ArtiPulse

Overview

Technology and social media have changed Millennials’ way of communication and entertainment (Millennials and Technology at Home, 2022). Art and art-related activities can not compete with other digital entertainments (The Economist Newspaper, 2021). Therefore, how does technology have the potential to increase people’s motivation and interest in art participation? And how does a mobile application improve people’s personal relevance, interest, and motivation to visit art events and exhibitions? In this design project, I will propose a possible solution for creating a mobile application that uses NFT and AI technology to encourage people to participate in art-related activities and appreciate artworks.

Duration
4 weeks

Team
Sole Project (Passion Project)

My Role
I took the entire part from User Research, User Experience, and Visual Design.

Tool
Figma

How can we design a personally relevant app for millennials that can increase their motivation and interest in art participation?

Mission

Design an advanced mobile application empowered with leading technology to improve people’s personal relevance, interest, and motivation to visit arts and museums

Background Literature Review

 Non-Fungible Token (NFT): Definition, history, Opportunities, and Challenges

The idea of NFT comes from an Ethereum token standard that aims to distinguish each token with unique signs (Wang et al., 2021). According to Defiance ETFs (2022), NFT is different from classical cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin because a standard coin like Bitcoin is equivalent and indistinguishable.

Summary of the Characteristics of NFT:

  • Unique: Each token has a unique identifier that is linked to a public address

  • Ownership: Each token’s ownership and its information are easy to verify. If a person gains an NFT, the ownership of the unique token is transferred to their wallet within their public address. The token proves that their digital file copy is the original, and the private key is proof. The public key is used to track the creator’s information

  • Decentralization: NFT can be transferred and exchanged through smart contracts on blockchain safely without the interface of the central platform

Opportunities of NFT:

  • Gaming industry: Increasing gaming industry: the value of collecting limited editions and providing ownership of digital assets (Choi & Choi, 2022)

  • Virtual events: Promoting Virtual Events: smart contracts provide transparent ticket trading environments (Chohan & Paschen, 2021)

  • Digital collectibles: Keeping Digital Collectibles Safe: Advertise artworks and manage and keep digital assets safe (Wang et al., 2021)

  • Inspiring the Metaverse: A virtual shared place that combines Augmented Reality (AR) and the Internet (Opportunities in the metaverse, 2022)

Challenges of NFT Application:

  • Usability Challenges: Wang & Li (2022) mention usability challenges include slow confirmation of the existing blockchain system and high gas fees

  • Governance Perspective: NFT transactions might cause policy and legal issues worldwide. Some countries like India and China restrict NFT sales and cryptocurrencies (Kharpal, 2022)

  • Security Issues: NFT data might be inaccessible because users lose or damage the original file; if an NFT turns into a wrong file address, the user is able to prove that they own the NFT (“The status quo,” 2021)

  • Extensibility Concerns: This type of concern includes how different NFT ecosystems can combine and be co-responsible with each other; currently, every NFT ecosystem is separated from each other (Wang et al., 2021)

The Relationship Between Design, Technology, and Communication-Interaction Technology

The design has been used to test and understand the designer’s hypothesis about how things work (Béguin, 2003; Fitch, 2004). There are differences between the natural and built environment. The new type of computer-mediated communication’s settings and formats differ from the natural environment's conversation (Fitch, 2004)

Gamification of Art and Education

Games as a learning tool can improve people’s motivation and engagement; games use serious mechanisms to motivate people and improve skills like collaboration, problem-solving, and communication (Dicheva et al., 2015; Dixon, 2011). 

Game Principles In The Education Field. Game design principles often used in the educational field include visual status, social engagement, rapid feedback, and freedom of choice and failure (Erickson et al., 2020). Social engagement is essential to guide learning activities such as individual and team competitions (Dicheva et al., 2015). 

Popular Game Mechanics. Dicheva et al. (2015) state that badges, points, and leaderboards are the most popular game mechanics. Hakulinen et al. ( 2015) also share the same idea that badges motivate students to learn. Badges are given for various achievements, such as challenge and participation achievement for time management, learning, and carefulness (Hakulinen et al., 2015). Badges aim to affect student grading and trigger competitive motivation (Dicheva et al., 2015).

Game mechanisms’ work distribution

How blockchain-based transaction works

The Use of AI Technology in the Educational Field

AI technology can be used to customize adaptive learning processes in higher education. According to Messemer & Niebling (2020) and Lu & Harris (2018),

The benefits of AI in education include:

  • Personalizing learning material

  • Tutoring and supporting individuals with special needs

  • Testing and accommodating students’ learning analytics by chatbot features

  • Generating test questions and analyzing knowledge dynamics like giving feedback and suggestions to students

  • Helping for teaching foreign languages

Learning Theory: AI Computer-based Learning Environments. Computer-based learning environments lead learners to an authentic learning process (Lawler & Yazdani, 1987).

