Capture Art · Mobile product design
Enabling regular museum and gallery visitors to find worthwhile exhibitions, plan a visit, and keep the art that stays with them.
A connected path from “I’d like to see this” to an afternoon well spent.
I translated interview findings into design opportunities and led co-creation with exhibition visitors, artists, and curators. After the group project, I independently refined the mobile flows through usability testing.
A visual first look at the redesigned experience: useful exhibition context before the visit, and a personal place to keep what matters afterward.
Browse by interest and available time. Open a show to see the art, dates, location, and visitor context together.
Save exhibitions into collections that reflect how you think, weekend plans, places to revisit, or an interest you want to follow.
The original project began with a familiar frustration: wanting to see more exhibitions, but piecing together information from social posts, friends, posters, and individual venue websites. An attractive image was rarely enough to decide whether a show was worth the trip.
For someone who already enjoys looking at art, discovery is only the first step. Relevance, timing, practical details, and the confidence to make a plan all matter.
The concept connects exhibition discovery with art interests and visit needs, while keeping artists and venues visible as the people behind each show.
The journey made the opportunity more specific: help people decide before they go, stay focused while they are there, and retain what matters afterward. The phone should support the visit without becoming its center.
Actor: a regular museum visitor · Scenario: choosing and remembering a weekend exhibition
Find a show worth making time for
Browse social posts, venue pages, and recommendations.
What is happening, and is it for me?
Scattered information and unclear relevance.
Browse by interest, timing, and location.
Turn interest into a realistic plan
Compare the art, hours, location, and visitor context.
What will I actually see? Can I make it?
Unclear expectations, forgotten dates, and difficult directions.
Combine artwork, visit essentials, and a saved reminder.
Keep attention on the exhibition
Look closely, check context, and capture a memory where permitted.
What should I notice? How much time do I have?
Missing artwork context and unexpected closing times.
Make context and practical details easy to retrieve.
Keep the visit useful afterward
Save the show, organize references, and share a note.
How do I find this again, and pass it on?
Memories scatter; useful observations do not reach future visitors.
Create collections and exhibition-specific visitor notes.
Prioritize the details that remove uncertainty. Keep sharing optional, and respect each venue’s photography policy.
I conducted 12 one-on-one interviews and used the findings to build personas and a journey map. The original research surfaced three connected needs: discover relevant shows, understand what a visit offers, and organize or share the experience.
Co-creation brought exhibition lovers, artists, and curators into the same conversation. I grouped the ideas into a small set of connected capabilities, then explored the Home, Exhibition, and Publish pages.
| Visitor need | Design response | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Find personally relevant shows | Visible interest and time filters | Help people narrow options around a real visit. |
| Know what to expect | Artwork, venue details, and visitor notes in one view | Reduce the information gaps between interest and a decision. |
| Keep useful discoveries | Named collections and follow updates | Make saved art easier to return to. |
| Reach the right visitors | A dedicated publishing entry for artists and venues | Keep exhibition supply connected to discovery. |
The design gives artwork more room, makes essential actions explicit, and uses a consistent hierarchy from discovery to collection.
One lead exhibition establishes a focal point, followed by a compact grid. Interest and time filters remain visible above the feed.
Artwork attracts attention; title, venue, and dates help a visitor judge the next step.
Larger imagery shows fewer items at once. The compact secondary grid preserves browsing depth.
The exhibition page separates practical facts from artwork and visitor notes. Hours, last entry, dates, location, and admission appear together, so the viewer can evaluate the visit before committing to it.
Planning details support an informed visit without interrupting discovery.
Reliable details require a maintained source. This concept needs a venue-update and content-review process before launch.
The original tests exposed a hard-to-find collection action and requests for categories. The redesign uses a labeled New action, a clear add-to-collection step, and a dedicated collection view.
A collection holds both a future plan and a memory. It should be easy to create, name, and revisit.
Visitor notes belong to a specific exhibition, with a clear Write a note action. Artists and venues have a separate exhibition-creation flow. This keeps browsing focused while preserving the original community and publishing intent.
The original case study reports two rounds of iteration and three feedback themes: filters, categorized collections, and community sharing. The visible testing table adds useful detail about where participants hesitated.
| Task | Original observation | Current design response | What to test next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find relevant exhibitions | The filter icon was too small to notice. | A labeled Filters control, with selected criteria visible in the feed. | Can visitors find and apply a useful filter without a prompt? |
| Add to a collection | A participant reached Collections but could not find Add exhibition. | An explicit add action and a named destination for each save. | Can visitors save a show and retrieve it from the intended collection? |
| Write a comment | An Add icon did not communicate “new comment.” | A visible Write a note label attached to the exhibition. | Do visitors understand where their note will appear? |
| Navigate after commenting | The bottom navigation competed with the comment action. | Contribution screens use a focused form and a single submission action. | Can visitors complete the note and return to the exhibition? |
| Task | User 1 | User 2 | User 3 | User 4 | User 5 | User 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comments → home | Pass | Pass | Unclear Add icon | Pass | Pass | Navigation / comment conflict |
| Create exhibition | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Search + filter | Pass | Filter not noticed | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
| Find + add to collection | Add action not found | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass | Pass |
Additional requests: collection categories (User 3) and artist communication (Users 4 and 5).
The new direction pairs a warm neutral surface with a restrained warm brown. All editorial copy, diagram labels, tables, and mobile UI use General Sans. Artwork provides the color and variety; the interface provides a steady frame.
Clear labels. Calm hierarchy.
Room for the artwork.
The design connects exhibition discovery with planning a visit and saving what matters. The next step is to test whether regular museum visitors can choose a relevant show, judge the visit, and retrieve a saved exhibition without help.
I would also validate the supply side: how venues keep exhibition details current, what visitor content requires review, and which reminders are useful enough to earn attention. Those operational questions matter as much as the polished screens.
© 2026 Carleen Liu. All rights reserved.