Role
UX / UI Designer
Researcher
Prototyping / Wireframing
Usability Testing
Branding
Embedded Files
Process
5 Stages of Design Thinking
Double Diamond
Tools
Figma
Invision
Otter AI
Duration
10 Weeks
Intro
Art makes a city.
Many artists from Vancouver have left the city due to not having the resources they need. Vancouver’s artist community is very isolated compared to other artist communities it is locked between the mountains and the border. Space has become a premium. As a designer, I can't fix the real estate problems in this city but I can look into digital solutions to help artists.
I started conducting landscape mapping insights of the problem space's current state and future state. Then moved on to secondary research and looked at concerns and opportunities.
Hypothesis
I believe that designing an online resource run by artists that live in Vancouver will boost the stability of its fine arts community.
Initial Assumptions
Artists leave Vancouver because they can’t make a living off their art
Costs of housing are too expensive in Vancouver
There isn’t affordable studio space in Vancouver
Wages are lower in Vancouver than in other cities
Artists want to support themselves off of their art
Artists have a hard time finding patrons
Research
User Interviews were conducted with five contemporary artists living in Vancouver using Google Meet.
The interview notes were then broken down into key data: motivations, behaviors, and pain points. Then further into themes and key themes.
Key Theme - Community
Insight - People stay in Vancouver if they feel their community is there for them and will help them achieve their goals and aspirations
This research led to the design question...
How might we connect artists and art enthusiasts in Vancouver in order to retain the artists in our community?
Using the median information from the interviewees I created the persona Jaz Hu.
Then I created an experience map.
Ideation
Once my persona and experience map were created I used user stories to help me generate tasks the user would like to complete. I then split the user stores into Epics and Core Epic.
From the core epic, I narrowed in on the user task of wanting to go to a gallery opening for inspiration with a friend, helping to relieve the anxiety of going alone.
UI Inspiration Board
Sketching
Prototyping and Testing
Once the Medium Grayscale Wireframe was created I then put together a test script with an Introduction, Scenario, Task, Probes, and Protocol.
I did 2 of rounds of usability testing
Revisions
Changes were made based on user feedback and the design prioritization matrix.
Branding
The name Slime City comes from years of conversation with an artist friend.
They noticed when they moved here that everything in Vancouver has a layer of green slime. In this coastal temperate rainforest, moss covers not only the trees but the concrete, buildings and cars.
Most people don’t notice this living or visiting Vancouver. They are enthralled by the ocean and the mountains and skyscrapers. But the artists in this city do. They see the juxtapositions of Vancouver. A city filled with nature and beauty forever changed by the underbelly of money laundering and greed. The Slime.
I used my interior design background to create a moodboard using Invision. I wanted to evoke feelings of rigidity and quirky playfulness.
The Logo is a transition from the wordmark and in plain but strong darker green to a distortion of dripping slime, evoking a feeling of slight disgust. Good art is found in uncomfortable spaces.
Users interviewed talked about not having the art they wanted to create be dictated by more commercial tastes and esthetics. They said the best art moves you emotionally.
Hifi Prototype
I gathered UI resources and inspiration. Refined my UI library and created a Hifi prototype.
Alternate Platform
I then translated the iPhone app into an alternate platform. This app for Mac was created in consideration for one of the Artists I interviewed who feels people spend too much time looking at their phones.
Marketing Website
Design Impact and Future Thinking
Design Impact
If Slime city were to be developed into a real working product, I believe it would have a wonderful impact on the Artists in Vancouver. By creating an open space for communication this tool could create change.
Risk Management
As the app is to have human-provided content there would need to be some controls in place beyond simple curation. One step would be to have Artists request verification before posting with an artist profile. Another would be to have administrators, ideally other artists who would run the app like an artist-run center. Third, it would be necessary to have a report option for posts that do not adhere to reasonable use.
Next Steps
My next steps are to build out more features based on my user stories. One of those will be the exchange aspect of the app so that artists can exchange tools, space and information. This will need to go through ideation and usability testing. I will also continue to build out the desktop app.
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