Predator Project: Emotional Design using AR in the
Shark Exhibit of Georgia Aquarium
Overview
Problem Statement: How might we create an emotionally transformative experience for the visitors to help change their perception toward sharks from fear to fascination to conservation and celebration?
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Timeframe: August-December 2019
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Solution: An AR (Augmented Reality) based storytelling
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Teammates: Candice Butts, Yash Lara, Gurudutt Perichetla, Yangyi Xu
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My Role: UX Researcher
Process
Generative Research
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Competitive Analysis
Observation
Survey
Contextual Interviews
Elicitation Methods
Synthesis
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Affinity Mapping
Content Analysis
User Personas
Empathy Maps
Storyboarding
Jobs-to-be-done
Design
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Ideation
Sketches
Wireframes
Low-fi Prototypes
High-fi Prototypes
Interactive Prototypes
AR Models
Evaluative Research and Iterations
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Expert-based Testing
User-based Testing
My Contribution
Generative Research: Devised Research plan and timeline, literature review, recruitment of participants, designing of survey plot and interview questions, conducted observations, conducted three interviews, and elicitations.
Synthesis: Analyses through affinity mapping and content analysis. Helped brainstorm and create personas, storyboards, journey maps, empathy maps, etc. Carried out jobs-to-be-done analysis.
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Design: Drew design implications from the research findings, participated in brainstorming and ideation.
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Evaluative Research and Iterations: Conducted expert-based and user-based think-aloud sessions and drew design insights for further iterations.
Background
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The Georgia Aquarium hosts thousands of guests daily. Current exhibits allow for multiple levels and modes of interaction for education and entertainment.
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In Fall 2020, Georgia Aquarium will open a new Shark Exhibit titled 'Predator', sharks will arrive from a variety of sources.
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The greatest points of patron interest appear to center of interactive and physical interactions (games, touchscreens, sensory perceptions), playful animals, and monumental displays.
Problem Space
The overarching goal of the Predator Project was to create a space that is both educational and enjoyable, which in turn is aimed at changing the perception of the visitors toward sharks. This goal includes enabling the visitors to overcome any fear of sharks they may have, instilling fascination and curiosity toward sharks, spreading the message of conservation, and finally rendering a celebratory experience.
Framework
To make the project completely visitor-centered, we used the Contextual Model of Learning framework that highlights three primary, interacting yet distinct contexts that guide the whole process of visiting a museum. This framework shaped our research plan and design insights.
Generative Research and Synthesis
Generative Research
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Competitive Analysis
Observation
Survey
Contextual Interviews
Elicitation Methods
Synthesis
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Affinity Mapping
Content Analysis
User Personas
Empathy Maps
Storyboarding
Jobs-to-be-done
Design
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Ideation
Sketches
Wireframes
Low-fi Prototypes
High-fi Prototypes
Interactive Prototypes
AR Models
Evaluative Research and Iterations
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Expert-based Testing
User-based Testing
Competitive Analysis
Rationale:
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Competitive analysis was carried out to better understand the technological and budgetary constraints in the implementation of interactive technologies. This method helped us gather information on how interfaces for education, entertainment, and other purposes work in different museums and how immersive experiences are designed.
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The following cases were used:
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Robert C. Williams Paper Museum, Atlanta
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High Museum of Art, Atlanta
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Aquarium of the Bay, San Francisco
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Sunshine Aquarium, Tokyo
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Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco
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Royal Ontario Museum, Singapore
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British Museum, London
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Design Insights:
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Visitors are more engaged when artifacts allow some form of interaction.
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Dwell time on educational information is more in well-lit areas as opposed to dim or cinematic lighting.
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Children find it more engaging when exhibits have some moving components as opposed to static artifacts.
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The anthropomorphization of everyday objects and animals helps increase user interest.
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Kiosks and screens placed at the corners of the rooms are usually ignored or missed by the visitors.
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Educational media involving chunking of information and less use of jargon help increase visitor engagement.
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Observation
Rationale:
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Unstructured, naturalistic observations were carried out to understand how dwell time and engagement were affected by the different aspects of an exhibit. This method helped us zero in on the in-context behavior of the participants with no interruption of their experience in the aquarium.
