VR museum

Team members: Yuke Fu, Yanling Hua, Su Li, Ziyin Peng, Viviana Rinaldi, Jintao Yu
Tools: WondaVR
Course: Interaction Design - MAMN25, Lund University

Project Overview

Developed as part of Lund University’s MAMN25 Interaction Design course, the VR Museum Experience revolutionizes art appreciation by providing users with an immersive, interactive, and multi-sensory journey. Our team of six designers created a virtual environment where users not only view paintings but can step inside them, transforming the traditional museum visit into an engaging experience.

The project was designed with a focus on user research and iterative testing, ensuring that the experience is intuitive and accessible. Through the use of VR technology, we aimed to enhance learning, cultural engagement, and make art appreciation more accessible, especially for remote or differently-abled users.

Key Features & Development Process

1. User-Centered Research Foundation

We conducted a comprehensive research phase to identify the needs and desires of potential users, which laid the foundation for the design.

• Quantitative Survey (100+ respondents):
  • 57% had prior VR museum experience but felt limited by common issues like queues and time constraints.
  • 72% of participants expressed strong interest in the ability to “walk into paintings” rather than just viewing them.
  • We identified key user segments, including art students, remote learners, and social visitors.
• Qualitative Insights:
  • Affinity Mapping revealed three priority areas:
    • Necessary: Historical context, intuitive navigation
    • Desirable: Multiplayer interaction, ambient music to set the tone
    • Unnecessary: Hyper-realistic museum replication (which was deemed less important)

2. Immersive Interaction Design

The project aimed to create a seamless and captivating experience. Key features were designed to make the interaction intuitive and engaging:

• Core Interactions:
  • Painting “portal” system: Users enter the artwork environments via a portal, becoming fully immersed in the paintings themselves.
  • Contextual Information Layering: Tappable information points were added throughout the experience to provide detailed context about the artwork and its history.
  • Dynamic Ambiance Control: Users can toggle period-accurate music and environmental cues to better immerse themselves in the painting’s time and place.
• Prototyping Evolution:
  • Initial prototypes were built using WondaVR, focusing on a single painting interaction.
  • The final version incorporated several new features:
    • Multiplayer Art Challenges: A drawing comparison game added an interactive and competitive element.
    • Environment Switching: Users could explore multiple gallery spaces, offering variety and exploration.
    • Enhanced UI with Help System: A lightbulb icon provides hints to guide users through the experience.

3. Accessibility Innovations

Our team prioritized inclusivity by ensuring the experience was accessible to a wide variety of users, including those with cognitive and physical disabilities.

• Cognitive Support:
  • Persistent instruction panels to assist users throughout the experience.
  • Consistent button mapping to reduce cognitive load and confusion (tested through heuristic evaluation).
  • Visual feedback for all active interactions, ensuring clarity and usability.
• Physical Considerations:
  • Simplified navigation to accommodate users with different levels of physical ability.
  • Reduced motion-intensive interactions to minimize discomfort, particularly for users with motion sensitivity.
  • Clear spatial orientation cues, ensuring users don’t get disoriented during their exploration.

Technical Implementation

• Platform: We used WondaVR for rapid prototyping and early-stage development.
• Interaction Flow: The navigation system was designed based on state-based interaction models, allowing easy progression through the virtual space.
• Visual Design: The interface was kept minimalist for clarity, and designs created in Figma were translated into VR.
• Testing: We conducted two rounds of usability studies (n=20) and evaluated the experience using the UEQ (User Experience Questionnaire).

Impact & Outcomes

• User Feedback:
  • The experience received an average satisfaction score of 4.2/5.
  • The most praised feature was the painting immersion, with users describing the ability to step into artworks as truly transformative.
  • However, feedback also pointed out the need for better multiplayer stability and more refined interaction designs for group use.
• Key Learnings:
  1. VR art experiences are most engaging when they offer “magic door” moments (i.e., stepping into a world inside the painting).
  2. Social features such as multiplayer modes significantly increase user engagement, with studies showing a 40% increase in interaction time.
  3. Progressive disclosure of art information works best, with key context provided gradually rather than all at once.

Future Directions

• Full VR headset support for a more immersive experience.
• Expanding the artwork library through collaborations with curators and art institutions.
• Developing educator-specific tools for classroom and educational uses.