Let's connect!
How might we improve the efficiency of tracking inventory and selling art while tailoring the process to the specific needs of artists?
The Problem
The Solution
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Streamlined inventory upload
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Industry-specific sales integration
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Sales data insights
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Advanced art filtering
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Seamless viewing room sharing
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Artwork status tracking
Contact Management
Uploading Artwork
Creating Viewing Rooms
Inventory Management
MVP Features
Introducing artists' new BFF
MVP features
Uploading Artwork
Creating Viewing Rooms
Inventory Management
Contact Management
Our design journey
The Process
Discovery
Synthesisis
Reflection
Ideation
Delivery
Artists require flexible payment methods tailored to various sales channels.
PDF portfolios and catalogs are prevalent in the industry but hard to fully integrate digitally.
Artists lack art-specific tools for managing their inventory effectively.
Insights that guided our design decisions
Main Research Findings
Unpaid work and client chasing are common artist challenges.
Artists prioritize clear, accurate presentation to improve sales communication.
Building relationships within the art world is important for artists' growth and opportunities.
Prototype Walkthrough
Apostrophe step-by-step ✨
Send online viewing room (OVR) link to client and check insights
Mimics real-life private showings and can be sent to non-app members
Art-specific inventory and sales setup with flexible sign-up and draft-saving
Share virtual art rooms and gather performance data seamlessly
Sign up or log in, upload inventory, set purchase mode, and save drafts
Filter and select artworks for private showing
Click here to explore the clickable prototype.
🎨 So, how did we arrive to the end product?
Our team's Structure
Meet the dream team
PM, UX Designer
Research Lead
UI Designer
UX Designer
My key contributions: stakeholder communication, user flows, design studio, visual design, prototyping, usability testing, journey mapping, user interviews, and presentation decks.
Client Interviews
Gathering client insights
Takeaways:
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Apostrophe's existing B2C business could scale into B2B opportunities by leveraging OVR links.
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The art-fintech intersection supports Apostrophe's mission to eliminate artist stigma and foster upward mobility with access to the right financial tools and integrations.
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Apostrophe's goal is to offer an art-specific business tool to be the main organizational tool for artists.
Business Research
Takeaways:
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Creating an iOS app and pursuing B2B sales opportunities would set our client apart from other existing products in this space and expand their market presence.
Mapping the business space
To create an art-centric product, we conducted a contextual inquiry at Pen and Brush, a local gallery, which influenced our minimalistic UI design. We learned that a simple color palette, along with careful attention to typography, sizing and spacing, would allow the art to stand out, emphasizing the unique characteristics of each artist's style.
Contextual Inquiry
Understanding art presentation standards
The little text that was visible was sans serif typeface. Simple and straightforward.
There seems to be thought put into spacing, framing, and grouping.
The art was displayed on white walls.
The gallery's facade has a minimalistic design. It has large windows with black, straight-lined details denoting elegance but being welcoming at the same time.
We established a concise three-week timeline, with designated time for research, research synthesis, design, and assembling our deliverables. This approach proved essential in maintaining focus and efficiently managing our tasks during busy periods.
How we organized ourselves
Timeline
Click here to see our Notion board.
Creating the experience
Our toolbox
Design
Plan
Present
Communicate
Figma
Notion
KeyNote
Zoom
User Interviews
Artists revealed insights on organic networking, payment challenges, and inventory management
We conducted user interviews with seven artists to understand their challenges. These discussions unveiled insights about the significance of organic client interactions in networking events, payment difficulties, and difficulties keeping an up-to-date inventory. These findings directly influenced our app's design.
"I would love to update my inventory more often but I never have the time."
"Networking has been crucial to open more opportunities. Events, especially pre-openings, are where I consistently make sales."
"Being a self-employed artist is rewarding, but chasing payments can be incredibly challenging and time-consuming."
Our research findings provided valuable insights that not only validated our initial problem statement, but also helped us tailor the solution to the specific needs of artists.
Validating the Problem & Tailoring the Solution
Based on the insights from our interviews, we crafted Morgan, a persona who embodies our typical user. Morgan's experiences and needs were instrumental in shaping our design approach, guiding our process while ensuring that we addressed the target audience's goals, needs, and frustrations.
Persona
Who are we designing for?
We considered these key metrics during design
Metrics
Simplified onboarding with optional inputs for later completion, increasing user sign-ups.
Registrations
Engagement
Retention
Sales
Tailored the app to match artists' unique language and business needs, ensuring they stay actively involved.
