Transforming
Visitor Experience
at Wellcome Library
Transforming
Visitor Experience
at Wellcome Library
Transforming
Visitor Experience
at Wellcome Library
CosmicQuest is an interactive digital experience aimed at enhancing visitor engagement at the Wellcome Library. Through a touchscreen kiosk and mobile app, users complete a personality quiz that generates personalized recommendations for books, activities, and events, fostering deeper connections with the library's offerings. This solution transforms how visitors explore the library, creating a more enriching and engaging experience.
CosmicQuest is an interactive digital experience aimed at enhancing visitor engagement at the Wellcome Library. Through a touchscreen kiosk and mobile app, users complete a personality quiz that generates personalized recommendations for books, activities, and events, fostering deeper connections with the library's offerings. This solution transforms how visitors explore the library, creating a more enriching and engaging experience.
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Client:
Client:
Wellcome collection library
Wellcome collection library
Dates:
Dates:
October - December 2023
October - December 2023
Role:
Role:
UX Designer
UX Designer
Skills:
Skills:
Interaction Design, Observation, Interviews, Empathy Map, User Persona, Journey Mapping, Worst Possible Idea, How Might We, SCAMPER, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Testing, Figma, Miro
Interaction Design, Observation, Interviews, Empathy Map, User Persona, Journey Mapping, Worst Possible Idea, How Might We, SCAMPER, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Testing, Figma, Miro
The challenge
The challenge
Imagine stepping into a space brimming with knowledge, art, and history—a place where science meets creativity, and health intertwines with human experience. This is the Wellcome Library, a treasure trove of insights waiting to be discovered. But there's a problem:
Imagine stepping into a space brimming with knowledge, art, and history—a place where science meets creativity, and health intertwines with human experience. This is the Wellcome Library, a treasure trove of insights waiting to be discovered. But there's a problem:
Most visitors barely scratch the surface of what this unique space has to offer.
Most visitors barely scratch the surface of what this unique space has to offer.
Students hunched over laptops, oblivious to the wealth of resources surrounding them. Curious visitors, intimidated by the quiet atmosphere, leaving without fully engaging with the exhibits. A Reading Room designed for vibrant interaction, yet often silent and underutilised.
The question we faced was clear:
Students hunched over laptops, oblivious to the wealth of resources surrounding them. Curious visitors, intimidated by the quiet atmosphere, leaving without fully engaging with the exhibits. A Reading Room designed for vibrant interaction, yet often silent and underutilised.
The question we faced was clear:
How can we bridge the gap between the Wellcome Library's rich offerings and the limited engagement of its visitors?
How can we bridge the gap between the Wellcome Library's rich offerings and the limited engagement of its visitors?
Our mission became twofold:
To transform casual visitors into active explorers
To help students discover resources beyond their textbooks
We needed to create an experience that would:
Personalise each visit
Encourage deeper exploration
Foster a sense of community
In essence, we had to reimagine how people interact with a library space in the digital age, making it not just a place of study, but a journey of discovery.
This challenge set the stage for our innovative solution: CosmicQuest, an interactive digital experience designed to unlock the full potential of the Wellcome Library for every visitor.
Our mission became twofold:
To transform casual visitors into active explorers
To help students discover resources beyond their textbooks
We needed to create an experience that would:
Personalise each visit
Encourage deeper exploration
Foster a sense of community
In essence, we had to reimagine how people interact with a library space in the digital age, making it not just a place of study, but a journey of discovery.
This challenge set the stage for our innovative solution: CosmicQuest, an interactive digital experience designed to unlock the full potential of the Wellcome Library for every visitor.
The Process
The Process
Our journey to reimagine the Wellcome Library experience was as diverse and fascinating as the library itself. We embarked on a multi-faceted approach, blending rigorous research with creative problem-solving.
Our journey to reimagine the Wellcome Library experience was as diverse and fascinating as the library itself. We embarked on a multi-faceted approach, blending rigorous research with creative problem-solving.
Discovery: Unearthing Hidden Insights
Discovery: Unearthing Hidden Insights
We began by immersing ourselves in the Wellcome Library environment. Our team conducted naturalistic observations, becoming silent observers of the library's daily rhythm. We visited on both weekdays and weekends, capturing the ebb and flow of different user groups.
Key observations emerged:
Students hunched over laptops, oblivious to the wealth of resources around them
Visitors briefly exploring before leaving, barely scratching the surface of what was on offer
A Reading Room designed for vibrant interaction, yet often silent and underutilized
To dig deeper, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a diverse group:
3 students
3 visitors
2 librarians
We began by immersing ourselves in the Wellcome Library environment. Our team conducted naturalistic observations, becoming silent observers of the library's daily rhythm. We visited on both weekdays and weekends, capturing the ebb and flow of different user groups.
