Visitor Journey Map : Guggenheim Museum
Introduction
I visited the Guggenheim museum to understand the visitor experience to conduct an in-context design ethnographic study. I collaborated with my teammate and we both took turns being the researcher and participant. The aim of this study was to chart the visitor journey and understand the needs, wants and expectations better.
Methodology
- We conducted a field visit to the Guggenheim Museum where I observed my teammate who was my research participant. We spent our time going through the exhibits, cafe, gift shop and reflecting on what he was thinking and feeling at the moment
- I recorded the experience by clicking pictures and taking notes of the various touchpoint and key moments that we encountered
- After the field visit, I started creating the journey map. I began by sketching out some ideas, breaking down the steps and trying different ways of structuring it. At first I tried the 5 stage breakdown of the journey map to get the different steps in order. However I felt that it was was very text heavy and not showing the touchpoints effectively.
- Based on the example of the journey map shared in class, I started creating the next version. I liked the simplicity and how it visually summarized the entire experience. Initially I stuck to the linear format shown in that, however the more I thought about it, I felt that the experience during the museum was more circular in the case of guggenheim. Whether it was the architecture itself which affected how my participant moved inside it, or the flow of people it seemed truer to the experience to show it via concentric circles.
Journey Map
This user journey map follows Raj who is an aspiring UX designer across three phases of his museum visit — pre-visit, during and post-visit. It charts his actions as well as his emotional states during his journey.
Pre-visit
The actions taken by Raj for the pre-visit phase were checking the museum website, booking a ticket online and commuting. The touchpoint encountered by him were the museum website, google maps and street signage.
Pain point: Since Raj was eligible for free museum entry being a Pratt student he wanted to book his tickets in advance. However the ticketing journey was confusing as he had to book an “affiliate ticket” and he couldn't find that amongst all the offerings on the website. He first went to “corporate ticket” and later understood where he had to go.
Opportunity: In order to make it clearer for new visitors adding some description or brief about what each category means. For instance, letting people know that “affiliate tickets” are for academic or public institutions who have a partnership with the museum.
During the visit
What worked well:
- The coat check went very smoothly and he was relieved as he was able to take off the heavy bags and coats. The staff was really cordial and it was also free which seemed thoughtful to him.
- Each floor had a restroom and a drinking water fountain which was easily accessible
- There were benches to rest during the exhibition when the visitors got tired and also a reading room where people could lounge around
- Overall, he liked the atmosphere and the calm mood that helped him focus on the artwork
Pain points:
- Security check —The entry to the museum started with a security check of the bags. He was asked to take his laptop out and was told that he might be asked again to take it out once inside. This was his first interaction so had it been done in a more seamless manner it would have improved his experience
- Ticket check — After entering inside the building he was confused about who to show his ticket to as there was no queue and no specific entry point. The museum staff were scattered in the space and he wasn’t sure who he should approach
- Lack of maps inside — Once he entered the gallery, he wanted to orient himself but couldn’t find any map. He wanted more guidance on the ideal experience of viewing and whether he was supposed to start from the top or bottom of the museum
- Not enough context on artworks — The description of the artwork was put up really far away from the paintings and was very vague. He wanted to know more about what the paintings were about and would have liked more context
- Cafeteria working hours were not shown properly — The cafeteria was placed in a very non discoverable spot and Raj was confused about the working hours
- The musuem had a QR code that could be scanned but it led you to downloading another new app “bloomberg connect” which made many people too lazy to do it
Opportunity:
- Have a webpage that opens up on scanning QR codes which can provide all the information in a cosolidated format. It can have the map, information about artwork, cafeteria hours, recommendations on what to get from the gift shop
- The paintings should have a more detailed description in a closer proximity so that the viewers know what to make of them
- Having bag scanners instead of manual checks as they would make the security queue move faster and more efficiently
- Displaying physical maps or giving pamphlets with the layout of the museum to the viewers
Post-visit
After visting the museum, Raj decided to post pictures from his visit on his social media platforms. He was also emailed by the museum about upcoming exhibitions.
Pain points:
- He didn’t like being emailed about the upcoming exhibitions
Opportunity:
- Custom social media filters that are geo-location based and can be widely used to boost the popularity of the museum
- Making it easy to unsubscribe from emailing list
Summing it up
Overall, Raj had a positive experience where he was pleased with what he saw in the museum. There were areas of improvement mainly during the entry with the security and ticket check, orientation inside the museum and giving more information to the visitors about the paintings.
