Final Touches: An Interactive Painting Experience
Role: UI/UX Lead Designer
Skills: Typography, Prototyping & Leadership
Timeline: 16 Weeks
Collaborators: Paulina Sarzosa & Hao Zhong
Project Overview
Final Touches is an interactive game designed to engage visitors, especially children, by allowing them to complete an unfinished painting. This activity encourages active participation by helping participants see themselves as artists, fosters inclusivity by breaking barriers and showing that art is for everyone, and builds a sense of belonging by reinforcing community within the museum. It transforms the museum experience into an immersive and creative journey where visitors actively contribute to the art they encounter.
Problem Statement
Traditional museum experiences often position visitors, especially children, as passive observers rather than active participants. This limits engagement, reduces the potential for personal connection with the artwork, and creates barriers for diverse audiences to feel included. Museums need innovative, interactive solutions to foster creativity, inclusivity, and a sense of community, ensuring that all visitors—regardless of age or background—can engage deeply with the art and the museum environment.
Goals & Challenges
Goal
Create an intuitive and engaging digital painting experience.
Challenges
Designing an interface that mimics real-world painting gestures
Ensuring a smooth and responsive user experience
Balancing aesthetics and functionality
Final Touches Logo
Project Collaboration Note
This project was a collaborative effort between the UX research, design, and development teams. The UX research team conducted the research and handed off their findings to the design team, who interpreted the data and used it to inform our design decisions. In addition to incorporating user insights, the design team also researched precedent designs for similar applications to refine our approach. Once the design phase was complete, the development team brought the designs to life, ensuring the final product aligned with both research-driven insights and technical feasibility.
Design Process
Research & Discovery - Concept Development
Target Users
Children (6–12): Curious and eager to engage in creative, hands-on activities.
Families: Parents and guardians seeking enriching, family-friendly experiences.
Educators: Teachers looking for interactive, educational tools for group visits.
First-Time Visitors: Newcomers needing accessible, welcoming activities to connect with art.
Art Enthusiasts: Adults interested in creative, participatory museum experiences.
Museum Staff: Seeking innovative ways to enhance visitor engagement.
Stickers Used Throughout The Game
User Needs
Interactive Engagement: A way to actively participate in the art-making process, such as free-painting tools.
Simple and Intuitive Design: A user-friendly interface that is easy for both children and adults to navigate.
Creative Freedom: More tools and options to personalize their creations and explore artistic expression.
Tangible Takeaways: Physical elements like printed guides or colored artworks to complement the digital experience.
Community Connection: Features that allow users to share their work and feel part of a collective art experience.
Accessible and Scalable Platform: Multiplatform availability to ensure broad usability across different devices.
Home Screen
Design Precedent
Google Arts & Culture
This platform offers an immersive way to explore art and culture through technology. Users can engage in interactive activities such as coloring famous artworks, zooming in on high-resolution images of masterpieces, and participating in virtual tours of renowned museums. These tools make art accessible to a global audience, blending education with creative engagement and fostering an appreciation for art history.
Procreate for Kids
A simplified version of the professional-grade digital painting app, Procreate for Kids provides an intuitive and playful interface designed for younger audiences. It includes features such as easy-to-use brushes, shape tools, and color palettes, allowing children to experiment and express their creativity. This app bridges the gap between professional art tools and beginner-friendly design.
Autodesk SketchBook
Autodesk SketchBook is a versatile digital drawing tool featuring a clean interface and user-friendly design, suitable for artists of all levels. For children and beginners, it offers easy-to-access brushes, intuitive navigation, and simple tools that make creating digital art enjoyable and stress-free. Its versatility supports sketching, coloring, and layering, making it an excellent starting point for young creatives.
Tate Kids (Art Games)
Developed by the Tate museums, this platform offers a variety of interactive, museum-themed games that encourage children to learn about art while having fun. Activities include creating digital artwork, exploring famous art pieces, and engaging with educational quizzes. The platform promotes art education by making it interactive and accessible for younger audiences, helping them connect with art in a playful way.
