UI Copy for San Diego Museum of Art App

Problem

The San Diego Museum of Art was struggling to modernize its visitor experience. It lacked a digital presence and ran the risk of “falling behind with the times.”

Objective

The San Diego Museum of Art hired Guru (my employer) to create a museum tour-based app that would enhance the visitor experience on-site and at home. I was in charge of collaborating with designers to create UI text for the app.

Timeline

Mar 2015 - Jun 2015

Stakeholders

Project manager, designers, museum director, legal

My Role: UX Writer

• Complemented visuals with engaging copy that made navigation an intuitive experience

• Wrote instructions for short tutorials meant to instruct users on how audio tours worked

• Paraphrased snippets from audio tours to complement audio storytelling with text

Results

• When launched, the San Diego Museum of Art app experienced more than 300 downloads — over 60% capture-rate

• We won the Software, Digital Media, Mobile App category at CONNECT’s 29th Annual Most Innovative New Product Awards

Takeaways

The SDMA App marked my first foray into UX writing. It was an experience that proved both challenging and rewarding. Challenging because it was the first time I stepped away from long-form writing, which had always necessitated that I write with the “door closed.” But UX writing, I discovered, called for a different approach. I had to open the door and collaborate with designers if I wanted my writing to be effective and useful. Words were now a tool (not the only tool) to guide people into a different world.

This project also marked the first time I learned the value of putting the user first. My words had to be clear, concise, and useful without calling attention to themselves. I carry these nuggets of wisdom with me every day now.