The Project
We have developed a concept for an artwork archival app that serves as a bridge between artwork and artist. This app provides users with a platform to seamlessly discover more from their local galleries. It allows users to effortlessly search, scan, and save notes related to artwork, artists, and exhibitions, all within a single, convenient location.
User Resarch
After conducting a comprehensive competitor analysis, I gained valuable insights into the existing methods users employ to discover and make notes about artwork and artists. The analysis revealed several noteworthy apps, including Wikipedia, Wikiart, Smartify, and The National Gallery, which excel in categorizing, recommending, and promoting artwork.
From this analysis, I drew several key observations:
- While these apps provide a wealth of information, the abundance of content can be overwhelming for users.
- Many of these apps lack recommendations or personalization options, potentially limiting the user's tailored experience.
- There is a limited ability to effectively categorize or save information within these apps.
- Interestingly, all of the analyzed apps share a common focus on increasing interaction between users and galleries.
These insights from the competitor analysis have informed our approach to developing an artwork archival app that addresses these shortcomings and offers a more user-friendly and personalized experience.
Pain Points
1: Information:
Levels of information on artwork and artists are incredibly varied from gallery to gallery.
Levels of information on artwork and artists are incredibly varied from gallery to gallery.
2: Discoverability:
Users want proper tools to discover artwork and artists, going from one to another seamlessly and without needing to simply ‘stumble upon’ them.
3: Accessibility:
Galleries cater to wide audiences and therefore the app will need to account for that. Giving the user proper tools to access the best experience from each gallery will be key to a successful app.
User Personas
Primary:
Name: Sarah | Age: 19 | Occupation: Student
Sarah is a second year fine art student. She’s doing research into early 20th century constructivism for a project. She is incredibly passionate about her art, she wants a way in which she can document and keep track of her research whilst visiting galleries for inspiration.
Goals:
- Gain thorough understanding of artwork and their artists
- Develop a library of inspiration
Frustrations:
- Lack of information in art galleries
- Hard to keep track and organise discovered artwork
The Problem:
Sarah is an art student with a deep interest in constructivism who needs to conduct research into constructivist artists because she uses that research to inspire her own artwork and develop her university project.
Secondary:
Name: Dave | Age: 32 | Occupation: Structural Engineer
Dave comes from a creative background but decided to channel that creativity into structural engineering to pursue a lucrative career. He spends his time on social media apps, following multiple art influencers and sharing those on his own channels and to his friends who also share an artistic passion.
Goals:
- Exploring new ways of experiencing artwork
- Organisation and attention to detail
Frustrations:
- Little to no connection between the galleries and online
- Lack of knowing where/how to purchase artwork
The problem:
Dave is a structural engineer who needs a way to bring more interaction between himself and his passion for art because he feels there's a lack of connection between their online presence and the gallery the artworks exhibited in.
User Journey Map
Wireframes
I began by creating basic wireframes, which were then transformed into low-fidelity prototypes. The primary objective was to map out the user journey, starting from the home screen and extending to the utilization of the search functionality to find and make notes about specific artwork. Additionally, I explored alternative journeys, such as utilizing the scanning feature to achieve the same objective. Another focus was on integrating an exhibition location feature, allowing users to visualize the whereabouts of discovered artwork. Furthermore, I incorporated the capability to send directions to the user's Google Maps for seamless navigation to the desired location.
Usability Study Findings
In total, I conducted two studies to enhance the user experience. The first study addressed accessibility concerns by improving the clarity of labels and incorporating helpful overlays. These changes were implemented to ensure that users can navigate the system effectively and without any difficulties.
The second study was centered around the addition of features that foster a deeper connection between users and the scanned/discovered artwork. I wanted to provide users with the ability to explore further links and reading materials related to the artwork. By introducing these features, we aimed to enhance the overall user experience and enable users to engage more closely with the content.
These studies allowed me to identify and address key issues related to accessibility and user engagement, leading to significant improvements in the system's usability and functionality.
Round 1:
- Users wanted more recommendations and search options
- Buttons needed to be labeled and specific
- Addition of help overlays to improve user understanding of apps features
Round 2:
- Much more focus on links between users location and nearby exhibitions
- Larger fonts for page titles
- Inclusion on third-party links for sale availability on applicable artworks
Micro-Interactions
This animation is an example of mico-interactions for the main lower navigational icons. These were created in Adobe After-Effects and exported to a Lottie file to ensure high quality and easy integration.