Key observations emerged:
Students hunched over laptops, oblivious to the wealth of resources around them
Visitors briefly exploring before leaving, barely scratching the surface of what was on offer
A Reading Room designed for vibrant interaction, yet often silent and underutilized
To dig deeper, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a diverse group:
3 students
3 visitors
2 librarians
These conversations revealed a crucial insight:
These conversations revealed a crucial insight:
There was a significant mismatch between the library's offerings and how users were engaging with the space.
There was a significant mismatch between the library's offerings and how users were engaging with the space.
Define: Crafting Our North Star
Define: Crafting Our North Star
Armed with our research, we developed detailed personas and user journeys. Meet Kristin, the focused student, and Cameron, the curious visitor – our guides through the Wellcome Library experience.
Armed with our research, we developed detailed personas and user journeys. Meet Kristin, the focused student, and Cameron, the curious visitor – our guides through the Wellcome Library experience.
Here’s a glimpse into our user journeys for two key personas. These user journeys helped us understand their needs, frustrations, and interactions within the library context:
Here’s a glimpse into our user journeys for two key personas. These user journeys helped us understand their needs, frustrations, and interactions within the library context:
We distilled our findings into a powerful Point of View (POV) statement:
We distilled our findings into a powerful Point of View (POV) statement:
Visitors need an interactive exploration as they want to be engaged physically and emotionally with the diverse offerings within the Wellcome Library.
Visitors need an interactive exploration as they want to be engaged physically and emotionally with the diverse offerings within the Wellcome Library.
This led us to our design objective:
This led us to our design objective:
To provide an engaging experience for visitors that enables them to better discover and connect with the Wellcome Library.
To provide an engaging experience for visitors that enables them to better discover and connect with the Wellcome Library.
Ideate: Sparking creative solutions
Ideate: Sparking creative solutions
Our brainstorming sessions were a whirlwind of ideas, from the practical to the fantastical. We even explored "worst ideas" to help us understand what to avoid. Through quick sketches and screen wireframes, we visualized five potential solutions.
Our brainstorming sessions were a whirlwind of ideas, from the practical to the fantastical. We even explored "worst ideas" to help us understand what to avoid. Through quick sketches and screen wireframes, we visualized five potential solutions.
After rigorous evaluation, we landed on our winning concept: A touch-screen kiosk paired with a mobile application, offering a personality quiz that delivers customized recommendations.
After rigorous evaluation, we landed on our winning concept: A touch-screen kiosk paired with a mobile application, offering a personality quiz that delivers customized recommendations.
Design: Bringing ideas to life
Design: Bringing ideas to life
Our solution, CosmicQuest, is an innovative digital experience designed to bridge the gap between the Wellcome Library's rich offerings and its visitors' engagement. It consists of two main components: a touchscreen kiosk and a mobile application.
Our solution, CosmicQuest, is an innovative digital experience designed to bridge the gap between the Wellcome Library's rich offerings and its visitors' engagement. It consists of two main components: a touchscreen kiosk and a mobile application.
Touchscreen Kiosk
Touchscreen Kiosk
The touchscreen kiosk serves as the first point of interaction for visitors entering the Reading Room. Its key features include:
Personality Quiz: A 7-question quiz framed as an imaginative journey, inviting visitors to respond as if they were the main character in a story.
Character Assignment: Upon completion, users are assigned one of three characters - Sun, Moon, or Star - each with distinct personality traits.
Personalized Recommendations: Based on the assigned character, users receive tailored suggestions for:
Books to explore
Interactive activities to engage with
Upcoming events to attend
Results Saving: Visitors can save their results for future reference, providing a clear roadmap for exploring the library.
The touchscreen kiosk serves as the first point of interaction for visitors entering the Reading Room. Its key features include:
Personality Quiz: A 7-question quiz framed as an imaginative journey, inviting visitors to respond as if they were the main character in a story.
Character Assignment: Upon completion, users are assigned one of three characters - Sun, Moon, or Star - each with distinct personality traits.
Personalized Recommendations: Based on the assigned character, users receive tailored suggestions for:
Books to explore
Interactive activities to engage with
Upcoming events to attend
Results Saving: Visitors can save their results for future reference, providing a clear roadmap for exploring the library.
Mobile Application
Mobile Application
The mobile app is designed to foster a continued connection between visitors and the Wellcome Library beyond their physical visit. Key features include:
Result Retrieval: Users can access their personality quiz results and recommendations.
