Exploring Visitor Experience – Exciting new work with the National Museum of Ireland
Studio Notes | What We’ve Been Up To
Context Studio has been working with National Museum of Ireland (NMI), conducting research into visitor experience across all four national museum sites.
Our initial research sprint extended from August to November, including desk research, stakeholder workshops, the design and launch of a prototype digital feedback platform, and most excitingly, our team has been spending time actively engaging visitors in qualitative research on-site at each of the four museums.
The nature of this project called for a mixed-methods approach in order to capture both quantitative data and qualitative insight, and so we employed a variety of methodologies to achieve this.
The team carried out interviews on site with visitors as they entered and exited the museums, using tablets to capture both quantitative and qualitative data.
An online feedback survey was also designed and implemented, to be used for long-term capture and analysis of visitor experience data. Visitors are invited to complete these surveys via QR code displayed on site, and on visitor information leaflets distributed by staff.
Lastly, our ‘Visitor Experience Journals’ were very popular with participating visitors, who sketched further qualitative feedback in a way that encouraged deeper engagement, critical thinking, and creativity!
This initial sprint has already proven to be immensely rewarding, and in a short time we have uncovered several themes to inform the visitor experience transformation work of the National Museum.
Our findings have helped shine a light on the wider visitor journey, and the emotional impact museum content has on visitors. We’ve uncovered wayfinding and accessibility needs, and explored how brand perception and cultural identity can impact the experience of museum visitors.
As this first effort (and the year itself!) wraps up, we look forward to further exploration in the new year, informing visitor experience transformation with a people-centred, service design approach.
Stay tuned for further updates on this exciting new project, and why not take some time over the holidays to visit one of NMI’s four fantastic museums… you won’t be disappointed!
