The “Museum of Old and New Art” (MONA) is located in Hobart, Tasmania, and has a companion app for attendees. This app is either downloaded by museum-goers before arriving (links to the app are provided on the online ticket confirmation emails), or handed to them on a loaner smartphone when they arrive. It is the only way to read information about the works hanging in the museum.
The good bits:
- The app requests location permission with a clear, dedicated preface, before popping up the location permission dialog. Even though it’s asked as the first thing in the app, it’s given enough context to make sense.
- Once location permission is granted, the user is guided to a single intro screen with text that animates in. While waiting for animations to finish to access an interface is a non-starter in most consumer apps, this behavior fits the exploratory, artistic context of this app.
- A pulsing “O” with a “Try it now” label invites interaction when the animation finishes. Tapping it triggers a search for nearby art; if the user is at MONA, artwork begins populating on the main “Nearby” screen. If they are not yet there, it lets them know they to use this feature when at MONA.
- The MONA app reinforces the importance of using the “O” button via an inline cue at the bottom of the “Nearby” screen.
- The app also provides information after the user leaves the museum. The home screen evolves to guide the user to review information from their previous visits and viewed works.
To be improved:
- While the app’s guidance supports the during- and after-museum-visit states, it doesn’t handle the before-visit state well. If the user taps the “O” button but isn’t at MONA yet, it might be nice to let them preview some of the art they can expect. No maps, directories, or other preview information is provided via the app unless at the museum.
- The “You’re not on MONA Wi-Fi” hint occasionally persists even if the visitor is on MONA Wi-Fi. There is no way to dismiss it.
- As the user navigates around, full takeover reactive hints sometimes pop up to call out as-of-yet-unused parts of the interface. These are jarring for those going back and forth between pieces of art and the “Nearby” screen (although they can at least be dismissed by tapping anywhere). These may be more forgivable in the context of an immersive, quirky art museum app, however, but could be reconsidered.