Standby
A minimal, quiet state keeps the phone from becoming the center of the visit.
AI experience design · Museum UX · Accessibility
MusePilot
A quiet AI companion for first-time and occasional museum visitors that offers one helpful next step—then fades back so attention can return to the art.
My roleConcept originator, product strategy, PRD, interaction model, and early prototyping
TeamFive-person student team
TimelineSpring 2026
ToolsFigma, FigJam, Figma Make
My contribution
I originated the MusePilot concept, wrote the PRD, defined the product’s core behavior, and contributed to the early prototype. My teammates led much of the final visual system and high-fidelity motion prototype.
Solution
A companion that appears only when you need it.
MusePilot supports moments of uncertainty without managing the entire visit. It stays quiet while visitors explore, responds when they need help, and returns to Standby when the task is complete.
Recommend
MusePilot offers one nearby suggestion and explains why it may be relevant.
Guide, then step back
Brief directions include useful access context, then return the visitor to the art.
A closing moment
At the end of the visit, MusePilot creates a personal recap that visitors can save or share.
The challenge
Visitors need guidance—but they do not want the guide to become the visit.
First-time and occasional visitors often have limited time, energy, and familiarity with the collection. They want reassurance without losing conversation, attention, or spontaneous discovery.
Visitors need
- Help deciding where to start
- Clear directions and time awareness
- Rest and accessibility information
- Confidence they will see something meaningful
Visitors want
- Freedom to wander
- Time with the artwork
- Conversation with companions
- Fewer interruptions and less screen attention
Our opportunity was not to design a smarter tour. It was to design a quieter form of guidance.
How feedback changed the product
From route manager to quiet companion.
Before
The route organized the visit.
Our early concept centered a complete route, progress tracking, frequent next-stop instructions, and a prominent Replan action.
Feedback
The guide was becoming the visit.
Critique surfaced a central concern: visitors come to museums to look, talk, and explore—not to spend the experience following a phone.
After
Support became on demand.
We changed MusePilot from a managed route into a Standby companion that helps briefly and then fades back.
Offer one nearby option instead of planning the entire visit by default.
Let visitors stop or wander without making the experience feel broken.
Help at moments of uncertainty, then return attention to the museum.
This changed the product goal from route completion to visitor confidence, attention, and freedom.
What we learned
The prototype needed to become quieter, clearer, and more supportive.
Museum observations, interviews, critique, and a four-participant qualitative prototype round helped us focus the final concept.
Pause mattered more than Replan
Visitors wanted to stop or wander without feeling that they had failed to follow the experience.
System states needed clarity
People needed to understand whether MusePilot considered the visit active, paused, exploratory, or finished.
Access belonged in recommendations
Seating, stairs, water, restrooms, distance, and fatigue shaped what visitors could realistically do next.
The recap created delight
A personal record extended the experience and created a natural opportunity for sharing.
What changed
- Route guidance was reduced.
- Standby became the default state.
- Pause and rest became more prominent.
- Recommendations became shorter and more situational.
- Access information became part of the core experience.
- The recap and share experience was retained.
Reflection
Designing restraint.
We initially treated better guidance as more guidance. This project taught me that in an attention-sensitive environment, the strongest AI behavior may be restraint.
MusePilot became more useful when it stopped trying to manage the entire visit and began supporting specific moments of uncertainty. My most important contribution was defining this product direction.
Interactive prototype
Explore MusePilot.
Move through the final concept as a visitor. The prototype demonstrates quiet guidance, rest support, and the end-of-visit recap.
Open full-screen in Figma ↗