cuRated: The Museum Matchmaker

•

As the first major studio project during my fall 2018 semester at Maryland Institute College of Art, the goal of this project was to explore the concept of "collections" using pieces from the Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, MD.

cuRated is a phone app that allows users to explore and engage with pieces from the Walters. The idea was to create an experience that enables people to explore the Walters remotely in an active, engaging, and familiar manner via swiping and chatting. Ideally, this app would also serve as a gateway for people to visit the Walters Museum in person.

As the name implies, the app would enable users to curate a personalized collection of pieces from the Walters via a profile swiping experience. Each piece presented in the swiping portion has a short first-person bio with hints and easter eggs to the piece's origins. Once a user has assembled their own collection, they would then be able to text chat with each piece to further explore it.

Theoretically, each piece would have its own AI that would allow it to converse with users in a manner similar to Siri or Google Assistant—assuming the role of the painting to provide information on each piece's history or subject matter. For example, rather than simply reading a summary of a painting's artist and origin, users would use text chat to actively uncover that information bit by bit—leveling up and unlocking achievements along the way.

Brand Guidelines