QuiverVision
QuiverVision combines traditional coloring activities with augmented reality (AR) technology. Children can color on physical sheets and then use the app to bring their creations to life in a 3D digital space. This blend of tangible and digital interaction enhances engagement, making the creative process exciting and innovative while bridging the gap between physical and virtual experiences.
Kahoot! Art Challenges
Kahoot! Art Challenges merge educational quizzes with creative activities in a fun, interactive format. Designed for group settings, these challenges involve art-themed questions, tasks, and collaborative projects that foster creativity and teamwork. This platform is particularly effective in classrooms or workshops, engaging participants through gamification and collaborative learning.
Research & Discovery - Information Architecture & Wireframes
User Tasks
Concept Map
Designing For Visitors
Active Participation
Helping children see themselves as creators of art rather than just spectators.
Breaking Barriers
Showing that art is for everyone. We want people to feel involved in the visit and engaged with the art around them.
Building Community
Reinforcing the idea that the museum is a welcoming space where visitors feel valued and part of the community.
Meeting Museum Expectations
Reflect The Museum’s Identity
The design must incorporate an iconic piece from the museum’s permanent collection to strengthen the connection to the Lowe Art Museum.
Interactive & Multiplatform
The experience must be multi-platform, ensuring ease of use and engagement across various devices and platforms.
First Time Visitors
The concept should communicate that visitors are a vital part of the museum, fostering a sense of ownership.
Piece To Show
Jason Returning to Demand His Father's Kingdom,
Washington Allston (United States), 1807-1808,
Oil and chalk on canvas, 168 x 240 in. (426.7 x 609.6 cm)
Wireframes
Home Screen
Game Screen
Submit Screen
Confirmation Screen
After the first iteration of the game, feedback revealed the need to simplify the layout to make it more intuitive and accessible, particularly for children. Users noted that the interface could be streamlined to reduce complexity and enhance usability, while the aesthetics needed adjustments to create a more playful and child-friendly atmosphere. These changes aimed to ensure the game appealed to its target audience by balancing functionality with engaging visuals.
Prototype & Usability Testing
High-Fi Wireframes
Home Screen
Story Behind Painting Screen
Onboarding Screen
Game Screen
Finished Painting Screen
Map of Museum With Stickers Screen
Confirmation Screen
Based on the feedback from our first iteration, we developed a second set of wireframes that received positive responses from users. To reflect the concept of completing unfinished paintings, we introduced the name Final Touches, a witty remark that tied the interactive experience to its purpose. In this iteration, we simplified the user interface, ensuring a more intuitive experience while incorporating an onboarding process to guide users. Additionally, we added an explanation of the painting being worked on, transforming the activity into a learning opportunity. To further enhance the educational aspect, we included stickers of other artworks from the museum, allowing children to engage with the broader collection. To encourage exploration, we introduced a map in the game that displayed the sticker locations within the museum, creating a scavenger hunt experience that motivated children to continue discovering and learning throughout the museum.
Community Gallery Screen
Interactive Features
Digital Drawing: Everyone could paint!
To cater to users of all ages, we introduced creative painting tools to enhance the experience. These tools include a bucket for quick color fills, three different paintbrush sizes to allow for detailed or broad strokes, and an eraser for easy corrections. This variety ensures that both children and adults can engage with the activity in a way that suits their creativity and skill level.
Art Beyond One Piece
We've transformed art pieces into interactive stickers that can be found throughout the museum, adding a playful and engaging element to the experience. To further encourage exploration, we incorporated a scavenger hunt, where visitors can use the game to locate and collect these stickers, motivating them to discover different areas of the museum and connect more deeply with its exhibits.
