Buddhist Symbols Style Guide

Formative evaluation of the V&A s Buddhist Symbols Style Guide Prepared by Yvonne Harris Consulting Yvonne Harris Consulting 44 Grovelands Way Grays, Essex, RM17 5YG Tel: 07766 256532 email: yvonneharris_consulting@hotmail.co.uk

Contents Page 1 Executive summary 3 2 Recommendations 4 3 Background 5 4 Methodology 5 5 Findings and recommendations 6 5.1 Visitor profile 6 5.2 Attractor screen 6 5.3 Definitions of Figurative and Non-figurative 6 5.4 Non-figurative section 6 5.4.1 Graphic images on the buttons 6 5.4.2 Amount and content of the text in the Non-Figurative section 7 5.4.3 Unfamiliar or foreign words used in the Non-Figurative section 7 5.5 Figurative section 7 5.5.1 Visitors understanding of Mudras 7 5.5.2 Lakshanas: Wisdom bump and Hairs on the Head buttons 8 5.5.3 Amount and content of the text in the Figurative section 8 5.5.4 Unfamiliar or foreign words used in the Figurative section 8 5.6 Style, layout and design 9 5.7 Navigation and usability 9 5.8 Suggested improvements 9 6 Appendix 11 Buddhist Symbols style guide formative evaluation 6.1 questionnaire 11 Yvonne Harris Consulting 2

1 Executive Summary A computer-based prototype of the Buddhist Symbols Style Guide was tested in the V&A s sculpture gallery in with 14 visitors. Eight of the visitors were female and six were male. All visitors understood that on the final version of the touch-screen style guide they would need to touch the screen to begin using it. All but one visitor found the style guide easy or very easy to navigate. Nearly all visitors were able to describe Non-Figurative, while approximately two-thirds were able to describe Figurative correctly. Just over half of the visitors understood what the graphic images on the buttons represented, while a further four partially understood what they represented. Visitors were more able to associate some of the graphics with the titles on the buttons than others. The pages in the non-figurative section were judged by visitors to contain the right amount of information, and the text was described as being easy to follow. A few visitors would have liked slightly more explanation on some of the topics such as the Wheel of Law and the Tree of Enlightenment. The Non-Figurative section contained a few words that visitors had not encountered before but the descriptions were thought to be adequate. Only approximately a third of visitors had heard of the word Mudras before, but after reading the text in the Figurative section virtually all visitors thought the explanation was clear, and were able to describe Mudras as hand gestures. Virtually all visitors were able to correctly describe what happened on the Lakshanas pages; how the outline of the Buddha appears first, then the specific part of the statue which is the subject of that page appears (such as the Wisdom Bump or the Hairs of Head), and then the rest of the image is filled in. Most visitors thought that the pages in the Figurative section contained about the right of information, although again, a few visitors would have liked slightly more explanation about some of the topics. As with the Non-Figurative section, this part of the guide was considered to be straightforward and easy to understand, despite there being more unfamiliar words. However, in all but one case, the explanations of these words were considered to be clear. Most comments about the style, layout and design were positive. Visitors described the style guide as attractive, simple, clear and informative. Just under half of the visitors also commented on the colours and contrasts used in the style guide; a couple of these were positive but some were more critical. Yvonne Harris Consulting 3

2 Recommendations Add a back button or hyperlink the title Buddhist Symbols so that visitors are able to navigate back to the introductory page Use clear graphic images on the heading buttons If possible, use diverse images from the Museum s collection in order to illustrate a particular concept Re-write the text on the introductory page of the Figurative section to give a clearer explanation of what Figurative means Add a sentence or two to some of the topic areas, in response to visitors requests for more information Consider including phonetic pronunciations for unfamiliar or foreign words Consider re-visiting the colour palette used in the style guide and use colours more traditionally associated with Buddhism Yvonne Harris Consulting 4

