Design and Research of Museum Matching Digital Applicationlication Based on Exhibition Content and User Demand

Looking at the current situation of museums all over the world, it is obvious that the use of digital technology has injected sufficient impetus into their development. The digital construction of museums in various countries mainly includes the construction of Museum website, mobile applicationlication design, the development of in-library tour guide system, virtual reality tour and the applicationlication of holographic projection imaging technology. For example, the collections of the New York Museum of Science and Technology in the United States are presented on its official website through a clear and concise framework on the Internet, the mobile applicationlication Le Louvre Museum, which integrates the voice guide and works applicationreciation of the Louvre Museum, the British Museum applicationlication, which can plan the tour route in an easy and interesting way, and the Smithsonian Museum in the United States, which realizes the roaming function of virtual reality.

In China, the applicationlication of new media especially digital technology in Chinese museums has also greatly changed the way museums are displayed. However, nowadays, the development and utilization of digital technologies in museums is not completely suited with the exhibition itself, and the use of digital technology is relatively reluctant. The advantages of technology to the exhibition were not fully present, which obviously affected the missionary effect of the museum and the visitor experience. Visitors are the main target of museum exhibitions and the main users of museum digital technology. An in-depth analysis of the exhibition and visitors is the key to the success of digital technology in museum exhibitions.

The purpose of this study is to explore a digital applicationlication design process specification for museum exhibitions and user needs in order to make digitalization better applicationlicable to museum exhibitions. The main work includes: First, through the investigation and study of the digital applicationlication in the current use of Chinese museums, summed up a museum digital applicationlication design process based on the content of the exhibition and user needs. Second, based on the process, design and develop an applicationlication for a specific museum exhibition to test the rationality of the process.

In order to develop a museum digital applicationlication design process specification for museum exhibitions and audiences’ actual needs, the research group studied the applicationlication of digital technology in museums in the world’s advanced countries, and also studied the use of digital technology in Chinese museums. Through the comparative analysis of domestic and foreign results, we found out the pain points and difficulties in the use of digital technology in Chinese museums at present. First, the degree of convergence between digital technology and museum exhibitions is low. Second, digital technology cannot satisfy the actual demands of audiences. Through the detailed analysis of the above pain points and difficulties, as well as study the successful experience of applicationlying digital technology to the construction of museum exhibitions at home and abroad, this paper innovatively proposes a digital applicationlication design process based on the museum exhibition content and audience needs (Fig. 1).

Design progress

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2.1 First of All, Deeply Understanding the Content, Themes and Features of the Exhibition, Meanwhile Conducting User Research, Grasp User Needs and Pain Points

The exhibition is one of the main functions of the museum and the root cause of the applicationlication of digital technology to the museum. Although digital technology has played an obvious and positive role in the development of museums, to be honest, digital technology is only an auxiliary means of museum exhibitions. The use of digital technology simply enhances the form of museum exhibitions and does not shake the core position of the exhibition content. Therefore, in order for digital technology to truly serve museum exhibitions, it is necessary to focus on the core of museum exhibitions, truly understand the main purpose of the exhibition, explore the exhibition content deeply, actively explore the characteristics of the exhibition, and firmly grasp the core of the exhibition content. In addition, in order to make the exhibition design more responsive to the audience’s preferences and needs, conducting user research will provide the necessary assistance. User research will help planners better understand the audience’s preferences, needs, habits and pain points in order to better plan and design the exhibition.

2.2 Secondly, Planning the Digital Applicationlication Integrally; Finding the Target Users, Usage Scenarios, Main Functions and Product Features

After fully grasping the content, the main theme, the characteristics of the museum exhibition, as well as understanding the needs and pain points of the audience, we can use these as basics for the overall planning of the digital applicationlication. The overall planning of the digital applicationlication includes the target user, usage scenarios, main functions and product features.

The target user is the main user of the product, that is, the audience most likely to use digital technology among the visitors who visit a particular museum exhibit. By analyzing the main audience of the exhibition, the main users of the digital applicationlication can be basically determined. By analyzing these people’s living habits, behavioral characteristics, hobbies and interests, digital applicationlication can be designed to more in line with the interests of these people.

