MUUSE

(UI, research)


  • → Winter 2025
  • → Figma
  • → App and Website
  • Team: Angel Durkee (App Development and Research), Lily Lewis (App Development and Research), and Sofia Choi (App Development, Web Development, and Research)

Design for Muuse, a digital research and curation tool drawing from museum archives. The platform aims to provide equitable access to archival materials, using trusted institutions to encourage education and creative cultivation.

The Problem

Muuse: the Solution

Screens

The mobile platform allows users to search for pieces and create "collections", personally curated spaces for inspiration and research made entirely of resources uploaded to the platform by museums. Users can view and save each others collections.

Using familiar social media patterns, like personalized feeds, allows users to quickly adapt to the interface and begin connecting with other users. Users are encouraged to interact with each other's collections through comments and messages, fostering knowledge-centered communities.

All pieces uploaded to the platform are accompanied by detailed descriptions, providing important information that situates them within greater contexts. Details like copyright restrictions inform users of their ability to use the work in their own research or creative endeavors.

The platform offers both a web and mobile app option. The website allows museums to securely sign-in and upload their own materials.

Once curators log into the website, they are met with a page of analytics and user information. This allows them to boost information most relevant to their viewers, or to highlight stories not getting enough attention.

Like users, institutions can also create collections out of their own uploaded materials, functioning as digital exhibits. Placards can be added to collections that act as informational context, providing commentary that links disparate pieces together. Collections can be used to boost the work of marginalized contributors within a museum's archives. Museum collections are verified to distinguish them from user collections.

Design System

Research

In additon to competitive analysis, we conducted qualitative survey's with five participants regarding their experiences with museums, accessibility, and representation.

Based on our research findings, we crafted personas representing our target audience.

Finally, we synthesized our research into three important takeaways.

Wireframes

Hi-Fi Frames