3 Background An interactive Style Guide about Buddhist Symbols is being developed for a new Asian sculpture gallery at the V&A, which is due to open in April 2009. The final version of the Style Guide will be in the form of a touch-screen interactive kiosk. It will be consistent in design and layout with other style guides already available in the Museum. The target audience for the style guide is adult visitors. The aims of this evaluation were to look at: The usability and navigation elements The buttons: o Whether the buttons were clear o What the user s understanding of the graphic images were on some of the buttons The text: o The length of the text o Whether it was pitched right for visitors o How easy or difficult the text was to read o Whether unknown and/or foreign words were explained adequately 4 Methodology A questionnaire was developed following an initial meeting with Hajra Shaikh and Eric Bates, the V&A s multi-media manager. Data collection was conducted in the V&A s sculpture gallery on a weekday during using a computer-based prototype of the style guide. The prototype required visitors to use a touchpad rather than a touch-screen interface. Please see the Appendix (section 6, page 11) for the final version of the questionnaire. In total fourteen visitors were interviewed; eight females and six males. Yvonne Harris Consulting 5

5 Findings and recommendations 5.1 Visitor profile Overall 14 visitors were interviewed. Of these, eight were female and six were male. Table 1: visitor profile 17-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-59 60-65 65+ Total Female 1 0 2 2 0 3 0 8 Male 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 6 Total 2 2 2 2 0 4 2 14 5.2 Attractor screen Despite testing with a laptop and using the touchpad all visitors understood that in the final interactive on gallery they would need to touch the screen to begin 5.3 Definitions of Figurative and Non-figurative After reading the information on the appropriate pages, 12 out of the 14 visitors were able to define non-figurative, whilst slightly less could define figurative (10 visitors). For example: Non-figurative: No figure in it it s not a picture of a person (Female aged 60-65) When you don t use an image of a person to represent the Buddha you use symbols instead (female aged 25-34) Doesn t show Buddha as a figure shows him as symbols (female aged 45-54) Figurative: A human representation of the Buddha with hand gestures and so on (female aged 17-34) Buddha represented as a human (female aged 45-54) Use of part of the human body, for example, the hands, not the whole body, which are symbolic of the Buddha s life and death (female aged 60-65) 5.4 Non-figurative section 5.4.1 Graphic images on the buttons Visitors were asked to look at the graphic images on the buttons and explain what they thought the images were showing. Eight visitors understood that the images on the buttons were graphic representations of the headings, and a further four visitors partly understood what the graphics on the buttons were trying to represent. One visitor thought that the graphics were clearer in the Figurative section. However, two visitors had no idea what the graphics were representing, even when they were also later shown the buttons in the figurative section. Yvonne Harris Consulting 6

It s showing the images of what it symbolises (female aged 60-65) They correspond with the headings (female aged 35-44) It s clear that some of these, like the throne, relate to the titles. I m not sure about the others though because I haven t come across these before (female aged 45-54) 5.4.2 Amount and content of the text in the Non-figurative section All of the 14 visitors described the text they had viewed as being the right amount. Furthermore all of the visitors thought the text was easy to follow, describing it as fine and straightforward. Despite this a few visitors felt that further explanation of very specific things would have been beneficial. For example: The Tree of Enlightenment doesn t say what he was enlightened about (female aged 45-54) It doesn t explain what nirvana is it just says that it s a state (female aged 45-54) It doesn t explain what the wheel of Buddhist law is, so then you have to go to that box to find out, whereas on Wikipedia they d underline the words so you could click on them (male aged 25-34) The amount of text depends on what you re trying to explain. So for Stupa it s about right but on the Wheel of Law page it would be good to give people a more in-depth idea (male aged 65+) You could have a more information button so you could, for example, find out more about the wheel (female aged 35-44) 5.4.3 Unfamiliar or foreign words used in the Non-Figurative section There were a few words on the non-figurative pages that visitors had not come across before ( stupa, mahaparinirvana, dharmachakra, enlightenment, and some titles of places), but in nearly all cases the explanations were thought to be clear or very clear: Dharmachakra - it s explained well here (female aged 60-65) There are a few unfamiliar words but they need to be here, and they are explained fine (female aged 35-44) 5.5 Figurative section 5.5.1 Visitors understanding of Mudras Five visitors had come across the word mudras before and nine had not. All but one visitor was able to describe mudras as hand gestures. Some visitors went further, describing it as follows: Hand gestures, and each pose has a meaning (female aged 60-65) If you can read mudras you can read the statue (female aged 60-65) Thirteen visitors thought that the explanation of mudras was clear or very clear. Yvonne Harris Consulting 7

