Using Participatory Design Techniques to Understand Audience Experience within an Art Museum Context

Abstract

Art museums have difficulty attracting a young adult audience. We contend they can not only attract but also sustain this group by understanding the relationship between type and quality of experience, engagement, empowerment and motivation. Insights into this relationship can be gained by involving visitors in the creation of their experience. Our study tackles the design problem through the lens of participatory design. We used its principles and practices as a framework within which experience design and interaction design tools and techniques were employed to discover what our target audience values and embodies both inside and outside of the art museum context.