Predators

Georgia Aquarium + Shark Gallery + Edutainment

aquarium demo vid

We designed interactive solutions to change the negative views visitors hold of sharks and educate them on the significance of sharks in our ecosystem.

My Role

Project Lead

HCI Research & Design

Team

5 Members

Time

3 Months

Background

What is the Georgia Aquarium?

The Atlanta-based Aquarium is a non-profit scientific institution that houses more than 100,000 animals and partners with educational and scientific organizations to improve veterinary care and animal science.

What is "Predators" ?

This gallery champions sharks by highlighting their integral and necessary role within oceanic ecosystems.

Who is this For?

The Georgia Aquarium hosts over 2 million guests per year, representing persons of all age groups.

Project Goals

Animal Safety

Solutions must not disrupt sharks' health or well-being.

Promote Conservation

Instill fascination & curiosity for sharks' role in the ecosystem.

Accessibility

Inclusive interactions are accessible to people with different abilities.

Guest Satisfaction & Entertainment

Facilitate an experience that is both enjoyable and educational.

Research Methods & Data Synthesis

Comparative & Competitive Analysis

Limitations + Benefits +Design Inspirations

We aim to improve visiting experiences in the Aquarium gallery. The client stressed the importance of exploring VR/AR technology. To achieve these goals, we focused on interactivity and information display, as well as the design of educational and immersive experiences.

Exploring the Aquarium's existing interactive technologies.

Visitors on a busy weekend.

Observation

User engage with the exhibits + User behavior within Aquarium

An exploratory research method used to understand a complex user group and gain an idea about what people do in the Aquarium will help us design for multiple ages and backgrounds.

Adult Goals

Capturing experiences through video or photo. Relaxing and enjoying their time with family, mainly in the exhibits that were quiet and less crowded. Learning and education primarily via digital media.

Elder Adult Goals

Learning and education primarily through reading. Interacting with staff and family. Frequently carried dive cards (analog educational aids).

Kid Goals, Interested

Playing games, tapping on the glass, talking to their parents and asking questions, playing digital games, wanting to try the VR ride, etc.

Kid Goals, Uninterested

The younger kids of this second group were observed running around and refrained from engaging with exhibits. The older disinterested kids were absorbed with personal devices, such as smartphones.

Survey

Visitor motivations, expectations & experiences

By gathering a larger data set the team could discover 1) how on-site information sources are engaged, 2) visitor desires and motivations, and 3) refine questions for upcoming field studies/interviews.

The one-day, on-site survey, received 27 responses.

Guests visit primarily for entertainment, relaxation, and education.

The "very poor" was not chosen, This contradicts verbal and written feedback from survey participants who noted difficulty reading signboards and Dive Cards in the darkened exhibits.

Engagement through reading, animal interaction, and speaking to floor staff.

Immersion enhances the overall experience over 90% of the time.

Field Study

Semi-structured interview + On-site

Demographic details of the interviewees

In addition to stakeholder interviews, we conducted several field studies with visitors. Researchers accompanied visitors through the Aquarium. Long interviews supplement our exploratory research, help us understand the user group, and gain an overall idea about what people do in the Aquarium. Participants received a behind-the-scenes tour of the Aquarium as an incentive.

Affinity Mapping

Field Studies + Analyzation

Mapping of the interview data

The following themes emerged through analysis:

Interactions

Taking photos
Attending animal shows
Speaking with employees
Exploring media (VR, games, information boards, etc.)

Motivation

Education
Relaxation
Excitement
Memorable experiences

Info Gathering

Information accessibility
Difficulty finding, understanding, or retrieving info

Learning

Multiple modes desired including:

Reading
Talking with staff
Voiceovers
Gameplay

Trip Planning

Visitor time is valued
Easy access to event schedules desired

Mapping of the interview data (close-up)

Core Visitor Needs

1. Promote entertainment, education, and relaxation.

2. Provide modes of interaction for multiple age groups, abilities, and interest levels.

3. Produce unique experiences that are viable in crowded and uncrowded spaces.

Personas

To represent a broad spectrum of individuals, four personas were created with research data. Each persona targets a unique segment of the population and highlights the needs and desires that those groups exhibited the most.