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Framework:
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Robinson's (1993) framework was used and we attempted to target each of the following aspects: Space, Actors, Activities, Objects, Acts, Events, Goals, and Feelings.
Analysis:
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We did the analysis through affinity mapping. The yellow stickies show our observation notes. The pink stickies show actionable items after grouping similar stickies together and the other green stickies show a further higher level of grouping. After grouping the stickies, we had a ‘Walk the Wall’ session where we came up with design insights after carefully analyzing each group. Affinity Mapping of our observations helped us distill several themes that we arranged based on the visitor groups as well as some common categories.
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Design Insights:
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There are different ways of enjoying the visit to the aquarium depending on underlying motivations. For example, some visitors are only interested in relaxing or passively enjoying the view with others as opposed to wanting to get involved in any interactions.
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Some visitors only want to see live animals and are not interested in reading information and/or interacting with technologies in the exhibits.
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Most adults are interested in capturing their experience either through videography or photography.
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The elderly are most interested in education and learning about the animals, primarily through reading.
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Kids are most interested in exhibits that involved some gaming elements.
On-site Surveys
Rationale:
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On-site surveys were conducted to get a surface understanding of the context, visitors' motivations, expectations, experiences, perceptions, etc., in a small amount of time.
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Sample:
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27 responses were collected, which included responses from visitors from different demographics and socio-cultural backgrounds.
Analysis:
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Design Insights:
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Most participants report visiting the aquarium primarily for relaxation and entertainment.
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Most visitors find the current display of educational information in the different exhibits of the museum to be effective.
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The two most common ways people engage with the aquarium are through reading signboards to learn about the animals and interacting with the animals.
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Some visitors have a generally negative attitude toward keeping animals in captivity.
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Some visitors believe visiting the aquarium helped them feel closer to nature and themselves.
Semi-structured Interviews
Rationale:
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To gain an in-depth understanding of the visitors' underlying motivations behind their visits and their preferences, beliefs, and attitudes toward the different aspects of the exhibits, educational technology, and their perception toward sharks.
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Sample:
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Five interviews were conducted- three contextual and two non-contextual. Each interview lasted for about 40-45 min.
Analysis:
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Design Insights:
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Some visitors go to the aquarium for educational experience while others like to spend time with their loved ones.
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Sometimes visitors are only interested in learning about some specific facts about the animals and have a hard time finding such information.
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The visitors want easy access to the scheduled event information.
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Different visitors prefer different ways of learning. For example, while some prefer reading, others like talking to the staff or hearing voiceovers or playing games, etc.
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Different visitors enjoy different kinds of interactions within the aquarium and in other museums. While some visitors just want to take photos, others prefer going for shows like the dolphin show, the puppet show, interacting with the employees, interacting with the technology, boards, and other signages, etc.
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Some participants are interested in the idea of using AR technology in the aquarium and believed that it would make their visit more engaging.
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Not all interviewees had an interest in learning about animals and go to the museums and other places just for the experience. For example, while some interviewees are more interested in what all educational material is there at the museum, others are only concerned about how exciting the visit can be.
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Visitors, who express their interest in learning about the fish, animals, and other artifacts in any museum they go to, also express how important the display of information was.
Elicitation Methods
Rationale:
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To gauge the visitors' visceral reactions toward viewing sharks.​
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Sample:
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14 individuals from different age groups (5-55 years old) were recruited.
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Procedure:
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These methods involved two parts:
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1. Showing pictures of sharks to the participants and eliciting their thoughts and feelings about those pictures. It was made sure that the pictures were of a neutral valence.
2. Asking the participants to draw a shark and write five words that come to their mind when they hear the word shark.
Analysis:
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Design Insights:
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Kids have a more positive perception toward sharks than adults, probably because of the part played by media in transferring narratives attached to sharks, e.g. child-friendly entertainment and educational sources.
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For photos that show some interaction of humans with the sharks, the perceptions were more positive than negative.
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Most of the words and drawings pointed toward a more negative perception toward sharks than positive. For example, heavy emphasis on sharp teeth, words such as danger, fear, etc.
