2016
A social enterprise founded with a clear mission
Smartify was founded with a simple but ambitious goal: to help people connect more deeply with art and culture using the devices already in their pockets. Early work focused on object recognition via camera scan, challenging the idea that interpretation had to be linear, prescriptive, or tied to rented hardware.
Impact: Laid the foundations for visitor-led discovery, shifting power from fixed tours to individual curiosity.
2017
Official public launch
Smartify publicly launched in London, introducing a new way for visitors to explore collections by scanning artworks and instantly unlocking stories, audio, and context. From day one, the platform was designed to work across multiple institutions, not as a bespoke one-off.
Impact: Proved that mobile-first interpretation could be intuitive, scalable, and engaging — without disrupting the physical gallery experience.
2018
Democratising access at international scale
Smartify expanded internationally, launching with major institutions outside the UK. This demonstrated that the platform could operate reliably at national-museum scale, across different audiences, curatorial models, and operational contexts.
Impact: Lowered the barrier for institutions to adopt digital interpretation globally, without major infrastructure change or capital investment.
2019
Access and inclusion as a core design principle
Accessibility became embedded into Smartify’s product design rather than treated as an afterthought. Audio-first interpretation, inclusive UX patterns, and flexible content structures supported visitors with different access needs and learning styles.
Impact: Enabled more equitable cultural participation, allowing mixed-ability groups to share the same experience rather than being separated into parallel offers.
2020
Pandemic response and digital reach
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Smartify helped museums stay connected with audiences while doors were closed. Cultural content was made widely accessible beyond the gallery, supporting institutions as they shifted rapidly toward digital engagement.
Impact: Helped museums maintain relevance and visibility during global shutdowns, reinforcing the role of digital platforms as essential, not optional.
2022
Extending the visit beyond the gallery
Smartify expanded beyond in-gallery interpretation to support the entire visitor lifecycle. Institutions began using the platform to connect pre-visit discovery, on-site engagement, and post-visit follow-up through integrated CRM, analytics, and marketing capabilities.
Impact: Shifted digital guides from isolated experiences to strategic tools — helping museums understand audiences better, communicate more effectively, and build longer-term relationships.
2023
Personalisation at the visitor level
AI-driven personalisation was introduced, allowing visitors to build their own routes and trails based on interests, time available, and preferences. Experiences adapted to the individual rather than forcing visitors into a single curatorial narrative.
Impact: Increased relevance, agency, and engagement by replacing “one-size-fits-all” tours with adaptive, visitor-led journeys.
2024
From app to visitor engagement platform
Smartify evolved from a standalone app into a modular visitor engagement platform. Institutions could combine personalised tours, wayfinding, content authoring, analytics, and off-site storytelling within a single ecosystem.
Impact: Gave museums long-term digital ownership — enabling them to manage content, data, and engagement holistically rather than relying on fragmented tools.
2025
Scalable, hybrid, future-proof engagement
Smartify introduced a fully hybrid model combining bring-your-own-device (BYOD) with dedicated multimedia devices, alongside immersive Web-based experiences. This allowed institutions to serve diverse audiences while remaining operationally flexible and resilient.
Impact: Future-proofed digital visitor engagement by enabling institutions to scale, adapt, and innovate without locking into a single delivery model.
