Barbados Museum & Historical Society
A Virtual Museum of the Caribbean, Barbados.
What i did
User Research
User Experience Design
User Interface Design
3D Modeling
Front-end development
highlights
UNESCO World Heritage Site
3D Modeling
Barbados Museum & Historical Society
Overview
Digital platforms offer new opportunities to enjoy and explore cultural and historical experiences. This became more pronounced during the Covid pandemic. Working with the Barbados Museum & Historical Society and the University of the West Indies I designed a Virtual Museum and created 3D immersive exhibits.
User Research & Ideation
The project began with intensive rounds of stakeholder interviews. I translated high-quality ideas into low-fidelity prototypes and higher-fidelity designs. I undertook a heuristic evaluation of the existing museum website. I created 3D models from scratch using Blender and textured them with visual programming algorithms.
Issues and ideas were recorded on digital post it notes and arranged according to the underlying themes and categories. I put myself into the shoes of end users to understand their goals in their experiences with the virtual museum. The insights gleamed from user research were analysed through affinity diagramming and the creation of user stories.
-min%20(1).png)
Wireframes & Design System
I created user flows for the existing virtual museum and the proposed redesign. This exercise reinforced my understanding that the arrangement of information architecture on the existing VM is somewhat chaotic. Too much content is arranged under the ambiguous ‘Galleries’ menu item. I proposed a more smooth and logical user experience by arranging the information architecture according to logical categories; museums, exhibits, stories.
I translated high-quality ideas into low-fidelity prototypes and higher-fidelity designs. I created wireframes ready for prototyping and testing with end users. I used the collaborative environment of Figma to share designs with clients in Barbados.
.png)
High-Fidelity Prototypes
A colour palette, typography and UI elements were created, ready for the next stage. Next I implemented the prototype using html/css/js. The Virtual Museum is an online website which allows visitors to explore 3D artifacts and exhibitions, including a 3D model of the Barbados museum, the Windrush ship and the London Notting Hill Carnival.
I created models of buildings in London, UK and Bridgetown, Barbados using reference photos, google street view and estimations. I applied textures to the 3d models using texture algorithms.
.png)
User Testing & Lessons Learned
My 3D exhibits were very well-received by users in feedback sessions and has been visited by thousands of people in the Caribbean and UK. I received an ‘MSc with Distinction’.
.png)