Event Browsing: Detailed information about upcoming events and activities.
Community Connection: A platform for users to connect with other visitors, fostering a sense of belonging.
The mobile app is designed to foster a continued connection between visitors and the Wellcome Library beyond their physical visit. Key features include:
Result Retrieval: Users can access their personality quiz results and recommendations.
Event Browsing: Detailed information about upcoming events and activities.
Community Connection: A platform for users to connect with other visitors, fostering a sense of belonging.
Evaluate: Testing CosmicQuest
To ensure CosmicQuest truly met the needs of Wellcome Library visitors, we conducted a small-scale usability test. Our goal was to identify any potential usability issues and gather qualitative feedback on the user experience.
To ensure CosmicQuest truly met the needs of Wellcome Library visitors, we conducted a small-scale usability test. Our goal was to identify any potential usability issues and gather qualitative feedback on the user experience.
Approach
We recruited 6 participants for a formative evaluation, focusing on collecting rich, qualitative data. The evaluation was conducted remotely in a controlled online setting, allowing us to closely observe user interactions and gather detailed feedback.
Participants were asked to complete two key tasks:
On the touchscreen kiosk: Complete the personality quiz and explore the results page
On the mobile app: Join a forum for an upcoming Wellcome Library event
We employed the think-aloud protocol, encouraging participants to vocalize their thoughts and reactions as they navigated through the prototypes.
We recruited 6 participants for a formative evaluation, focusing on collecting rich, qualitative data. The evaluation was conducted remotely in a controlled online setting, allowing us to closely observe user interactions and gather detailed feedback.
Participants were asked to complete two key tasks:
On the touchscreen kiosk: Complete the personality quiz and explore the results page
On the mobile app: Join a forum for an upcoming Wellcome Library event
We employed the think-aloud protocol, encouraging participants to vocalize their thoughts and reactions as they navigated through the prototypes.
Touchscreen Kiosk
Strengths:
The 7-question quiz length was well-received
Users found the concept of an interactive kiosk in a library setting unique and engaging
Participants were excited to see their assigned character and personalized recommendations
The minimalist design and intuitive user flow were praised for ease of use
The 7-question quiz length was well-received
Users found the concept of an interactive kiosk in a library setting unique and engaging
Participants were excited to see their assigned character and personalized recommendations
The minimalist design and intuitive user flow were praised for ease of use
Areas for Improvement:
Users might not want to spend too much time standing in front of the kiosk to view the results page so would just scroll quickly then leave
Users might prefer to quickly finish the quiz and download the app as the participant wouldn’t like if people around saw her recommendations
Users might not want to spend too much time standing in front of the kiosk to view the results page so would just scroll quickly then leave
Users might prefer to quickly finish the quiz and download the app as the participant wouldn’t like if people around saw her recommendations
Mobile App
Strengths:
Easy access to library event information was highly valued
The ability to save events for future reference was appreciated
Users loved the idea of connecting with others through event forums
Easy access to library event information was highly valued
The ability to save events for future reference was appreciated
Users loved the idea of connecting with others through event forums
Areas for Improvement:
Some users felt overwhelmed by the amount of information presented
Clarity was needed regarding event registration and forum participation
Questions arose about the longevity of forum discussions post-event
Some users felt overwhelmed by the amount of information presented
Clarity was needed regarding event registration and forum participation
Questions arose about the longevity of forum discussions post-event
Reflection and Conclusion
Reflection and Conclusion
The feedback from usability testing underscored the strengths of our interactive kiosk and mobile app while revealing areas for improvement. Participants appreciated the personalized recommendations but expressed concerns about privacy and time spent at the kiosk. This insight prompted us to implement features like QR codes for mobile quiz completion, ensuring users can engage comfortably.
Ultimately, CosmicQuest not only aligns with the Wellcome Library’s mission to inspire curiosity but also fosters a sense of community among visitors. As we move forward, we are excited to refine our designs further based on user feedback, ensuring that CosmicQuest continues to provide an engaging and meaningful experience for all who enter the library.
The feedback from usability testing underscored the strengths of our interactive kiosk and mobile app while revealing areas for improvement. Participants appreciated the personalized recommendations but expressed concerns about privacy and time spent at the kiosk. This insight prompted us to implement features like QR codes for mobile quiz completion, ensuring users can engage comfortably.
Ultimately, CosmicQuest not only aligns with the Wellcome Library’s mission to inspire curiosity but also fosters a sense of community among visitors. As we move forward, we are excited to refine our designs further based on user feedback, ensuring that CosmicQuest continues to provide an engaging and meaningful experience for all who enter the library.
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