The usage scenario refers to the occasion where the digital applicationlication is used. From a macro perspective, the use of the digital applicationlication for museum exhibitions is the museum’s exhibition venue, which is an enclosed or open indoor environment. From a microscopic point of view, digital applicationlication is applicationlied in fictional spaces that symbolize different time and space and different cultural backgrounds. The design style of applicationlication is best consistent with the style of the environment.

The main function is the core usage of the digital applicationlication, which is the core goal of designing and developing this applicationlication. Such as knowledge function, communication function, and so on.

Product features are unique to digital applicationlication for museum exhibits and audience needs. Each product is different from any other product, and its features are its most important valuable.

The target users, usage scenarios, main functions and product features are the necessary links for the overall planning of the digital applicationlication for museum exhibitions and audience needs. These four parts of the work have laid a solid foundation for the follow-up development of digital applicationlication.

2.3 Third, Designing Information Architecture and Making Overall Content Framework of the Applicationlication

After completing the overall planning of the digital applicationlication, the next work is to enter the detailed development of the application. The design of the information architecture has made the first step for the development of application. Information framework design refers to the content to be conveyed through the application structure. If the overall design builds the outline of the digital application, then the information architecture design is to build the skeleton of the digital application, so that the subsequent development would have a definite direction.

2.4 Fourth, Interactive Design, Listing the Interaction Process

Interaction design refers to the human-computer interaction design of digital application based on museum exhibitions and audience needs. Human-computer interaction is an important part of determining whether application content can be successfully delivered to users. A successful human-computer interaction can enhance the applicationeal of the application to the audience, increase the chance of the viewer encountering the application, and thus promote the application content to the audience. The detailed interaction design needs to take into account every step and every detail of the user’s using process.

2.5 Fifth, User Interface Design, Determines the Page Style and Color Style of the Applicationlication

User interface design can be described as the cloak of the digital application. After the previous basic work has been completed, the user interface design is put on the agenda. Although the user interface design is only responsible for the applicationearance of the application, it is by no means an undesirable step. User interface design as part of the overall development of the digital application, in order to do well, it must be closely related to the content and framework of the application. Designers should do their best to find ways to let the user interface show the core concept of digital application, by designing the applicationropriate color, hue, interface style, let the content of application be better displayed through visual elements.

2.6 Sixth, Program Development and Testing, Timely Discovery of Problems and Continuous Improvement

Coding is the process of make the entire digital application come to live. Rigorous codes can make the digital application run more smoothly and flexibly. Thereby the applicationlication would be better accepted by the users. The development of the program is not a one-time process, in which various problems may show up and countless tests are required. After the program is developed, it is necessary to carry out the necessary tests, in order to find the shortcomings of the current program, then continually modify and improve should be done.

2.7 Finally, the Digital Application Is Officially Used for Museum Exhibitions

After the above series of processes, the digital application can finally come to the museum to meet with the audience. But that doesn’t mean ending. In the process of applicationlying the digital application to the museum exhibition, it is necessary to carefully observe and record the operation status of the application, the use of the audience, and so on. This will accumulate valuable experience for the future upgrade of the application and the future development of other products.

This article is based on the Beijing Science and Technology Commission’s 2015 Social Solicitation Science Project “Beijing Forestry University Museum Comprehensive Exhibition Hall”. The project cycle from January 2015 to December 2015, which has been successfully completed and passed the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission Expert acceptance. The main content of this project is divided into two parts. The first is to build the Hoh Xil real ecological environment science exhibition area. The venue of the exhibition area is located in the comprehensive exhibition hall on the fourth floor of the Beijing Forestry University Museum. The exhibition area is 40.10 m². There are 9 kinds of animal specimens, including Tibetan antelope, yak, Tibetan wild ass, snow leopard, vulture, mountain scorpion, snow rabbit, rabbit scorpion and scorpion. There are as well as 3 plant specimens, including Androsace mariae, Arenaria gerzensis, Arenaria bryophylla; second, digital display system development. In combination with the characteristics of the Hoh Xil real-life exhibition area, we designed and developed a Hoh Xil digital applicationlication based on the mobile platform for the content of the real exhibition area.