Personas for a child and an adult parent.

Storyboards

Based on observations within the Ocean Voyager exhibit and stakeholder desires, we imagined points within the Aquarium experience for our personas. Each scenario is created with persona goals in mind to maintain a sense of doing and feeling.

Elder adult proposed experience.

Empathy Maps

Based on personas and proposed storyboards. By imagining what these personas feel, think, see, and hear, we can examine our research from another perspective. Empathy maps help to humanize the data.

Adult interested in social interactions

This activity was also a learning opportunity. While completing the map, we were also made aware of some of the limitations of our research. In response, we used elicitation methods to gather more data, including comparing the needs of children and adults.

Elicitations

Sharks + Perception + Reaction

Photo Elicitation

Project Goal: change the public’s perception of sharks.

Is this possible in a short amount of time?
Could non-stereotypical images of sharks prove effective?

Participants were: 1) Asked about their initial perception of sharks, 2) Asked to provide immediate responses to a series of photos.

Photo Elicitation, Participant #3

Gender: Female

Age: Early sixties

Occupation: Elementary world languages teacher

Aquarium Experience: Has never visited Georgia Aquarium but has visited others.

Adult Participant #3's initial negative reaction to sharks is softened within four (4) photos.

Adults and children participated. Responses represent an age gap: adults were initially negative towards sharks, and children were positive. Adults are more familiar with Jaws-like media. One participant cited Jaws as a fear response to the first photo. The children, however, have probably not been exposed to this type of media due to their age. The interviewer assumes that the children's awareness of sharks comes from child-friendly entertainment and educational sources.

Drawing Elicitation

We asked adults to draw a shark and write five things that immediately came to mind when they thought about sharks.

Our goal was to discover if people had common themes or ideas surrounding sharks. Over two days, we gathered fourteen responses. Here is a sampling:

Fourteen (14) drawings of sharks produced seventy (70) written thoughts. Two analysis methods are used.

Feedback is thematically analyzed, where different thoughts are grouped under common themes.

The second method is content analysis. Percentage splits of different perception groups are calculated.

Most reported negative associations (e.g. ~40% of the responses were related to words like dangerous and mean), while a small proportion seemed to have positive perceptions (e.g. ~15% of the responses were related to words like "interesting" and highlighted the importance of conservation). The remaining responses concern the physical attributes of sharks and their habitat.

Journey Map

This journey map represents the interest level of a visitor walking through a gallery. The Ocean Voyager exhibit was the test case.

When entering the exhibit he/she feels excitement.
Visitors in the dimly lit hall experience difficulty reading analog educational information.
Visitors reach an illuminated tunnel that transverses the tank. Journey local maxima.
The next point is an interaction. Including a shrimp touch pool. Engaged by adults and children.
The final point, or magnum opus of the Aquarium. Background music evokes John William’s majestic “Welcome to Jurassic Park” score. Visitors regard it as the highlight of the Aquarium experience.

Jobs-to-be-done

We also realized the importance of relationship dynamics and the ‘jobs’ people typically do in the exhibits. A jobs-to-done analysis helped us better understand the deeper needs and design implications that these jobs hold.

E.g. a young couple enjoying their time looking at the sharks and spending time with each other, a mother trying to educate her daughter about the sharks, an elder man with a caregiver trying to learn more about sharks, a group of children on a field trip with their teacher, etc.

Design Proposals

Augmented Reality (AR) solutions were preferred by the client. Yet, I also advocated for more conventional methods, to encourage guests of various physical abilities, ages, and financial means. Based on our research, I believe accessibility to the broadest audience would promote overall interest in the shark gallery.

Design #1: AR Checkpoint Experience

Display panels arranged opposite the shark pool. Visitors can interact with panels using AR glasses or their own mobile device. Panels will be installed as checkpoints - to structure the story of sharks from Fear to Fascination to Conservation to Celebration.

Goals:

AR instead of Analog Display Panels
Storytelling Experience

Accessibility Considerations:

Integration of voice-overs
B.Y.O.D.
Based on Mobile Platform
- Text Size, Dyslexia
- Color Correction

Design #2: Interactive Game Installation

The installation is opposite the shark tank. It will diversify the experience and divide foot traffic; while most guests crowd close to the tank a separate group can interact with the game.