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Storytelling
Personas
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Empathy Maps
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Storyboards
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Jobs-to-done Analysis
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To better understand the visitor's relationship dynamics while carrying out specific activities in the aquarium, a jobs-to-be-done analysis was carried out. Two examples have been presented below.
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Design
Generative Research
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Competitive Analysis
Observation
Survey
Contextual Interviews
Elicitation Methods
Synthesis
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Affinity Mapping
Content Analysis
User Personas
Empathy Maps
Storyboarding
Jobs-to-be-done
Design
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Ideation
Sketches
Wireframes
Low-fi Prototypes
High-fi Prototypes
Interactive Prototypes
AR Models
Evaluative Research and Iterations
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Expert-based Testing
User-based Testing
Divergent Design Ideas
Informed brainstorming Four divergent designs
Initial Feedback Session
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To seek feedback on the different elements of all of the divergent designs, we came up with a hybrid design and carried out a prototypic walkthrough.
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Designed a Wizard of Oz Shark exhibit with artifacts and audiovisual effects
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8 participants were divided into 2 groups, and each group was followed by a moderator and note-taker.
Insights from the Prototypic Walkthrough
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Integration of the AR experiences and the aquarium experience to avoid confusion regarding what to focus on: the AR experience or the shark.
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Focus on infographics and content strategy and accessibility in language
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A guided experience that will allow visitors to continue their story at the checkpoints without running the risk of missing parts of the story.
Final Design
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A video of the final AR design can be found here.
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The final design included three main broad components:
Shark Assistant
The journey will begin with the visitor identifying a shark assistant for guiding their experience.
This will help anthropomorphize the sharks.
Fish Finder
This feature will enable visitors to identify sharks and learn more about them and this way of presenting education information will not supplant but supplement their experience
Gamification and Storytelling
Since gamification and storytelling were found to be two crucial elements of the AR experience, this component will help make the whole experience immersive and memorable.
Evaluative Research and Iterations
Generative Research
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Competitive Analysis
Observation
Survey
Contextual Interviews
Elicitation Methods
Synthesis
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Affinity Mapping
Content Analysis
User Personas
Empathy Maps
Storyboarding
Jobs-to-be-done
Design
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Ideation
Sketches
Wireframes
Low-fi Prototypes
High-fi Prototypes
Interactive Prototypes
AR Models
Evaluative Research and Iterations
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Expert-based Testing
User-based Testing
Expert-based Testing
Details
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Think-aloud sessions with three stakeholders, wherein they were required to freely use the different elements of the design and express their thoughts and feelings aloud.
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Unstructured interviews to assess the overall usability of the design and gather general feedback on the design. Specifically, we wanted to know if the design met the Aquarium’s goals of educating guests through emerging technologies while immersing them in the Predator experience.
Design Insights
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Social engagement and shared experience important for a collaborative visit.
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Some ways for visitors to continue the experience after leaving the Aquarium.
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Deeper levels of accessibility important to cater to the needs of different visitors.
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Keeping the AR elements seamless to maintain focus on the tank and avoiding breaking the illusion.
User-based Testing
Details
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Task-based think-aloud sessions. The users were asked to engage with all aspects of the prototype.
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Three major goals:
1. Determine whether our three proposals of interaction were engaging
2. If the three proposals were easily understood
3. Discover blind spots where our prototype did not meet participants’ expectations. 
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Moderator based ratings on the participant’s level of success in completing each proposed task.
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The individual tasks were not explicitly stated for the participants, but their interactions were steered in the desired direction by the moderators through questions and suggestions.
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At the end of the tests, participants were asked to provide any additional feedback and asked to choose five words that described their experience with the prototype.
Design Insights
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Fuller clarity of each icon and its purpose is needed.
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Need to make the photo/video capturing feature clearer.
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Participants were aware the game is based on conservation, but what was required of them and what they should expect from the experience was unclear.
Future Directions
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The design will include some ways to enhance social engagement between users so they can co-experience the exhibit and collaborate.
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The design will include some way for the visitors to carry the experience home (e.g. digital postcards).
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Visitors takeaways should be easy to store and transfer functions of capturing and video recording should be easy to understand.
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The gaming element can be made more complex.
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While storytelling is important, the visitors should be able to exit the exhibit according to their convenience with minimal loss of experience.