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The mission of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is to make its extensive collection of artwork accessible and engaging to a broad audience. Not satisfied with appealing only to art-literate visitors, the Getty has always used multiple strategies to encourage meaningful interactions with its collections, as well as with the architecture and gardens of the Getty Center.
Each Getty Guide kiosk promotes information relevant to their location in the museum, providing a strong connection to nearby works of art and architectural features.
With this objective in mind, the Getty contacted Cooper as they began considering how a new generation of technology could enhance the visitor experience. The existing informational kiosks provided an incredible wealth of information about every work on display in the collection, but suffered from both usability and performance issues. The Getty team envisioned an expansive user experience and was prepared to overhaul the back-end systems to support it.
The Getty team asked Cooper to re-imagine the system from the perspective of museum visitors while continuing to encourage engagement with the collection. The hardware platform and robust existing content were the only specified components of the solution.
The kiosk provides different ways to experience the works in the collection. X-rays show visitors aspects of materials and technique that are invisible to the naked eye, and zoomed views illustrate details in works that may be otherwise missed.
After an intense period of interviewing and observing Getty visitors, the Cooper team made several discoveries that strongly influenced the solution:
- Visitors came to the Getty predominantly as a social activity.
- For many, a trip to the Getty was about the cafes, gardens and architecture in addition to the galleries.
- Visitors were most able to relate to the art when they could tie it to their personal experience.
- Many described the ideal experience as having a knowledgeable friend or family member as a guide.
- Visitors found their way around the museum in very different ways—some made a clear plan and stuck to it, while others wandered in a more haphazard manner.
- Most were interested in a computer-based source of information and were not aware that one existed at the Getty.
The kiosk provides several different ways for visitors to use its deep stores of knowledge, from straightforward indexes of the works in nearby galleries to more associative methods. Presented along the right side of each screen featuring a piece in the collection are thumbnails of art related by artist, style, period, or subject matter, tempting users to learn more.
Bookmarks encourage users to explore further at home through the Getty Web site.
To encourage continued exploration, the new system is integrated with the Getty Web site. Visitors can bookmark intriguing works of art at the museum kiosk, then access them from the comfort of their own homes. Users can also browse the Web site and bookmark pieces of interest, creating a de-facto tour to follow when they arrive at the museum.
The new design was intended to further the Getty's mission of engaging visitors with art, and it worked: visitors now use the kiosks for an average of 16 minutes at a time, when the old kiosks seldom held their attention for more than five. According to Ken Hamma, Executive Director, Digital Policy and Initiatives at the Getty Trust, the Getty Guide provides visitors with " …a consistent and persistent access environment that recognizes them as individuals and permits them to manage their interaction with the Getty and its collections over time and from anywhere they wish."
Don't take our word for it—find out for yourself how the Getty Guide brings this amazing museum and collections to life. Start your exploration at www.getty.edu, and be sure to stop by the Getty next time you're in LA.