5.5.2 Lakshanas: Wisdom bump and Hairs of the Head buttons Visitors were asked to described what they saw happening on the screen when they clicked on the wisdom bump and the hairs on head pages in the Lakshanas section. All but one visitor could accurately describe what they say happening on the hairs of head page, and only two visitors could not accurately describe what they saw on the wisdom bump page. The shape provides the outline. It comes into focus, and there is a change in saturation of the colour and the image that s filled in (female aged 35-44) It denotes the bump and shows you where it is (male aged 65+) It s highlighted in colour what section is being talked about (female aged 17-24) It shows the designs of their hairdos (male aged 65+) 5.5.3 Amount and content of the text in the Figurative section Eleven visitors described the amount of text in the pages they had viewed as being about right. Three visitors thought there was too little information on some pages, particularly the hairs of head page. For example: It doesn t say why the curls point to the right (female aged 60-65) It s not clear if the information refers to all images or just this one (female aged 35-44) Virtually all visitors found the information in the figurative section easy and straightforward to understand: You get the information that s needed. It s pretty simple, and you have a visual connection to the words and a description (male aged 17-24) A lot of the words are new but it s fine (male aged 60-65) I understood most of it (male aged 65+) 5.5.4 Unfamiliar or foreign words used in the Figurative section There were more words in the figurative section that visitors had not come across before: 3 visitors had not heard of protuberance 5 visitors had not heard of ushnisha 1 visitor had not heard of pantheon 1 visitor had not heard of bodhisattvas 1 visitor had not heard of shakyamuni In all but one case of protuberance the explanations were thought to be clear or very clear. One visitor suggested adding the phonetic pronunication of the word in brackets next to it. Yvonne Harris Consulting 8

5.6 Style, layout and design All visitors made at least one comment on the style, layout and design. Most comments were positive, with the style guide being described it as simple, straightforward, attractive, clear and informative. For example: I d read it and be able to describe what I d seen (male aged 65+) It s really good, straightforward and simple (female aged 35-44) It s nice and attractive, and it makes things simple and clear (male 25-34) It s clear and informative (female aged 45-54) It s good although I would prefer a bigger screen (male aged 65+) It s a very nice simple format and the icons are clear (female aged 35-44) One visitor (female aged 35-44) commented that she thought there was a lot going on in the two menus in the Lakshanas section and suggested shrinking the size of the buttons to alleviate this. Additionally, six visitors commented specifically on the colours and contrasts used in the style guide. The only critical comments to do with the style, layout and design were about the colours and contrasts used. I m impressed by the colour it s a good peaceful calm colour for a museum (female aged 60-65) It s pleasant enough, but it s not very Asian. You could possibly have something a bit more dramatic (female aged 60-65) I don t like the turquoise colour and I don t think the colour works. I would like a colour that works with Buddhism such as an earth colour like green or brown (female aged 60-65) It could be more colourful. This blends in too much so I m not really picking out the interesting stuff. I don t think I d put blue in with this either. I think of rich colours like reds and golds for this (male aged 25-34) I m not sure about the darker turquoise colour [used on the Lakshanas submenu Hairs of head and so on]. I might have problems distinguishing between the two turquoise colours (male aged 17-25) The contrast is good the colour with the white text. It s clear and it stands out, and it s in a good font (female aged 45-54) 5.7 Navigation and usability 11 visitors found the style guide easy or very easy to use. Only one visitor, who admitted he was not computer literate, said he found the style guide difficult to use. 5.8 Suggested improvements Visitors had a number of suggestions for improving the style guide. For example: Images Use a larger image for the Wheel of Law Use a better image for the Tree of Enlightenment if one is available Yvonne Harris Consulting 9

