The Problem
There aren't really any good ways to find art galleries based on personal interests. While various products provide limited information on galleries, there is nothing unified and no thoughtful ways to curate an art experience through these products.
User Interviews
With a general idea formulated, I went out and started talking to graphic designers, artists, and art enthusiasts about what they would look for in an art finding app (and, of course, whether it would be something they would use at all). By allowing users to give me their thoughts without manipulating the conversation, I was able to get some insights into how personal the art experience is for each individual.
Storyboarding
I was able to use my initial interviews and personas to come up with some specific use cases where ArtSee would be relevant. Some of the particular cases I examined included traveling, getting involved in the art community, finding inspiration in art, and going on an art walk. I tried to base all of these storyboards off of users that I spoke with.
Early Iterations
Planning Out the Design
Once I had a layout that I felt good about and had done some informal testing, I developed a user story map to help me get a better sense of what I needed to work on and how much time each element would take. I also mapped out a product roadmap for the quarter so that I made sure to give myself enough time to dedicate to different parts of the app. Both of these deliverables are displayed below.
User Research and Testing
I conducted both moderated in-person and unmoderated online (on usertesting.com) tests for this project. My primary tests were task based and required the user to think out loud as they went about completing each task.
The different types of tests and testing environments yielded completely different results in terms of how the users went through the tests and how successful they were.
I also reached out to people for insights into other elements of the design process. For example, the card sorting task below was for me to get a better sense of what should go in the profile section versus in settings (or both). This quick exercise yielded some valuable insights and helped me develop a better understanding of how nuanced these small differences can be.
