The Problem
Traditionally, online art shopping gives customers little insight into the accurate color, relative size, and details of a piece of art. The alternative (art galleries) takes too high of a cut from the artists.
The Goal
Create an artist-friendly online original art-buying experience that makes art buyers feel comfortable enough to make a confident purchase by providing adequate information.
Empathizing With the User
User Research
User Personas
Problem Statements
User Journey Maps
User Research Summary
I conducted a competitive audit and identified trends and typical feature sets of sites that sell original artwork. Then I interviewed 5 users that buy art online and from galleries. I learned about their experiences, likes, and frustrations. This helped me identify app features that would differentiate my product from others doing business in the same space.
User Pain Points
Accurate Online Representations of Artwork
Users worry that what is represented online won't accurately reflect colors and the in-person aesthetic of the piece.
Shipping Worries
The shipping process is fraught with peril, and sometimes art that is considered priceless to the owner can be damaged.
Price Point
Auctions can pit buyers against one another resulting in paying more than a piece is worth.
Return Policies
Return policies from art galleries are inflexible. This is a problem when you order art that you haven't seen in real life.
User Personas
User Journey Map
Identified ways in which a digital buying experience could improve the overall art-buying experience.
Starting the Design
Paper Wireframes
Digital Wireframes
Low-fidelity Prototype
Usability Studies
Paper Wireframes
The intial goal was to help users quickly find art they'd be interested in buying. Exploration through paper wireframing surfaced several ideas for implementation.
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Digital Wireframing
The goal of the home screen was to spark an immediate interest in the art inventory, and also to introduce the product's value prosition in the very first user interaction.
Immediately introduce value proposition
Category-based
browsing to help users find art they like
Low-fidelity Prototype
The user flow and navigation were established. A hierarchical structure was created with painting detail page subordinate to search results and browsing pages. A moderated usability session was conducted with 4 users.
Usability Study Findings
Round 1 Findings
1. Navigation is too complex
2. Users don't understand why an account
is necessary
Round 2 Findings
1. The process of listing your artwork is
uninformative and unofficial
2
2. Hamburger menu is not necessary
3. Users struggle to navigate home
Refining the Design
Mockups
High-fidelity Prototype
Accessibility Audit
Mockups
Users preferred a bright and clean background with a simplified layout when compared to the approach of using white cards on a gray background.
Before usability study
After usability study
High-fidelity Prototype
Accessibility Considerations
All text meets WCAG contrast standards and size standards (4.5:1 text to background value ratio, sized at least 14pt for bold and 16pt for non bold text)
Large image viewer on art detail pages
Limited motion in navigation for users who are motion sensitive
Impact
"This is a great product... My illustration work is all for publication, and I can use this to sell the originals that I still own rights to without taking a hit from a gallery."
Garth Bruner, Artist
