Background
In Northwest Arkansas, art's everywhere but not accessible to all. We noticed a gap after talking with local artists and CACHE—there's a need for affordable art education, business know-how, and a stronger artist network. Our goal? Make art and its livelihood accessible to everyone, sparking creativity and careers.
The Problem
In Northwest Arkansas, there was a clear gap: artists couldn't easily showcase their work to the public, and art lovers struggled to find new artists or events. A bridge was needed to connect the two.
Understanding the Problem
We dived into research on Northwest Arkansas's art scene, chatting with both seasoned and emerging artists. Some common threads found were:
– the low turnout at art events and workshops.
– among art enthusiasts, especially diverse groups like single parents, 9-5 workers, and kids, there were challenges accessing these art workshops.
Defining the Users
I crafted personas to steer my design with real empathy, drawing from chats with artists and enthusiasts. Each persona, rich with demographics, drives, and hurdles, became my north star. They influenced which features I highlighted, how I laid out content, and my user journey maps, ensuring my design truly spoke to my audience.
Information Architecture
I shaped the sitemap and architecture for ease and familiarity, borrowing elements from giants like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. This approach made the design intuitive, especially for Northwest Arkansas's artists and art fans, simplifying navigation, event discovery, connections, and showcasing work.
Final Designs
In crafting the final Figma designs, I infused Artradius' spirit and artistic vibe. Opting for vibrant colors, I echoed the community's love for bold visuals. Inspired by the iOS Styleguide, I aimed for a familiar, user-friendly feel, focusing on iOS devices for a seamless experience. The designs reflect deep insights into user preferences, blending visual appeal with intuitive navigation and platform harmony.
The onboarding screens inform new users about the benefits of the app and what they stand to gain.
Users can sign up or log in easily by using their Google, Facebook, or Apple accounts. This app provides each user with a custom experience by recommending events and artists based on the users’ preferences.
The interface is similar to common social media apps to allow for easy navigation across the app. A key feature of this app is the “Filter” feature, which allows users to search for events based on a number of customizable criteria.
Users are constantly recommended events to attend and Artists with similar interests on the explore page based on their preferences. The recommended events show the location and time it takes place, as well as the distance of the user from the location.
Users can showcase their artwork by creating posts, creating discussion spaces to hold critique sessions, or creating a public event post to inform the community about a workshop or event.
Takeaways
– Focused on Northwest Arkansas by design, this project has the potential to expand with thorough research.
– I'd relish the chance to refine the design with user feedback.
– With more time, introducing a feature for artists to sell their art directly through the app would be ideal.
– The project's success is rooted in detailed user and environmental research.
– Team collaboration was key, with tasks smartly assigned and brainstorming bringing to light brilliant ideas.