Where possible, use a number of example images to represent the same concept Text/content Add another sentence or two to the Wheel of Law section to explain what the eight spokes are and how the wheel is associated with it. Include Find out More buttons for visitors to find out more information on a specific area of the style guide Use a larger font size or use a larger screen in order to make the text easier to read Style, layout and design Improve the contrast Re-design the symbols so that they are more attractive Navigation Offset the titles figurative and non-figurative Include a back button or hyperlink the title so that visitors are able to easily navigate around the site, and return to the introductory page Yvonne Harris Consulting 10

6 Appendix: Buddhist Symbols style guide evaluation questionnaire 6.1 Buddhist symbols interactive evaluation Hello, my name is Yvonne. The V&A are currently developing a new interactive style guide about Buddhist symbols and they would like some visitors to try it out and give their feedback on it. It would take about 5 minutes. Would you be interested? 1a. This is the first screen you would see when you approached the touch screen kiosk in the exhibition. What would you do to start using the Buddhist Symbols Style Guide? 1b. (next page) Please read the information on this screen. What do you think the terms figurative and non-figurative mean? Please have a look at this screen and then click on the button to enter the nonfigurative section 2. What do you think the pictures on the buttons are showing you? Why is that? If you re not sure then please have a guess Now please read the information on this page and then briefly go through each of these sections and have a look at the text. 3a. What are your thoughts about the amount of text on each page in the non-figurative section? too much too little about right 3b. How easy or complicated was it to follow the text? {Prompt: would you say that for the general V&A visitor the text is pitched too easy, too difficult or about right?} Why is that? 3c. Were there any words here you hadn t come across before? If so how well do you think they were explained? Word How well explained: v unclear, unclear, clear, or v clear Now I d like you to move to the figurative section. Please briefly look at the text on this page. 4a. Is Mudras a word you ve come across before? Yes No Yvonne Harris Consulting 11

4b. Please describe in your own words what Mudras is. If you re not sure please have a guess 4c. How well do you think the term Mudras was explained here? Was it: very unclear unclear clear very clear 4c. If unclear or very unclear ask Why is that? Now please move on to the Lakshanas page 4a. Please click on the Wisdom bump button and describe to me what you see happen on the screen. 4b. Please do the same thing for the Hairs of head button 4c. {Prompt: if visitors haven t accurately described what happens then ask: How clear or unclear is it that first you see an outline shape of the exhibit, then the detailed part that relates to the term or name and where it is positioned, and then the rest of the image?, and show them the process again} 5a. What are your thoughts about the amount of text on each page in the Figurative section? too much too little about right 5b. How easy or complicated was it to follow the text? {Prompt: would you say that for the general V&A visitor the text is pitched too easy, too difficult or about right?} Why is that? 5c. Were there any (other) words here you hadn t come across before? If so how well do you think they were explained? Word How well explained: v unclear, unclear, clear, or v clear If Q2 not answered correctly ask again: 6. What do you think the pictures on the buttons are showing you? Why is that? If you re not sure then please have a guess Yvonne Harris Consulting 12

7. Overall, what are your thoughts on the style, layout and design of this style guide? Why is that? Anything else? 8a. How easy or difficult was it to use this style guide? very easy easy ok difficult very difficult 8b. {If difficult or very difficult} Why is that? 9. What, if any, improvements do you think we could make to this interactive 10. Finally, which of these age categories do you fit into: 17-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-59 60-65 65+ Thank and close Note Gender Male Female Yvonne Harris Consulting 13