Conceptualising the Visitor Experience
Every AR project begins with defining a clear purpose for the experience. This could be as broad as increasing engagement or as specific as explaining a challenging art technique or historical context. Curators and exhibition designers usually collaborate to pinpoint which stories need to be told, what content is worth expanding, and what format would best deliver that information. Key questions include:
What extra value will AR bring to this exhibit?
What stories or details does the space, signage, or traditional labels leave untold?
Who is the target audience, and how will AR suit their needs?
For instance, an AR-enhanced exhibit on Impressionist paintings might focus on animated depictions of the artistic process, while a history exhibition might use AR to reveal layered narratives or hidden artefacts.
Designing Content that Complements, Not Distracts
A successful AR experience should enhance the physical exhibition, not overshadow it. The content design phase is crucial to ensure that digital elements blend seamlessly with the artworks. Curators work alongside AR designers to map out what visitors will see, hear, or interact with when they activate the AR. Often, this includes:
Creating animated overlays that illustrate changes over time, such as the fading of colours or the addition of conservation work.
Audio narrations that give artists or historical figures a voice, guiding visitors through key aspects of the artwork.
3D models of historical settings, tools, or landscapes that provide context.
For example, a museum showing partly damaged objects may add reconstructions of the original object in 3D overlaid onto the parts of the damaged object that still exist, giving visitors a full experience of the original object.
Content Development and Testing
With a clear concept and content plan in place, the museum’s curatorial team hands the project to the technical development team, typically AR developers and multimedia designers. This team brings the experience to life by creating the interactive elements, often using tools like Unity to render 3D animations, visuals, and audio. At ARHistory we love 8th wall, an online AR tool developed by Niantic to create web based AR experiences specifically.
Testing is a major part of this phase. Developers ensure that the content functions seamlessly across devices, such as smartphones or tablets, by conducting user tests to catch any technical glitches or UX issues. During testing, developers consider ease of navigation, user engagement, and any potential distractions that might affect how visitors engage with the actual artworks. This is also a great time to begin integrating venue branding into the design such as colour schemes, fonts and logos to ensure the AR experience is always on brand and consistent with other experiences.
The AR experience must be accessible and intuitive, with a user interface (UI) that suits a wide range of visitors. Designers ensure the controls are simple, and font sizes or visual contrasts are adjustable for accessibility. This might include adding screen-reading options for visually impaired visitors or subtitles for audio content. Language options are also an essential part of many AR experiences in multicultural museums, enabling a wider range of visitors to engage with the content.
Launching and Continuous Improvement
Once the experience is ready, the AR project goes live, becoming part of the museum’s exhibit. But the journey doesn’t end there. Gathering feedback from visitors to identify ways to improve the AR interaction is essential. Curators, developers, and designers can review this feedback to refine the experience, perhaps by adding more content layers or fine-tuning the UI to be more intuitive.
A well-designed AR experience can be updated relatively easily, allowing museums to keep their content fresh. Curators might decide to add seasonal or thematic elements, like updates for special exhibitions or temporary installations, without needing to overhaul the exhibit.
Bringing Art and History to Life in a Digital Age
Creating an AR experience in a museum requires a harmonious blend of technical skill, curatorial insight, and artistic sensitivity. From conception to launch, each stage focuses on one goal: enhancing the visitor’s connection to the artwork or artefact. As AR technology advances, the opportunities for museums to innovate are bound to grow, offering visitors increasingly interactive, personalised, and enriching experiences.
The future of museums isn’t about replacing traditional exhibitions with digital screens but about adding a new layer of engagement that deepens the cultural and historical resonance of each piece.