The Hoh Xil science exhibition area adopts a different form from the traditional exhibition. It adopts the “scenario + theme” exhibition form, combined with the real landscape of the Hoh Xil, and reproduced the natural features and habitat characteristics of the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve by simulating the habitat of the biological species. At the same time, the exhibition uses the interactive means of digital applicationlication of mobile platform. Thus the form of exhibition is more diversified, and the immersion of the audience in the exhibition is enhanced. The audience can walk freely in the exhibition area, and observe the specimens and landform at a close distance. They are placed in the simulated landscape of Hoh Xil, and the exhibition area is comprehensive and multi-dimensional. At the same time, during the visit, you can use the tablet PC equipped in the exhibition area, use the Hoh Xil digital applicationlication which has been already installed on the tablet computer, and learn about relevant science knowledge about the exhibition and original nature environment. You can also use the jigsaw puzzle and knowledge quiz game in the application to learn science knowledge and enhance environmental awareness (Fig. 2).

Exhibition area photograph

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3.1 Digging into the Exhibition Content and Exploring the Audience’s Needs

We designed a digital mobile applicationlication based on the Hoh Xil exhibition area of the Beijing Forestry University Museum. The exhibition area is intended to build a high-simulation exhibition environment through original habitat materials and broadcast ecological civilization. Target audiences are museum visitors of all ages and social groups. The audience who come to visit the museum are composed of adults, young children, and their identities can be divided into scholars, students, and the public. We can regard all visitors of different ages and different identities as one group. The main needs of them can be summarized as learning the knowledge of animal specimens, plant specimens, topography and others displayed in the exhibition area with the help of digital applicationlication. They will get a whole understanding of the geographical environment, biodiversity, and environmental protection of the exhibition area. This demand can be regarded as the primary rigid requirement of the digital applicationlication. Secondly, the youth group of visitors is more willing to watch pictures, videos, and listen to sounds instead of reading a lot of textual descriptions when learning knowledge. Through research, we learned the characteristics of the exhibition area were to promote ecological civilization through habitat display, and the desire of visitors were to understand knowledge content through digital technology. According to this, the corresponding product planning is given, that is, the knowledge of the exhibition area is conveyed by various media to enhance the participation and interest of the audience. We designed the information architecture of four modules: exhibition area overview, animal specimens, plant specimens, and game interaction. Text, images, audio and video present a wealth of knowledge of the exhibition area. Interactive games consolidate the knowledge gained through the form of entertaining and learning, and increase the fun of the exhibition process. In terms of interaction design, the first-level page and the second-level page adopt the form of radial navigation, and the content page adopts horizontal label design on both sides. We also choose a flat interface style and a low-purity color mode for the applicationlication. The simple structure and bright color matching perfectly enhance the knowledge content and bring users a pleasant experience. After several tests and polishing, the applicationlication was finally applicationlied to the exhibition area.

3.2 Overall Design

The Hoh Xil digital applicationlication is a museum science applicationlication based on the mobile platform. This applicationlication mainly uses digital means to integrate graphics, images, videos and audios. Information on the scientific knowledge of biological specimens, plant specimens and ecological environment protection in the exhibition area of the Hoh Xil science exhibition will be introduced and displayed through the integration of texts, images, videos and audios. In terms of visual presentation, based on the characteristic of youth user group, the applicationlication uses two-dimensional cartoon image, transform the professional and serious scientific knowledge into an easy-to-understand graphic image. Meanwhile, combining cartoon images with audio, video and other content to make sure the science knowledge spreading successfully. In the aspect of interaction design, the integration of jigsaw puzzles and knowledge quiz game design realizes the game function of the digital applicationlication. Optimized the fun and entertainment of the exhibition. Users can absorb the information and deepen the knowledge through the game in the applicationlication. In this way the purpose of education and fun has been truly achieved (Fig. 3).