To understand this question, I conducted a literature review to research and analyze the existing technology and study cases to support my understanding of the learning problem. Below are the key take aways.

Case Studying

Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go is a widespread mobile game that motivates people to do physical activities outside (Broom et al., 2019). Physical inactivity is the world's fourth leading cause of death (Huber & Shilton, 2020). The goal of Pokémon Go is to capture Pokémon characters by walking around a city and using phone cameras to catch, trade, train, and battle them (Wagner, 2016). It uses gamification to get people’s attention and participation to increase walking (LeBlanc & Chaput, 2017). Many players find the characters with friends or engage with other players. It helps increase people who are not motivated by sports or gym to exercise (LeBlanc & Chaput, 2017). To keep attracting users, Pokémon Go also adds special equipment, additional characters, and unique holiday events (LeBlanc & Chaput, 2017). 

The Uses of Gratification Theory. The uses and gratification theory (U&T) talks about the fundamental question of why people use specific media (Rauschnabel et al., 2017). It described it as the relationship shaped between media and its users; users are goal-oriented and use media to satisfy particular needs (Turney, n.d.).  

Although people have various needs depending on their characteristics, they can be categorized into five kinds

1) cognitive needs, as to gather information to gain an understanding of an issue (e.g., TV news)

2) integrative social needs, which can help people to gain or maintain relationships (e.g., social media)

3) tension-release needs, as to escape or separate from daily life (e.g., play games, watch movies)

4) effective needs that include pleasure, moods, and emotions

5) personal integrative needs to build their social status or gain credibility (e.g., using social media to present an image as rich and successful)  (Rauschnabel et al., 2017)

Introduction and the use of gratification theory

Outstanding Features in Pokémon Go: Geographic Effect, Augmented Reality (AR), and Social Components

Geographic effect. Colley et al. (2017) mention that Pokémon Go encourages people to visit new locations; the game reinforces existing sites and utilizes urban areas and neighborhoods. It is a successful example of geographic-based games.

Augmented Reality (AR). The use of AR is also a successful feature of the game. It helps the game to create an engrossing and interactive gaming experience (Dorward et al., 2016).

Social components. The social norm of Pokémon Go lets users believe that other people expect them to come to the game (Rauschnabel et al., 2017).

Qualitative Research

Survey - 55 participants

To get information and closer insights from potential user groups, I sent the survey via Wechat and slack. I want to know more about what people do when they have spare time; how they are interested in participating in art activities; what degree the technology and digital experience they are interested in; and what kind of items can be a trigger or motivation for them to go to a museum. 

I sent out surveys via Wechat and slack and received 55 valid responses. Most participants are Columbia University students.

Key insights from the survey

  • From the result, most participants chose social media, hanging out with friends, sports for fun, and fewer people spend their time on art activities

  • Participants spend more than 3 hours per day on digital entertainment

  • Most people have a relatively higher experience and expectation of AR/VR experience, but there is still space for improvement

  • Most participants claim they like museums and art exhibitions as they enjoy art, learn new things, and think this is a good place to hang out with friends, although many claims they do not have enough motivation to go

  • People do not go to museums so often. Most people mostly went to museums once per month or per three months

  • Most participants claim that they want to try a digital art and museum app

  • People’s interest levels increase if adding they AR elements to the game. AR elements improve people’s curiosity

  • Most people wish for a Museum discount ticket and tradable art NFT as a reward, as it might have an opportunity to increase people’s interest in the game and motivation to go to an exhibition

Empathy Map

Thinking from users’ perspective, the empathy map below shows what users might see, say, hear, think and feel about the issues of lack of motivation to participate in art-related activities from previous surveys and research. Notably, one pattern I found in the empathy map is that instead of having zero interest in art and visiting museums, many people from the survey claimed that they are interested in art, but do not have enough trigger or motivation to participate in it.

Requirements for a Design Solution

Based on the literature review and user research, I created a table below showing the research and literature findings and conclusions and finalized seven design requirements or principles for posing the design solution in the following chapter.

Proposed Solution

Based on the discussion in the previous section, the solution proposed in this project is ArtiPulse, a mobile application using NFT and AI technology to increase people’s motivation to participate in art-related activities and attend contemporary art exhibitions.

