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Getty guide kiosks
Museum information systemThe 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 aims to encourage meaningful interactions with its collections, as well as with the architecture and gardens of the Getty Center.
With this objective in mind, the Getty contacted Cooper as the organization 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 the user experience was less than compelling and suffered from severe usability problems.
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New perspectives
After an intense period of interviewing and observing Getty visitors, the Cooper and Getty teams worked together to consider user behaviors and attitudes as they reimagined how kiosks, handheld devices, and the Getty Web site could work together to bring the art to life for museum visitors.
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New experiences
The resulting kiosks provide many ways for visitors to learn about the collection, from straightforward categories to more associative methods of browsing. The kiosks also provide 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 otherwise be missed.
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Location sensitivity, wide access
Each Getty Guide kiosk promotes information relevant to its location in the museum, providing a strong connection to nearby works of art and architectural features.
Also, 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.
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Client success
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."
