Fresq – An AI-powered museum guide that personalizes every visit
2024—2025 (1 year, ongoing product development)
2024—2025 (1 year, ongoing product development)
Team: 1 designer, 3 engineers, external curators
Team: 1 designer, 3 engineers, external curators
Zurich (CH)
Zurich (CH)
Project won First Ventures Grant by Gebert Rüf Stiftung
Project won First Ventures Grant by Gebert Rüf Stiftung
Project won Pro Helvetia Design Grant
Project won Pro Helvetia Design Grant
Project was selected by Z-Kubator (ZHdK)
Project was selected by Z-Kubator (ZHdK)
Co-founder, UX & Service Design
Fresq is a digital guide that uses AI to deliver personalized narratives in museums and heritage sites. Instead of one-size-fits-all audio tours, it delivers thematic pathways and adapts to visitors’ interests, background, and time available.
Fresq is a digital guide that uses AI to deliver personalized narratives in museums and heritage sites. Instead of one-size-fits-all audio tours, it delivers thematic pathways and adapts to visitors’ interests, background, and time available.
Context
Museums face a paradox: they hold valuable knowledge on their exhibits, but most visitors experience only fragments of it. Traditional tools like brochures, and audioguides are static, generic, and poorly adapted to diverse audiences. Visitors often struggle with content that feels too long, too academic, or not engaging. Some visitors feel excluded from cultural experiences.
Context
Museums face a paradox: they hold valuable knowledge on their exhibits, but most visitors experience only fragments of it. Traditional tools like brochures, and audioguides are static, generic, and poorly adapted to diverse audiences. Visitors often struggle with content that feels too long, too academic, or not engaging. Some visitors feel excluded from cultural experiences.
Design Challenge
How might museums translate curators’ deep knowledge into personalized, accessible, and meaningful visitor journeys, without overwhelming or excluding audiences?
Design Challenge
How might museums translate curators’ deep knowledge into personalized, accessible, and meaningful visitor journeys, without overwhelming or excluding audiences?
My Role
Led user research (ethnographic studies, visitor & other stakeholder's interviews)
Designed visitor journeys, flows, and pathways. Designed co-creation workshops with curators
Prototyped and tested the AI guide interface (voice-first & web app)
My Role
Led user research (ethnographic studies, visitor & other stakeholder's interviews)
Designed visitor journeys, flows, and pathways. Designed co-creation workshops with curators
Prototyped and tested the AI guide interface (voice-first & web app)
User Research
Service Design
AI Interfaces
Conversational Design
UX/UI
Solution
Fresq is a personalized AI guide that transforms static museum interpretation into dynamic, dialogical experiences. Visitors explore via their own devices, choosing paths based on curiosity.
At the same time, museums use Fresq's CMS. A content management platform, allowing curators to define pathways and themes using their own material with full editorial control.
Solution
Fresq is a personalized AI guide that transforms static museum interpretation into dynamic, dialogical experiences. Visitors explore via their own devices, choosing paths based on curiosity.
At the same time, museums use Fresq's CMS. A content management platform, allowing curators to define pathways and themes using their own material with full editorial control.
Solution
Fresq is a personalized AI guide that transforms static museum interpretation into dynamic, dialogical experiences. Visitors explore via their own devices, choosing paths based on curiosity.
At the same time, museums use Fresq's CMS. A content management platform, allowing curators to define pathways and themes using their own material with full editorial control.
Impact
Impact
Impact
Validation: Selected for pilot by the Aargauer Kunsthaus and other museums.
In discussion with the Palace of Versailles.
Curatorial benefit: Museums recognized that Fresq integrates easily in their workflow and helps reusing their existing materials.
Visitor engagement: Testing showed increased engagement, longer focused interactions, and positive feedback across novice and expert audiences.
User testing showed 30% longer engagement time compared to standard audioguides.
User testing showed 30% longer engagement time compared to standard audioguides.
User testing showed 30% longer engagement time compared to standard audioguides.
85-90% of visitors confiremed better experience exploring exhibits with Fresq.
85-90% of visitors confiremed better experience exploring exhibits with Fresq.
85-90% of visitors confiremed better experience exploring exhibits with Fresq.
Research
Research
Research
I conducted ethnographic fieldwork and interviews. Methods included:
—Visitor journey observations (tracking behavior, crowding, orientation)
—Semi-structured interviews with novice and expert visitors
—Co-creation workshops with curators and educators
—Iterative prototyping and usability testing with visitors across different age and personas
Visitors want agency to choose their own depth and themes
Visitors want agency to choose their own depth and themes
Visitors want agency to choose their own depth and themes
Audiences prefer storytelling formats instead of object-based information
Audiences prefer storytelling formats instead of object-based information
Audiences prefer storytelling formats instead of object-based information
Curators need a way to bring hidden research into accessible formatsCurators need a way to bring hidden research into accessible formats.
Curators need a way to bring hidden research into accessible formatsCurators need a way to bring hidden research into accessible formats.
Curators need a way to bring hidden research into accessible formatsCurators need a way to bring hidden research into accessible formats.
Museums need a way to control the content
Museums need a way to control the content
Museums need a way to control the content
Outline
User Research
Observed visitors and interviewed curators at major museums to uncover pain points in orientation, comprehension, and engagement.
Curatorial Collaboration
Worked with curators to integrate hidden research and narratives into intuitive, visitor-friendly pathways.
Understanding Audiences
Mapped visitor motivations and behaviors to design personas and journeys beyond one-size-fits-all museum design.
Technology Exploration
Prototyped AI-driven guides that adapt in real time to visitors’ context, interests, and pacing.
Learning & Flow
Applied constructivist learning theory to balance deep focus with accessibility, ensuring Fresq works for both novices and experts.
Synthesis & Ethnography
Combined ethnographic insights with testing to refine Fresq into a personalized, conversational museum guide.
Visitor Personas & Journey
I distinguished between "novice visitors" who might feel overwhelmed and need more guided experiences versus "expert visitors" who prefer in-depth, detailed content.
Visitor Personas & Journey
I distinguished between "novice visitors" who might feel overwhelmed and need more guided experiences versus "expert visitors" who prefer in-depth, detailed content.
Visitor Personas & Journey
I distinguished between "novice visitors" who might feel overwhelmed and need more guided experiences versus "expert visitors" who prefer in-depth, detailed content.
Voice User Interface
Iteration variants
Prototype testing
Brand Identitty Visuals
