Explore an Interactive Museum Exhibit
Design a shared exhibit kiosk that invites brief exploration, supports different abilities and languages, and resets cleanly for the next visitor.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Museum interactives compete with noise, queues, limited visit time, and varying reading levels. A visitor should discover something meaningful in under a minute while deeper layers remain available to people who stay longer.
User context
The city museum is presenting a 19th-century river map on a large touch display. Families, school groups, wheelchair users, and international visitors may approach from either side of the gallery.
Product problem
The exhibit needs an immediate invitation, accessible spatial exploration, and a graceful handoff between visitors without collecting personal information.
Objective
Create an attract state, guided first interaction, layered artifact exploration, and session reset for one map exhibit.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Understand what can be explored without reading instructions first
- Choose a language and accessible interaction mode
- Reveal one place's historic and present-day story
- End or time out the session without leaving another visitor's path visible
Screens and states
- Attract loop
- Accessible introduction
- Interactive map exploration
- Session close and reset
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
A family approaches the display and taps a gently animated river route
- 02
They choose English captions with audio off and begin a short guided comparison
- 03
A child selects the old ferry crossing and reveals an image, caption, and present-day location
- 04
They explore one related stop and choose finish
- 05
The exhibit returns to its attract state with no retained visitor choices
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Make the first meaningful interaction possible within ten seconds
- Support touch targets and content across reachable height ranges
- Provide captions, audio control, high contrast, language choice, and non-gesture alternatives
- Layer overview, object detail, and optional context without long text walls
- Reset after completion, inactivity, or staff command and restore default volume
Constraints
- The kiosk must work without network access during public hours
- The design cannot assume headphones or a quiet gallery
- Individual sessions should remain useful even when a queue forms
Reality check
States worth considering
Finish line
What to deliver
- Four kiosk screens showing an inviting start, accessible exploration, and automatic reset
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.
Oxygen & Source Sans Pro
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Oxygen & Source Sans Pro
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Theory to review
UX principles for this brief
Use these as decision lenses, then validate the design with the people and context in the brief.
