• Executive Summary
• A Story of a Urinal
• Section 1 Study Details
• Section 2 Themes
• Section 3 Insights & Recommendations
• Appendix

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• The ticket-purchasing journey requires an additional confirmation screen.
• The Create Art and the Widget Screens are difficult to locate.
• More elements of personalization and creativity would be very beneficial.
• The Dada aesthetic is confusing.

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• Marcel Duchamp’s readymade sculpture Fountain
• Submitted to the inaugural exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists
• Everyone went bonkers

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DADA 3: Continuous Contradiction

• Dadaists published The Blind Man to defend Duchamp’s Fountain
• Dada 3: the Dada aesthetic subverted print design

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Project Background

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I’m creating a new app for the Dada Anti-Museum. I need to discover if the ticket-purchasing and widget paths are clear and easy. I also need to discover how to implement the Dada aesthetic.

Research Questions

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Are users able to order tickets successfully?

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How often do users engage with the educational elements of the app?

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Are users able to construct a piece of Dada art using the tools in the app?

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What can we learn from the steps users take while navigating the app?

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Are users able to construct a “gallery” of images for their profile?

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How do users react to the Dada aesthetic of the app?

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Participants

5 participants

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2 men, 2 women, 1 non-binary

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3 heterosexual, 1 lesbian, 1 pan

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3 neurodivergent

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Aged 30s-70s

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lower middle class to upper middle

Methodology

15 minutes

Online

Moderated Usability study

Users manipulated a lo-fi prototype

Study Details

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Clay

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• worked together at Starbucks in Naperville, Illinois
• 70 years old
• former McDonald’s regional director
• retired, upper middle class
• married with two adult daughters
• college degree
• white
• "unruly"

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Jody

Laura

Participants

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Yvette

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Norma

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• my cafe manager at Barnes & Noble in Lubbock, Texas
• 42 year old single mother of three, with two grandchildren
• First generation American, hispanic heritage
• High school education
• no art education
• Finds creating art scary

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• Same year MFA students at SIUC
• 61 years old
• playwright and college professor
• teaching theater and playwriting
• MFA in playwriting
• Single, with two adult daughters
• undiagnosed neurodivergent
• white
• Always has an action figure in his hand

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• Met in Lubbock, Texas after she saw one of my plays
• 37 years old
• nonbinary, pan
• Widow, no children
• undiagnosed neurodivergent
• One semester of college education
• Unemployed, lower middle class
• highly intelligent and well read in art, literature, politics, and philosophy.

• Worked together at Barnes & Noble in Lubbock, Texas
• single lesbian with no kids
• Undiagnosed neurodivergent
• High school education
• works in retail/food service
• a great appreciation for art
• "obsessed" with fonts, especially Arial and Helvetica

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Prototype / Design Tested

LINK to prototype���

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Finding and picking exhibits were easy.

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• 5 out of 5 participants had no trouble picking an exhibit to attend.

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• Users will not have trouble picking an exhibit.

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“I choose all of them!” (Laura)

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The ticket purchasing path was confusing and suspicious.

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• 3 out of 5 participants found the lack of a final confirmation page before purchasing tickets confusing and suspicious.

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• 4 out of 5 found the process confusing.

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• This means that most users will find the ticket purchasing path suspicious.

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“Oh whoa what the f--k?! How did I just buy tickets?...Where's the confirmation page?" (Yvette)

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Users were confused and had difficulty picking a widget.

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• It was observed that 4 out of 5 participants were confused and had trouble picking a widget.

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• This means that most people will find the widget screen confusing.

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• Many of the participants expressed no interest in getting a widget.

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“The box needs to be clickable. I wouldn't have thought to click the text." (Yvette)

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Users successfully found the profile screen.

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• It was observed that 5 out of 5 participants successfully found and “created” a profile.

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• This means that users will not have trouble finding and “creating” a profile.

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“User quote from a participant that literally adds the voice of our users and helps build empathy.” (P2)

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Most participants found the creating art option both confusing and exciting.

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• It was observed that 4 out of 5 participants found the create art screen confusing. This means that most people will have trouble finding the create art screen.

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• It was observed that 5 out of 5 participants were excited that they could create a piece of Dada art. This means that users will want to create art.

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“I want this art. This IS Dada art…I’d make Dada art all day long.” (Laura)

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Located at the bottom of the profile page

The Dada aesthetic is confusing.

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• I tested the aesthetic by exchanging “Lorem Ipsum” with others from Meet the Ipsums.

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• It was observed that 5 out of 5 participants found the aesthetic and design of the app as a whole confusing.

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• This means that users will find the Dada aesthetic confusing.

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“Holy f--k, what am I looking at?” (Norma)

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BONUS: Without prompting, users chose a Dada artist name.

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• It was observed that 5 out of 5 participants, without prompting, chose a Dada artist name.

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• This means that users will enjoy the options for creativity and personalization.

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“Can I come up with my own name? I want Vork the Vaudeville Vomitorium.” (Jody)

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The ticket purchasing process is confusing.

Participants were confused about the widgets.

Finding the Create Art path was confusing.

Users were excited picking a Dada artist name.

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There need to be more steps in the ticket purchasing process.

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The widget path needs clarification and development.

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The Create Art process needs clarification.

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Personalization needs development.

Research insights

Recommendations

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• The ticket purchasing path seems deceptive because it lacks a final confirmation screen. There are also no connections between the cart, purchasing tickets, and the gift shop. Making a donation is also difficult to locate. All of these elements need more calls-to-action and extra screens offering choices.

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• The widgets need more explanations and clarification in the process. The widget screen needs development. We need to explain why users will benefit from the widgets.

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• The Dada aesthetic is important to manifest in some form in the app, yet not make the app itself confusing. Dada creates a high cognitive load in an audience. Therefore, the true Dada experience should be voluntary: an “anti-app”, a copy of regular app, but embracing the “continuous contradictions” of Dada, accessible from the menu and home screens.

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Thank you!