Designed features that lead to measurable progress and financial success, encouraging long-term app use.
Included detailed sales insights in the dashboard, empowering artists to make informed decisions and track their success.
In stakeholder meetings, we prioritized these metrics to ensure alignment with our design goals. Post-launch, they will serve as vital indicators of the app's success.
User Journey
A day in the life
Morgan's experiences led us to create both an existing and an anticipated user journey during a pre-opening. These journeys outline her actions and emotions, while also pinpointing the moments where our app can be most helpful to artists.
Click here to see the full existing and anticipated journey maps.
Generating ideas
Design studio & user flows
After establishing a firm grasp of the initial features to be designed, we formulated user flows and rapid sketches to steer our design direction when working on the screens. This experience reaffirmed the effectiveness of collaborative ideation as a valuable tool for exploring diverse solutions to a problem.
Flow #4: Select artworks for private showing & send online viewing room (OVR) link to client
Flows #2 & #3: Upload inventory & set purchase mode
Flow #1: Log In & Sign Up
Solution
We pivoted our strategy, prioritizing a scalable payment setup within the app. This allows for easy integration of various payment solutions like Affirm later.
💡
Unexpected challenge
During ideation, we realized that integrating third-party payment processors for non-app users would require a separate site, delaying handoff.
❗
User testing
We conducted two rounds of testing with five participants in each round. The feedback from these tests influenced our design refinements, with the main changes detailed below.
We moved the “View All” filter to a filtering screen...
... and added an actionable word such as “create” preceding “Viewing Room”
Prototype V.1
Prototype V.2
Prototype V.2
Prototype V.1
Prototype V.2
We added a label next to them to clearly indicate availability.
Users expressed confusion regarding the meaning of the artwork availability icons.
Prototype V.2
Prototype V.2
Prototype V.3
Prototype V.3
Users were confused by having to scroll down the page multiple times...
We updated the button's style to be consistent with the action buttons from other screens....
We introduced a “select” button to only make checkboxes appear when needed.
Changes led to a 49 second time reduction (▼-49s) and 8% higher satisfaction ratings (▲+8%)
Prototype V.1
Prototype V.1
Prototype V.2
Prototype V.3
Prototype V.1
Prototype V.2
Prototype V.3
Prototype V.2
Prototype V.2
Users clicked on “View All” button instead of "Viewing Room".
...and reduced the size of the image to have more available screen space.
Having checkboxes on screens where they were not needed confused participants.
...and could not locate the "Next" button easily.
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Future Steps
What comes next?
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Enhanced CRM: Integrate lead & deal tracking, task management, and communication history to strengthen client relationships.
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Payment Integration: Finalize secure payment processing with solutions like Affirm for seamless transactions.
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Shipment Tracking Integration: Explore integrating shipment tracking for artists and buyers to improve transparency and manage deliveries effectively.
Learnings
Project Takeaways
Understanding the nuances within user sub-segments unlocks value.
Artists (sculptors, photographers, etc.) have distinct inventory needs within a shared profession. Uncovering diverse needs within similar user groups is key to creating user-centric experiences.
Stepping beyond your design comfort zone is essential for improvement. Our challenge was to design solely in black and white, paying close attention to spacing and size, resulting in a highly enjoyable UI and visual challenge.
Each design iteration offers new opportunities for learning. Testing and refining a product consistently yield fresh insights. As a designer, it's crucial to understand that designs are not static; the best products evolve with our users.
Every Version Counts!
Version history
Design Studio
1st Iteration
2nd Iteration
3rd Iteration
4th Iteration
Feel free to reach out!
Designed and coded with ♥ between 2023-2024.
Project Overview
About Apostrophe
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Apostrophe is a startup in the seed funding phase, preparing to launch in the Spring of 2024.
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In collaboration with the Third Vista LLC agency, my team designed their MVP as a scalable iOS platform to be utilized during investor rounds.
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The app's features include art upload, online viewing rooms, payment setup, and contact storage.
Project Scope
Deliverables
Comprehensive research report
My Role: UX/UI Designer, Team Lead l Client: Art Startup l Project Status: Complete
Industries: Art, Vertical SaaS, and FinTech
My Role: UX/UI Designer, Team Lead
Client: Art Startup
Project Status: Complete
Industries: Art, Vertical SaaS, and FinTech
Specification document prepared for developers
Fully operational prototype
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My key contributions: stakeholder communication, journey maps, user flows, UI design, visual design, prototyping, user testing, and presentation decks.
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Team: 2 designers, 1 research lead
