Over the past week, we conducted some interviews with MIT students to better understand what they would want from our project, and their responses have helped us in creating a user experience that feels viable and usable. Many interviewees highlighted an interest in the concept of discovery, particularly an interest in having guiding directions through the interface. While many are open to viewing past artwork in a new light, there was a greater focus on finding artworks around campus that they have never seen before. Though our initial focus was on outdoor art, because of the interest in finding new artwork around campus and in campus architecture, integrating more public artwork that is indoor or building based is of interest for many of our interviewees.

Our main goal is to create an outdoor experience that establishes a perspective for students to appreciate art in a non traditional setting. One of the issues that the List tackles is that many students don’t view it as a traditional art museum. We want to build upon the outdoor art viewing experience by adding additional perspectives for the viewers to consider. There are two types of users we are interested in targeting, all within the MIT student body. The first is people who chance upon outdoor artworks but are curious and want to learn more, the second is people who unconsciously observe their surroundings and move on. We want to bring attention to unseen objects by using audio to share perspectives and create an interesting narrative that they can also add too.

As for the prompts and what recording content should be available, aside from what users input themselves, we want to include some guiding content. Some possible examples could be current audio tour recordings or recordings from students guides at the List. Additionally, Emily Garner mentioned an interdisciplinary focus in regards to the science and technology behind an artists creation.