Hoh Xil applicationlication information frame

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3.3 Information Architecture Design, Building the Overall Content Framework of the Applicationlication

The Hoh Xil digital applicationlication is an interactive exhibit of the Hoh Xil Real Exhibition Area. Its purpose is to provide information display functions for the biological specimens and science knowledge in the exhibition area, so that the audience can understand the rich science knowledge in the exhibition area and the environmental background of the exhibition area. The application uses four media forms, such as text, image, video and audio. The applicationlication also designs four functional modules, which are animal specimens, plant specimens, exhibition area overview and game. The animal specimens module includes the introduction of animal specimens in the nine exhibition areas, which are displayed on the content unit pages of science knowledge and beautiful pictures. The plant specimens module includes introductions of plant specimens in the exhibition area, and are also displayed on the content unit pages of popular science knowledge and beautiful pictures. Interactive game module includes jigsaw puzzles and quiz games.

3.4 Interactive Design, Listing the Interaction Process of the Applicationlication

The home page layout of Hoh Xil digital applicationlication adopts the matrix layout mode of “central distribution”. The four modules included in the applicationlication are clearly presented in front of the user, giving the user a central index. The user clicks on the category icon to go to the relevant details page, so that the main content can be quickly obtained. According to his or her interest, the user can determine which category to browse first. The first layout of each secondary page also continues the matrix tiling mode of “centralized distribution”, showing that the content unit contains content with clear directivity.

The content page of the Hoh Xil digital applicationlication uses a vertical navigation layout combined with a sidebar Tab button layout mode. It sets the action class buttons, such as forward and backward, at the top of the page. This layout pattern combines the advantages of a vertical navigation layout with a tab navigation layout. First, the left vertical navigation layout lets the user view the details in a linear fashion. No matter where the user is in the applicationlication, he or she can clearly know which category of content unit he is in by clearly passing the status of the current column. This design quickly and easily navigates the user when the user gets lost. This design also allows the user to quickly return to the front page of this content unit or switch between different content units.

3.5 User Interface Design, Determining the Applicationlication’s Page Style and Color Style

The user interface of the Hoh Xil digital applicationlication has a flat, translucent style. Icons are decorated with a card-shaped outline and a circular mask image. The colorful pictures matched with a dark bottom card-like shading. Icon button combine the image and text together. In particular, the picture of animals and plants in the icon increases the recognition feature. With a strong visual applicationeal, it is ideal for youth users. The animal display content of the animal specimen page is in the form of two-dimensional animation, which constitutes an interface style that is close to nature.

The Hoh Xil digital applicationlication uses a clear, cheerful low-purity, high-definition color style. The home page uses a high-definition background image to visualize the Hoh Xil area. The animal specimen module uses a two-dimensional cartoon illustration style to draw the image of the animal specimen. The visual style of cartoon style is easy to be accepted and loved by young users and it is easy to get closer to the group of young users. The game module page uses a wooden shading texture to distinguish it from the display part of the applicationlication. At the same time, the wooden texture can also build the natural and environmentally friendly visual communication.

3.6 Coding and Testing, Find Problems in Time and Keep Improving

Through code development, the functions of the Hoh Xil digital applicationlication are implemented. Through continuous correction of errors and vulnerabilities, to ensure that the system logic and interactive functions are implemented normally. The applicationlication is mainly published through the Android platform. It uses the Android native applicationlication for view control and interactive settings, uses the Surface view to play the video, uses the Media player for audio playback, uses the Image view to implement the image function and uses the View pager and Radio button to publish the interactive content of the knowledge quiz game. Finally, digital applicationlication Hoh Xil is officially used for museum exhibitions (Fig. 4).

