Background

Nor evolved from a 20 year old crowdsourced cultural history platform and design resource, and now aims to be a living design museum. The platform's users include design practitioners, academics, students, librarians, archivists, design theorists, and more.

NOR is a living and open commons for design in Canada. It is a not-for-profit, co-operative and collective effort to document, preserve, and question Canadian material culture.

Problem

Based on our clients needs, our team sought to uncover: How might we improve the experience of Nor by challenging what a design archive could be?

01 Modernize experience of engaging with digital archives thru interaction design
02 Optimize content organization in Nor for easier navigation and accessibility
03 Enhance Nor’s utility as a practical research tool for diverse users

Solution Overview

We came up with enhancements that not only modernize the experience of interacting with Nor but also to transform it into a more inclusive, engaging, and educational resource that continues to evolve with its community.

Our final solution included the following components:

→ introducing dynamic discovery tools such as Serendipity Mode
→ presenting the collection thru storytelling mechanisms like Map and Timeline
→ inspiring and enriching users through new interactions on the Homepage

Research

Areas of Focus

In order to understand our target users, we conducted comprehensive research phase in 3 focus areas:

01 understand the needs, expectations, & motivations of users exploring archives
02 discover barriers and challenges that users face when exploring digital archives
03 uncover functional attributes that enhance usability and foster site retention

We conducted:

I led three of these sessions, two of which were with existing Nor members, and one which was with a design student.

Data Results

Competitor Analysis

We also conducted a competitor analysis, to find what tools currently exist, and what we can use to draw inspiration from.

Biggest Initial Blocker

We found that users need to be able to easily recognize the digital archive’s purpose in order to understand it to be a valuable resource for them

→ Users prioritize efficient and customizable content discovery when deciding which digital archive to revisit
→ Facilitating broader contextual exploration is key for improving the experience of browsing an online archive
→ Inclusivity across different creative mediums and viewpoints can enhance the archive's value and relevance to its audience
→ Exploring related works and falling down rabbit holes is a source of delight for users when using digital archives

Research Outcomes

After synthesizing all of our insights, we identified patterns in the motivations and habits of all the users we interviewed, which translated into three unique discovery modes for Nor users:

01 Locating

"I know exactly what I'm looking for"

Users prioritize efficient and customizable content discovery when deciding which digital archive to revisit

02 Hunting

"I have a general sense of what I want, but I want to take a look around"

Facilitating broader contextual exploration is key for improving the experience of browsing an online archive
Exploring related works and falling down rabbit holes is a source of delight for users when using digital archives

03 Foraging

“Show me something random and inspiring”

Inclusivity across different creative mediums and viewpoints can enhance the archive's value and relevance to its audience

Ideation

How might we...

→ make Nor’s purpose more clear?
→ include a variety of creative mediums and viewpoints?
→ enable broader contextual exploration?
→ nudge users into inspirational rabbit holes?

Jobs To Be Done:

01 Find what I want, the way I want
02 Explore Canada’s design history
03 Help users create their own meaning
04 Understand the historical significance
05 Visualize other users’ (related) thought patterns

To creatively explore the “jobs” we defined, we implemented the SCAMPER technique—a method that encourages viewing problems through various lenses:

I came up with some unique ideas, along with my team and our clients, that would eventually be implemented into our final product. For example, ensuring that the Homepage of Nor leads to the collection, instead of it being an additional click away.

Storyboarding:

Next, we employed storyboards to visualize and validate the top 15 concepts we voted on, drawing from the wealth of ideas generated during our rapid ideation sessions. My storyboards are the second column from the right.

We tested these with five participants to refine our direction and ensure the ideas resonated with potential users. I led two of these sessions.

After synthesizing our Speed Dating Insights, we evaluated the results by plotting each concept on Impact x Effort and Satisfaction x Functionality matrix, allowing us to easily identify and prioritize valuable features:

Prototyping & Testing

Low-Fi

To kick off the prototyping stage, we each created paper prototypes of our own individual interpretations of the 5 key concepts we chose to pursue. My individual ideas are the second row of each column:

Of these 25 lo-fi prototypes, our clients were most interested in further exploring the following concepts:

Mid-Fi

We got feedback on our low-fi prototypes to move forward.

01 Our advisor pushed us to think about interaction design basics such as: Layout, Content, Flow, and Intended Outcomes.

02 Our client encouraged us to “break paradigm of serving more content through a card sort” and aim for a “cohesive, innovative punk idea”.

We went back to the drawing board and generated the craziest ideas we could think up for storytelling mechanisms and discovery tools:

Testing

In order to not overwhelm our user testers, we chose five ideas to validate and test, with the aim of identifying which best meet our users' needs

We synthesized all of the user feedback from our sessions, and utilized the insights to refine our project scope. We leveraged the different discovery modes uncovered during our research phase to determine which ideas to incorporate into our final high-fidelity prototype, and came up with the following user flow:

Hi Fi Prototype

We brought our ideas to life with images from real works featured on Nor and adherence to the brand identity (full demo video at the end). I primarly worked on prototyping out the Map view feature:

After showing our client our first iteration, we received valuable feedback regarding the contents and visual design of the Home page. All changes implemented were to ensure users could easily recognize Nor’s purpose and key features

After placing the finishing touches, we finally finished our final prototype!

Solution Summary

Returning to our project goals, we believe we've improved the experience of Nor by challenging the idea of what a design archive should be through our final solution:

→ Redesigned NOR's Homepage to clarify the digital archive's purpose and highlight the breadth of features from playlists to editorial articles
→ Integrated new collection views via Timeline and Map, making it easier for “hunters” to find and engage with works in a variety of ways
→ Introduced Serendipity Mode, a dynamic discovery tool for “gathers” to spontaneously explore and gather inspiration
→ Newly revamped Work Detail page with an added related works section to encourage a wider breadth of exploration

Final Prototype

Please turn on volume and enter full screen for the full experience