Goals:

Empathy towards sharks
Diversify experience
Interaction Methods
- Touchscreen
- Motion Capture

Accessibility Considerations:

Feedback on Interaction
Avoid Flashing Lights and Fast Moving Images (Motion Sickness & Epilepsy)
Use of Audio Elements & Spatial Awareness

Design #3: Interactive Book Installation

Inspired by media, the installation will be book-based and will focus on humanity's depiction of the species from antiquity to the present day. Through several modes of interactive content, guests will be educated and have their assumptions challenged. The book installation will have an accompanying gift shop product, so that guests may take the Georgia Aquarium experience with them.

The installation would contain an oversized interactive book, an interactive screen or projection, and the optional use of personal devices such as phones to activate augmented reality (AR) functions. The primary experience will be in the real world to accommodate those who can not or are unwilling to use a personal device to interact with the gallery.

Goals:

Interactive Storytelling
Multiple Guests interact at once
AR Immersion and Gamification

Accessibility Considerations:

Spatial Considerations
Limiting the no. of guests
Large text and Readability

Design #4: Digital Dive Cards

Digital Dive Cards would be tablet-based versions of their analog predecessors. The interaction would be the main focus of the update and would include information and interactions that are impossible to produce through static cards and signs. The light emitted from the device would ease reading, and adjustments by the Aquarium would limit that light’s impact on the sharks.

Full Dive Card experience.

Goals:

Increase the use of Dive Cards
Digitize static information
Personalize User Experience

Accessibility Considerations:

Size and weight
Notifications and Voiceovers
Colorblindness and Monochromacy

Sketch Feedback

Feedback participants

Insights

Anthropomorphization builds empathy.
Take-home experience may be required.
Static installations may not help tell the story.
Digital Dive Cards may lack immersion and interaction.
Touchscreens break frequently but are preferred by kids.
Highlighting shark ferocity may capture visitor attention at the gallery beginning.
Gamification improves immersion.

The final design will focus on an interactive checkpoint, gaming, and AR (a stakeholder requirement).

Participant choice

Prototype & Evaluation

Prototypic Walk-through

We wanted feedback on the user experience within a physical environment. By creating a walk-through prototype we could determine the value of devices (mobile phones/tablets), user immersion and motivation, and evaluate educational goals.

Combination of Design Sketches

Wizard of Oz Technique
Static Prototype
Sketches, Sounds, Voiceovers
Allow users to pick a journey

AR Elements

Augmented Reality Headset, or
Phone as a viewfinder
Non-light emitting displays

Participants:

8 participants from the MS-HCI program

Our layout was structured as a "U" shaped hallway. The right side represented the shark pool. The left side held interactive displays.

Galley setup

Participants choose which shark they would like to learn more about.

Participants in moderated walk-through.

Findings & Implications

Focus Confusion

AR experience or actual sharks?
Integrations should complement the shark tank.

Presentation of Information

Use graphics and storytelling.
Language accessibility.

Risk missing parts of the Story

Use strong Guided Feedback to encourage checkpoint interaction.

Final Design

Augmented Reality Experience

Magic Leap (Exclusive and Immersive)
B.Y.O.D (Accessible)

Tools Used:

Sketch
Figma
Torch AR

Prototype Story.docx

Onboarding

Educational Interaction

Accessibility

Gameplay

Shark Observation

Final Design Evaluation

Expert Review

Think-aloud Sessions + Unstructured Interviews

10 Participants

User Testing

Task-based think-aloud testing

15 Participants

User Testing Task Analysis Process

Think Aloud + Interact + Word Association + Provide Feedback

User testing was more involved than the interviews given to experts.

Example task

Word association.

Next Steps

Make the experience collaborative
Consider deeper levels of accessibility.
Increase game duration and complexity.
How can guests continue the experience after leaving the Aquarium?

What I Learned

1. Every Aquarium experience appeals to the individual and the group. Both lone and interpersonal interactions require careful consideration for a holistic approach.

2. All employees are valuable resources of information; floor staff and volunteers, in particular, are wonderful as a second set of eyes for observations.

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