Transforming Visitors Into Artists & Voters
Our digital gallery transforms visitors into artists of the Lowe, allowing them to showcase their creativity by sharing their completed artworks. To enhance engagement, a voting system—accessible both online and in the museum—invites visitors to view and vote on their favorite pieces, fostering participation and a sense of community within the museum.
Accessibility Beyond The Screen!
We also created a printable version of the game to cater to visitors who prefer coloring by hand. This paper version is designed as a pamphlet that easily breaks in the middle. One side features the painting for visitors to color, which they can later hang in a designated area of the museum for display. The other half includes a map for the scavenger hunt, encouraging participants to explore the museum and engage with its exhibits in a fun and interactive way.
Designing For Discovery
To attract visitors to the experience, we designed vibrant posters placed throughout the museum, serving as both promotional materials and wayfinding guides. With bold typography and engaging visuals, these posters sparked curiosity and encouraged exploration of Final Touches.
Prototype
We developed a functional prototype to gather user feedback on the game’s design and functionality. It includes key features like the simplified layout, painting tools, onboarding, and scavenger hunt elements. This allowed us to refine the experience to ensure it is engaging, intuitive, and educational. Here’s a video showcasing the prototype and its features.
User Testing
User testing revealed key strengths, challenges, and opportunities for improvement. Participants appreciated the interactive stickers and map for encouraging exploration and valued the community features for fostering inclusion. However, younger users struggled with functionality, and the map’s small size posed usability issues. Feedback suggested adding more color options, a blank canvas mode for adults, and optimizing for larger screens. The testing confirmed that the simplified UI and onboarding were effective, emphasizing the importance of clear tutorials and balancing creativity with usability.
The current version of the game includes free painting functionality, allowing users to express their creativity without restrictions, as well as a guided “paint with lines” feature when using the bucket tool for easier interaction. To address usability concerns, we added a button to enlarge the map, making it easier for users to view and navigate. While expanded color options are not yet available, they are being considered for future updates to further enhance the creative experience.
Development Handoff
Style Guide
Color Section of Style Guide
Color Contrast (X are contrasts that didn’t pass accessibility, not used) Style Guide
Typography Style Guide
Iconography Style Guide
Component Library Style Guide
Painting & Lines
Logos
Background
Final Touches
Here is a video showcasing how the current version of the product works. Final updates are still in progress as we prepare for the full handoff to the Lowe Museum. Below is a link to the prototype—try it out and become an artist too!
Reflection
This project has been a rewarding journey of innovation and collaboration, demonstrating the value of combining creativity, technology, and user-centered design. The challenges we overcame and the feedback we received have not only shaped this iteration of the product but also laid the groundwork for future enhancements. The success of this project underscores its potential to transform how museums engage with visitors, creating lasting connections and inspiring creativity.
Challenges Faced
One of the primary challenges was creating a user-friendly and engaging interface that catered to both children and adults. Designing intuitive tools for younger users while maintaining functionality for older audiences required careful consideration. Technical constraints, such as simplifying the map functionality and ensuring it was easy to navigate, posed additional difficulties, leading to the inclusion of a button to enlarge the map. Balancing creativity with usability, particularly during the implementation of free painting and bucket-based “paint with lines,” also demanded iterative testing and refinements.
Successes Achieved
The project successfully transformed traditional art engagement into an interactive and educational experience. Features like the scavenger hunt map, interactive stickers, and the community voting system were met with enthusiasm during user testing, encouraging exploration and fostering a sense of connection among visitors. The simplified user interface and onboarding process proved effective in guiding users through the experience. Additionally, creative tools such as multiple brush sizes, an eraser, and guided painting options were praised for their accessibility and versatility, making the game enjoyable for all ages.
Areas of Improvement
While the project achieved many milestones, there is still room for growth. Expanding the range of color options could further enhance creative expression, and integrating additional features such as augmented reality (AR) would elevate the user experience. Improving the tutorial to address all user needs and exploring ways to personalize the experience for different user groups are also areas worth considering in future updates.