State-of-the-art analysis: Moderna Museet's mobile application

I have chosen to write my state-of-the-art analysis about Moderna Museet’s mobile application ”Moderna Museet audioguide”. It aims to complement one’s visit to Moderna Museet with information about the works on display, primarily through pre-recorded audio tracks.

Its description text in the App Store indicates that its main use is learning about the art at one’s own pace. The audio tracks contain commentary about the paintings and sculptures and tries to put them in an art historical context.

The application differs from our own project in that the target group appears to be mainly adults. The fact that there is audio rather than text suggests that the focus is on lone visitors who are not visiting with friends or family. They are however conceptually similar in that the goal is to complement, rather than compete with, the art that is on display. The application alters the experience for the user, but does not interfere with visitors using the museum in a more traditional way.

Moderna Museet’s solution is working well technically and the application is intuitive and easy to use. On the first screen you are presented with the choice of which exhibition to show.

Once you have chosen an exhibition you are presented with a list of the different painting and scultures, complete with the numbering system used physically in the museum itself.

When you choose something from the list, you are presented with a larger picture as well as an audio track that you can listen to. This part of the interface is working fairly well but is not particularily innovative. One could imagine being able to view a map which indicates your current position and the position of different works of art, and the need to choose which exhibition you are currently at could be removed with the use of locational technology (bluetooth transmitters or similar, such as iBeacons).

There also is not much in the way of additional information. Supplementing the audio tracks with a transcription could allow the app to be used by visitors who are not alone and remove the need to wear head phones (which disconnects you from the group).

It is not stated who the application is meant for but it appears that they have lone visitors in mind. I believe that these are also the kinds of people who might be using the application. However, it seems to me that the solution disconnects the user from the physical world to too much of a an extent for it to be as widely used as it has the potential to be. While visiting museum is not seen as an activity in which you actively interact with strangers, wearing headphones makes one appear unsociable. A digital solution for museums needs to be more integrated and less of a separate thing for me to think that it could be successful.