the ‘About’ section and not very visible. The Leonardos create and facilitate ideas in unique ways, and thus should be more prominently featured.
Open Calls
It is currently overwhelming and unclear. Being a part of an external site also breaks continuity when browsing the Melbourne site. The solution was to bring it within the Melbourne site, and simplify the way content is laid out.
Prototype
Desktop vs Mobile
As presented in the research phase and stated in the feature prioritisation, a responsive website would provide the best experience for the new Science Gallery Melbourne website.
Click here to view interactive prototype.
Recommendations | Now
- Ensure continuity across nodes by incorporating the new website design and creating an updated set of brand guidelines in order to influence the other nodes. This will maintain design consistency and continuity across all Science Galleries.
- The design integrity of the brand across all touch points (physical and digital) is essential to maintain a consistent experience.
- As and when details are made available for the technology that will be used in the building, make it known. The space and the exhibits within make up the experience.
- The modular design allows for the easy introduction of new sections. New sections for Visit & Accessibility, Donations, Shop, Functions, etc. need to be introduced as and when they are ready.
- Utilise data analytics and data optimisation to verify that the website is functioning as intended.
Recommendations | Future
- Science Gallery needs to clearly define how it wants to facilitate research and whether or not it will be publishing.
- Science Gallery needs to continue the education initiative, spreading the importance of STEAM on the future and how it relates to future employment opportunities.
- Once work has started on ensuring the brand integrity of the Science Gallery brand across all the nodes, continue to refine the brand guidelines. This will allow the different nodes to have their unique identity while remaining a part of the larger Science Gallery family. Concurrently develop a content strategy.
- Science Gallery has an opportunity to change the way researchers and scientists, and the scientific community at large, perceive art. Providing a platform to educate and empower artists and scientists/researchers to be advocates for their work in order to further improve people’s understanding of STEAM and its importance.
Conclusion
This was the culmination of an intense 10 week course and brought together all the subject matter and reaffirmed to me that the UX process, when understood and followed, in particular the research and the synthesis of the research produces evidence based results. Working in a team, and ensuring the individuals are accountable for their work while keeping to a schedule of planned tasks will produce results that meet, and in this case exceed, the stakeholders’ requirements.
My role in the process
Research
I created the discussion guide for user and client interviews and conducted them. The group then worked on analysing and then synthesising the findings from the research on the competitive landscape, and the user and client interviews.
Feature Prioritisation
The research I conducted informed the feature prioritisation, especially the choice of a responsive website design.
Testing
I ran several user tests on the paper prototypes and the high fidelity prototypes that confirmed the design direction and advised on changes to be made.
Presentation
I created the slides for the client presentation and led the presentation.
My Teammates
Hello, my name is Adi Prabhakar. I have a passion for technology and how it empowers people. This led to my transition into the field of UX Design, where understanding customer needs and providing them with solutions is what drives me.
