SPECULATIVE ANNOTATION
Digital Annotation Tool
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS | LABS
Digital Annotation Tool
THE TEAM
Adam Arling, Olivia Graham, Courtney McClellen, Jessica Vu
MY ROLE
UX Designer and Researcher
TOOLS
Figma
OVERVIEW
Speculative Annotation is an open-source dynamic web application and public art project by Library of Congress Innovator in Residence Courtney McClellan. The tool presents a unique mini collection of Free to Use items from the Library of Congress for students, teachers, and users of all ages to annotate through captions, drawings, and other types of markmaking. Working with curators at the Library and students and teachers in the classroom, McClellan developed Speculative Annotation to provide a way for students to speak back to history.
Speculative Annotation connects items from the past with the day-to-day experience of users. It was made with a K-12 audience in mind, with the hope that primary sources from the Library’s collection will be used by educators. The items are shared with contextual aids including curator annotations and links to additional resources for further research on the Library’s website.
Learn more about the project here.
High-fidelity comprehensive layouts handed off to developer:
Welcome Screen
Annotations
Saving Annotations
Gallery
Light Mode - Annotations
Light Mode - Gallery
Initial Ideas
I was approached by artist, Courtney McClellen to collaborate with her on a project through the LC Labs, an opportunity through the Library of Congress that encourages and supports innovation with the library’s digital collections.
We wanted to develop an educational tool that would allow educators, K-12 students, and the public the opportunity to explore and interact with the Library of Congress’ digital collections in an engaging and thoughtful way.
User Research
HEURISTIC EVALUATION
I performed heuristic evaluations of the application as it was in development, recording usability errors and providing the developer with recommendations on how usability could be improved along the way.
USABILITY TEST
We conducted virtual, moderated usability tests to evaluate how users interact with our tool. The goal of the tests were to evaluate how intuitive the tool was to use and to gather users’ overall satisfaction. I lead the team through usability testing by determining goals and tasks for the test, writing the script and survey, training the team to conduct the tests, and evaluating the results that would drive the design moving forward.
Some findings:
Things users’ thought were missing/confusing
Users’ most useful tool for annotating
Users’ rating of their overall experience
From these results, I developed recommendations that were implemented in the final design of the tool.