From previous research, Millennials live in an era with technology, the internet, and social media. They spend most of their entertainment on social media and love the digital experience (Millennials and Technology at Home, 2022). Most people go to museums once a month or once in three months from the questionnaire. They think of a movie or digital entertainment than participating in an art activity.  Physical inactivity is another reason they do not want to visit a museum. Many people only go there once a year, while New York has more than 1000 galleries and art installations  (i.e., Figures below) in Brooklyn, Queens, Chelsea, Midtown, Upper and lower Manhattan (Halle & Weaver, 2022). Many Millennials claim they have some interest in art but do not have enough motivation and triggers to go or participate in an art activity. Attending art events is beneficial for people to relax, do physical activity, have entertainment, train critical thinking ability and conduct social engagement. 

The gamified and digital experience, social components, use of the geographic effect, gratification theory, positive competitions, badges and NFT collecting and achievement experience, AI support search and questioning-answering feature, improve people’s motivation in participating in art-related activities and learn more about the history, background knowledge, and how to appreciate artworks. 

This project will be a mobile application that helps people participate in art-related activities, socialize, walk through indoor and outdoor art exhibitions, learn basic art knowledge, and collect NFT pieces into many NFT collections. The design aims to blind online and in-person experience to motivate people to appreciate art and attend meaningful art museums. 

App’s user flow

Wireframes

Finalized Design

Home

Geographic Effect: Use geographic effect to encourage people to visit a new place

The application of the geographic effect also motivates people to visit a new place. In this mobile game, the main interface is a map that marks all the remarkable indoor and outdoor events and exhibitions near a user. People can easily find the exhibition they want to visit or new NFT art editions for users to collect to encourage people to explore art events and exhibitions more often. 

Blending physical and online experience: engrossing and Interactive game experience: to connect the real and virtual world to increase people’s attention to visit new places

Scan

Blending physical and online experience as the scan, map, collecting NFT art edition features help people create an interactive and engrossing game experience and link the real world with a virtual community to increase people’s attention to visiting new exhibitions. The scan feature is compatible with AR-ready features (Rauschnabel et al., 2017). The information and people’s comments and discussion of the artwork will show on the screen once a user uses a camera to scan the artwork. People have opportunities to collect digital NFT art editions by visiting and scanning the physical paintings.

Scan to get new knowledge

Knowing new knowledge and information triggers people to visit a place and use an application. When users use the app to scan the art pieces, the background information and story of the artwork will pop up on the screen. AI systems also provide great opportunities for people to learn new knowledge and solve the questions and problems that they have about art projects. The on-trend art exhibitions and topics will be delivered to the application users as the in-app banners and chatbox functions.

Gain New knowledge: Pay attention to users' cognitive needs as gaining or knowing information attracts people's attention

Forum

The social shareable forum feature follows the social components design principle to provide users opportunities to socialize, share and facilitate digital comments to increase people’s attention to art and museums. People can leave comments, likes and share their posts or thoughts about the artwork with other people in this mobile application.

Social components: Providing opportunities to socialize, share, and facilitate digital communication

Pop up quiz

The use of the competition mechanism also helps increase people’s interest in the application and artworks. The scan of a painting and posting a comment might trigger the competition system, which is a multiple-answer question relating to this artwork at a particular time. 

Gamified Experience: Create gamified experiences and mechanisms to shape users’ behavior, including 1) badges; 2) friendly competition

Account display/NFT passport/badges and tasks

The extra reward helps attract people's attention and promote artworks. The user will get badges and limited NFT art editions by screening the art pieces,  making comments, answering questions, and interacting with other people in various museums. A collection of the badges will be redeemed as a digital museum discount ticket. 

All the badges and artwork editions will be displayed in the NFT passport section and can be freely exchanged and transferred safely through blockchain-based smart contracts (Wang et al., 2021).

Extra Reward: Attracts more participants to the game, and the need to promote artwork safely

AI voice support

The AI feature of the application allows users to search the updated information about art events and exciting art collections based on users' needs and answer the questions they might have encountered before, during, and after the art event visit. The AI feature will also send personalized recommendations on the event and exhibitions to the users based on their preferences and interests. It will also translate any text (e.g., background information, comments, and replies) in the app and a museum to players’ pre-sitting languages. 

Personalized gaming and learning experiences: To assist people to play and learn new knowledge

Design System

Next Steps

My initial idea is to create a way to let more people focus and participate in the art-related experience. I see the opportunity from this application, and I hope I can further develop it and use it to increase people’s interest and motivation for art one day.

I learned to conduct deep research and test and understand the hypothesis through a design to improve or change people’s motivations or specific behavior.

The current design also has its own limitations. The use of the AI feature, involvement of the AR-powered scanning feature, the forum feature, and how to transfer artwork to NFT need further development. Furthermore, current NFTs on markets are based on different NFT ecosystems (Wang et al., 2021). The exchange and transition system of NFT needs to be further researched and developed. More user testing and implications are needed to develop this application.