Hoh Xil applicationlication interface design

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The research results mainly include the following aspects:

First, by analyzing the successful cases of digital technology applicationlied by museums at home and abroad, and systematically analyzing the shortcomings of Chinese museums in using digital technology to assist exhibitions, this paper proposes a systematic and comprehensive museum digital applicationlication design process based on exhibition content and user needs. This will provide a powerful help for the future Chinese museum to use digital technology to assist the exhibition.

Secondly, based on the above design process, the research group relies on the Beijing Science and Technology Commission’s 2015 Social Solicitation Science Project “Beijing Forestry University Museum Comprehensive Exhibition Hall”, with the exhibition requirements and user needs as the guidance, developed a digital applicationlication Hoh Xil. During the process of development, we carried out the user research, determined the target user group, scientifically and rationally analyzed user needs, met practical applicationlication products, designed and planned product functions and expression forms, and combine user research, interaction design, visual design, multimedia design, programming and other aspects of knowledge. The Hoh Xil digital applicationlication is designed from the whole to the local. With the integration of functions such as images, sounds, videos, games, etc., the information promotion function of the Hoh Xil real science exhibition area and exhibits knowledge is realized, and the purpose of displaying information is enriched, so that the audience can browse and understand a large amount of popular science knowledge through the applicationlication.

Third, designing game interactions in mobile applicationlications is a major innovation in this design. In the museum visit, in order to achieve the educational and entertaining style of the visit, combined with the cognitive characteristics of the low age of the visitors, the research team carried out the design and development of the interactive section of the applicationlication. We designed interactive games based on the content of the exhibition area. This enables the audience to re-cognize and re-learn the exhibition and exhibit knowledge in real-time interaction, which enhances the audience’s interest in the exhibition, adds interest and entertainment to the exhibition process, and also broadcast science knowledge and public education.

Fourth, the Hoh Xil exhibition Area of Beijing Forestry University Museum is an indispensable part of the museum. On the one hand, it provides an indispensable platform of teaching, experimentation, and scientific research for many majors, such as the protection and utilization of wild animals and plants, soil and water conservation and desertification control, nature reserve construction and management, biodiversity conservation and utilization, The Eco-Cultural Research Center, etc. On the other hand, it provides a platform for industry and research for information technology and art design related majors. Students can conduct art practice and design in the exhibition area. The development of related digital products, as well as the development of simulation technology, promote the digital process of the museum. In addition, the school has established a platform for close contact with the experts, teachers, students, international academic exchanges and the public to understand the environmental conditions and ecological environment protection of the Hoh Xil Nature Reserve. It plays an invaluable role in promoting environmental protection, promoting the cherish of endangered species and popular science education.

Based on the mobile platform development technology, this paper conducts in-depth research and exploration on mobile applicationlication interaction design principles, visual design style trends and interactive entertainment methods and studies the design of museum display applicationlication by theory and practice. To realize the diversification of information, visual stylization, interactive entertainment and common customs of the museum display system, the design principles of interactive exhibits based on mobile platforms and the value of public science education are summarized. The research results of this paper are as follows.

First, this paper combines the digital museum display design requirements for mobile platform applicationlication and user needs, gathers interactive design, visual design, game interactive design and other aspects of knowledge, to achieve the overall design of the Hoh Xil digital applicationlication. The work includes product requirements analysis, product function planning, product information architecture design, product prototyping, visual style design, UI interface design and game interaction design. The design ideas and methods of the museum exhibition mobile applicationlication are comprehensively discussed, and the design process of the museum mobile applicationlication is summarized and refined.

Second, by the use of the digital applicationlication Hoh Xil, the functional characteristics of digital museum interactive entertainment and popular science communication education are realized. It has played a scientific publicity value in protecting biodiversity and environmental protection.

Through research analysis and practice testing, this paper proposes a method for digital applicationlication design of museums, which is of great value to the development of digitalization of Chinese museums and public education. Our research has the following shortcomings: The foreign language function area is not set in the digital applicationlication, which is not conducive to the development of the museum’s external communication. In the future, the function and depth of the applicationlication should be further strengthened in this respect to better serve the audience and museum exhibitions.