Digital Odyssey
2025
Exhibition Design, Web/App Design
Draw The Garden is an exhibition designed based on existing courtyard concept of the Isabella Stewart Gardners Museum. I am going to rethink the viewer's experience at the museum, how people can learn somethin new and have fun.
Brainstorming
I was thinking of a way to make the experience in a museum differ from what people usually see. I want to make it the most interactive experience. People would come to a museum that they already have been to to find a different perspective on things they already saw.
The museum I chose is Isabella Gardner Museum, I’ve never been there before this project came in, so I had my expectations for it and what I saw was different. I was a bit disappointed, but surprised. I expected it to be more about plants, like labels with the names of the plants there, their origin, a bit of history. And what I saw was: a greenhouse and some rooms with artworks and installations, so absolutely no info on plans that I expected.
So I thought about how to improve the experience at the Isabella museum. And I decided to focus on the plant aspect of the museum to include the information about plants and make it interactive.
Ideas
Create four or more ideas for your four touchpoints - generate four or more distinct ideas for each of the four touchpoints (AR, desktop web, way-finding, & mobile related socials or app).
Blind Walk
In the beginning (inclosed room to not see the plants). You open the app and read/listen to the description and draw what you imagine before entering the room with plants.
You can choose some “modes”
The length of your experience 5 questions, 10 questions or 15.
Kid’s mode like a coloring book
Group game “pick the best each question”
Learning mode by scanning the plant with the app it will give you info about it
After finishing all your drawings, you enter the plant exhibition. Taking a look at each plant you can put a bet, by using the app, which is which by looking at your drawings.
This way you are learning about the plants and getting an interactive take on Isabella museum and you are interested to visit more often since it’s never the same experience.
Personas
James (7M)
Elementary school
He is a very curious kid, interested in greenery and nature. James is an only child and his parents are usually at work. They have a big backyard and little forest next to their house. He likes to spend a lot of time outside exploring. His grandma takes care of a little garden in their backyard and James likes to spend time with her there. Parents take him to the Isabella museum, seeing his interest. The museum excites him, exploring all those plants especially. But he cannot learn the names and has no information on them.
Elle (34F)
Photographer freelancer | No kids | Looking for relationships
She is a creative minded person. She always notices details and likes to spend time outside, she enjoys outdoor photography and activities. She is not confident about her drawing skills, but always ready to challenge herself. She likes to read a lot, especially descriptive texts and picture the compositions in her head. She's been to the Isabella museum several times for inspiration, but she is getting used to it by now and visiting it less often.
Bri (22F)
Art student | Free museum access
She likes to draw and explore new things, she is very active, likes to try new stuff/activities, she is a kind of plant enthusiast. She has been to this museum several times, so she has lost interest in going there more. She already saw everything there and was bored of it. She needs a new perspective on this museum, a new way to spend the time there.
User Journey
Process
First, I started the wireframing of the app, since it is the center of my project. The app is the essential piece, it is the experience. I turned my paper sketches into digital to better understand the structure and system that I will follow. I wanted to stay with ISGM brand system since I am planing this experience to become a new part of the museum, not as a temporary exhibition. The challenge was to pick out colors that work for my idea and fit the ISGM brand, I checked their website to see how they design to learn from it.
I decided that my exhibition experience doesn't need a big web page. Website is just a way to learn about the new app and where to download it. It should be short, but explanatory. I took a screenshot of the ISGM website and add my own page to their list. I stayed within the design flow that is going on throughout their website, same order and type hierarchy.
Next component is wayfindings, since the subject of my exhibition is in the obvious spot, I don't need to lead visitors and help them find the way. But I do need to let them know about the app existence and where to get it, as well as the virtual garden. People can access the virtual garden without downloading the app. My two wayfindings are letter size posters that instruct visitors where, why and how to get the app.
Final Deliverables
The Website page is a sort of informational guide about the new app at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It is a way for people check out something new and get involved with it.
The Gardner app could be used not only for in-museum experience, but in other places as well. I included several features that will make the experience fun and educational:
Plant scan feature – it will let you identify a new plant anywhere in the wild.
Virtual garden access, so you can enjoy beautiful creations at home instead of going to the museum.
The description game that will educate you about the plants inside of the museum.
The wayfindings are simple posters that were designed within the brand of The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum to fit the other informational sources inside. The posters are ment to simply inform visitors about the app and virtual garden existence; to show them the way how to get and use it.
Last but not least component is the Virtual Garden. It is an AR experience designed for this project. The Virtual Garden is the result of the description game in the app. Visitors can add their drawn plants to the garden upon finishing the questionnaire. The Virtual Garden could be accessed at any place through a QR code that could be found on the webpage.
