VanGo
Creating a more accessible way to experience NYC galleries from anywhere.
VanGo is a mobile app concept designed to bring the gallery-viewing experience to users who may not be able to visit NYC galleries in person. The app offers virtual walkthroughs, artwork information, ticket booking, and a favorites feature to create a more flexible and personalized museum experience.
Project Overview
Lead UX Researcher and Designer
Responsibilities included user research, wireframing, prototyping, and user testing.
Timeline: February–April 2023
My Role
Tools Used
Figma, paper wireframes, digital prototyping, usability testing
Research and Data Collection
Research began by mapping the journey of a New Yorker traveling from home to a gallery and identifying barriers along the way, including travel difficulty, scheduling conflicts, long ticket lines, and the lack of a centralized way to save favorite artwork.
Key Insights
Users needed two types of support: a virtual gallery option for those unable to visit in person, and a ticket-purchasing feature for in-person visitors who wanted to avoid long lines. This helped shape VanGo into an app that supports both remote and in-person gallery experiences.
Design Process
The project began with paper wireframes exploring layouts with maps, ticket buttons, favorites, and bottom navigation. The final direction prioritized current exhibits and quick access to ticket booking. Digital wireframes then expanded the experience into two key flows: buying tickets and attending a virtual tour.
Testing & Findings
An unmoderated usability study was conducted with 9 participants ages 19–60. Users were asked to buy a virtual tour ticket, attend a virtual tour, add artwork to favorites, and view favorites after the tour.
Testing revealed that users needed home and back buttons on every page, clearer dropdown menus, larger font sizes, an artwork search feature, more museum information, and a larger favorites icon.
Conclusion & Next Steps
VanGo improved access to gallery experiences by combining virtual exploration, ticket purchasing, and personalized artwork saving. Next steps include testing with regular gallery visitors, adding cross-gallery exhibit search, and conducting another competitive analysis to better differentiate the app from an in-person experience.