Project
Design of a responsive website and mobile app that would give buyers a superior user experience. The focus is on clear navigation and realistic artwork previews, helping buyers explore paintings easily and visualize them with confidence before purchase.
Role
UX Research, Wireframing and Prototyping
The Art Project
Website and mobile app for online art buyers
When purchasing art online, buyers face concerns such as the inability to inspect the work physically, uncertainty about condition, how it will look in their space, authenticity, pricing transparency, and logistics.
The Art Project website and app address these concerns by offering a realistic viewing experience and clear, detailed information that builds confidence, evokes emotion, and encourages purchase.
Understanding the Art Market
A complex and the value for artists and artworks is driven by the intermediaries. The diagram here is a representation of a the traditional model of the art market ecosystem; however, it is been observed that big players entering into new online ecosystem model AmazonArt, Masterworks.io, Artsy, Shopify, Artspace, SaatchiArt, artprice, artnet, etc. Social media players also creating their own marketplaces .
The Art Project will be at an Intersection of online galleries and online selling platform.
The quality of artwork will be closely evaluated by a panel of experts to ensure it meets the highest standards.
Our primary target will be New art buyers and then collectors.
Art Market Ecosytem
Problems
Approach
While each stakeholder in the ecosystem has their own respective problems and challenges, our website and app currently target and aim to address the problems of buyers.
The product would provide a realistic experience and detailed information that evokes emotions and motivates them to funnel down to consideration, ultimately leading to the purchase of a piece of art.
Competition Landscape Overview
Inference
The Art Project has advantages over other competitors by leveraging augmented reality and high-quality displays to showcase artwork while also providing comprehensive information about each piece. This will give more confidence to the buyer to purchase online.
User's Persona
Carry Weiser
Age: 33 years
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Annual Income: $250,000
Occupation: Pediatrician
Goals
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Buy unique art pieces to give personalized character to her home
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Purchase art online seamlessly without having to go to a Gallery due to her busy schedule.
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Discover and support new artists
Personality
Creative
Optimistic
Friendly
Dedicated
Shy
Reliable
Frequently Used Apps
Wall Street Journal
Art News
Bank of America
Instagram
Paint points
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Lack of time to visit many galleries
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Unsure of texture and color while buying online
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Unable to visualize how the art piece will look in her space
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Sometimes, many options are confusing
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Unable to find good art at the right price
About Carry
Carry is a Pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She is single, successful, and a recent homeowner. With her new space, she wants to use her disposable income to invest in timeless pieces for personalized decor. In her free time, she likes to relax at home with a bottle of wine, occasionally hosting a few friends for dinner.
Findings
Mixed preferences for purchasing art or luxury items online and in person
Texture, color, aesthetics, and detailed information about the artwork and the artist are key decision factors
Strong interest in communicating directly with the artist during the purchase process
High importance is placed on transparency in product details, pricing, and return policies
Art is typically purchased one to three times a year, with spending up to USD 10,000
Understanding more about the User
The research aimed to understand art buyers’ behavior, identify key concerns, and map the overall art-buying process. Primary research was conducted using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches through online one-on-one interviews supported by a structured questionnaire.
Affinity Diagram
User Insight
Art buyers who are seeking new pieces of art online require a user friendly platform to browse paintings and feel assured about the accuracy of their purchases
Problem Statement
We have observed that many art buyers who are seeking to purchase new art pieces online feel uncertain about the physical details of the pieces and how the piece will appear in their home.
How might we curate a more realistic experience and boost buyer morale when purchasing art online?
Desktop Wireframes (Low-Fi)
Usability Testing
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Suggestion to differentiate between “featured artists” and existing artists on platform
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Desire to highlight AR feature more, whether through an instructional video or a pop up, as incentivized the user to buy more pieces
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Create responsive sizing for pages/popups
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Desire for breadcrumbs in checkout process to return to previous steps.
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Desire for additional details in checkout page
Desktop and Mobile Wireframes (Mid-Fi)
Way Forward
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Enhance the user experience by developing more features that cater not only to new online buyers but also to seasoned buyers and collectors.
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Ensure a seamless experience on all devices by creating responsive breakpoints for tablet and mobile.
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Add new features for users, such as a virtual gallery, forums, reviews, and a chat feature
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Enable artists to easily upload their artworks by themselves and establish a panel of judges to review and approve the submissions.
Summary
The website and app offer features to ease concerns of online art buyers, including:
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Augmented Reality Preview: Enables buyers to preview artwork in their own space, boosting their confidence in the purchase.
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Artist Information: Provides detailed artist information to help buyers make informed decisions.
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Magnifying Feature: Allows buyers to examine artwork in detail to ensure it meets their expectations.
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Direct Communication with Artist: Establishes a connection and increases buyer confidence in the purchase.
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Return Policy: Empowers buyers to return artwork if not satisfied, providing a safety net and increasing confidence.
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Authenticity Certificate: Guarantees artwork authenticity, preventing fraud and increasing buyer confidence.
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AI Assistant: Helps buyers make informed decisions and simplifies the buying process.
The website and app aim to address online art buyers concerns related to physical inspection, authenticity, pricing transparency, and logistics, boosting their confidence in purchases
Empathy Map
Complexity-Priority Matrix
The available information on users has been organized to gain insights on factors such as reasons for purchasing art, preferred painting styles, budget constraints.
The experiences with buying online versus offline, and challenges faced when buying a piece of art.
We mapped the complexity priority graph and plotted the key features accordingly.
Some of the key features that needs to be integral to address the consumers concerns are; AR preview, AI assistant, detailed view and info about the artworks, filters, clear return policy and process etc