Project overview
Artsoul Galleries is a local Art Gallery which also conducts Art Auctions. Gallery wants to start online auctions for art lovers. I have created a platform for all art lovers to participate in online auctions from anywhere and anytime.
Project duration
June 2023-July 2023
Overview
Background
This application is designed for art lovers who wish to participate in auctions simply and efficiently. Often, busy schedules and other factors make it difficult for people to find good art and visit galleries. This app provides a platform for people to buy art through auctions from anywhere.
The Problem
Art auctions can be challenging for busy professionals and older art enthusiasts who may struggle with time constraints, lack of knowledge, hesitations, and limited awareness.
My Role
My role in this project includes research, UX interaction and UI design
Responsibilities
The responsibilities I had throughout the project are user researching, wireframing, prototyping, value proposition, finding project insights, etc.
The Goal
To create an art auction app to bid online from anywhere easily and effectively.
Understanding the user
Research Overview
Through conducting interviews and creating user stories, personas, and empathy maps, I investigated the difficulties and needs of users. Additionally, I developed value propositions for the project and established key performance indicators such as Time on Task, Conversion Rate, and System Usability Rate to identify user pain points. As part of my research, I conducted an unmoderated study involving young professionals and older individuals who faced challenges participating in physical art auctions for a variety of reasons.
My findings revealed that, in addition to time constraints, people also struggled with hesitations, lack of awareness, and travel concerns when it came to participating in art auctions.
Research Goals
This application is designed for art enthusiasts who want to participate in auctions simply and efficiently. With busy schedules and other factors, people often require assistance in finding quality art and visiting galleries. This app offers a platform for purchasing art through auctions from anywhere.
Characterstics of the Users
-
Users of all ages
-
Users have a passion for art.
-
Users are young working professionals who love to explore new art.
-
Users are also old age who admires art and want to buy some unique art collections for their homes.
Interview questions
-
How you feel about art and why?
-
How often you visit art gallery?
-
Do you find easy to find information about art in art galleries? Why?
-
Tell about your experience when buying your loved art from art gallery.
-
What you like and dislike most about art auctions and why?
-
Have you ever tried any art auction application? If, yes how did you feel?
User's Initial Insights
-
Many users prefer to know the art pieces that will be auctioned beforehand, to understand and connect with them on a deeper level.
Additionally, users often seek to book reservations in advance. It is not uncommon for individuals to want to know more about the artist before making a purchase. -
Those who are new to the auction world may find it challenging to participate and understand the process.
-
Art enthusiasts often face obstacles when trying to obtain their desired pieces of art, as they may have already been purchased by someone at a higher price during an auction.
-
Additionally, busy art lovers may struggle to attend these auctions and seek a more convenient way to acquire their favorite art deco. Furthermore, some art enthusiasts may find it challenging to navigate online art apps due to a lack of technical expertise.
User's Personas
Eric's Story
He is a retired psychologist who loves art and wants to participate in art auctions easily and explore new artwork and artists so that he can buy some unique artwork quickly without getting it away from his hands.
Eric's Journey Map
Emily's Story
She is a professional designer who wants to buy good artwork from art auctions for her inspiration and passion in an easy and efficient way because she has a busy schedule and does not have time to visit art galleries.
Emily's Journey Map
Mapping Emily’s and Eric's journey map revealed that creating an online auction app for art lovers will be very useful and effective for buying good artwork.
User's Pain Points
Goal Statement
Value proposition of the project
-
Introducing the Art Auction Application - an efficient app that lets you search, select, bid, and buy your favorite artwork from anywhere, at any time. With this app, you can save time and understand the details of the artwork better. You can enjoy features like home delivery, easy payment methods, wish lists, artist biographies, live-bidding information, and more.
-
The Art Auction Application makes exploring artwork easy and saves you time. You can even reserve upcoming auctions with the auto reminder feature and get home delivery with installation options.
-
For new users who find it difficult to participate in the auction process, this app provides a platform to participate freely and confidently. You can also receive suggestions and details about the bidding process to help you bid with confidence.
Competitive Audit
As a new and returning user purchasing art from an online auction, I compared the experiences of each competitor's app.
Big Picture-Story Board
User flow map
To better understand how users will interact with the app and prepare for creating wireframes, I made a user flow map. This helped me identify the necessary steps to consider ahead of time.
![Google UX Design Certificate - User flow [template].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/01ff7c_7a623040ec514c8fa6d2fb3515a8eb25~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_146,h_82,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/Google%20UX%20Design%20Certificate%20-%20User%20flow%20%5Btemplate%5D.jpg)
Starting the Design
Paper Wireframes
Before drawing digital wireframes, I first created some screens for the app on paper to get an idea of the user flow. I made sure to prioritize creating categories for users to easily search for artworks.
Usability Study - Round 1
Research Questions
-
How might we make an art auction exciting for the buyers?
-
How might we bring ideas to register for in-person auctions?
-
How might we sell art with auctions and without auctions too?
-
How might we create a journey of art auctions relaxed?
-
How might we make auctions payment easy with easy payment methods?
Participants
5 participants
Participants between the ages of 15-75 who reside in metropolitan and suburb areas. Participants buy artwork often through auction and visiting art gallery.
Methodology
45 minutes
United States, remote
Unmoderated usability study
Users were asked to bid for ant artwork online on a low-fidelity prototype
Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs)
-
Time-on Task
-
Conversion Rate
-
System usability rate
System usability rate- questions
-
I think that I would use this app frequently.
-
I found the app unnecessarily complex.
-
I thought the app was easy to use.
-
I found the app very cumbersome to use.
-
I felt very confident using the app.
-
I found the payment system frustrating.
-
I found the bidding process cumbersome
-
I thought there was too much inconsistency in this app.
-
I needed to learn a lot of things before I could get going with this app.
-
I think that I would need the support of a technical person to be able to use this app.
-
I found the various functions in this app were well integrated.
-
I would imagine that most people would learn to use this app very quickly.
Home page
Bid page
User research Theme and Insights- Usability Study 1
Themes
People want confirmation page before final biding
Supporting evidence from the usability study
-
4 out of 5 total participants said they wanted a confirmation page with details of artwork before final biding
-
Participants expressed a desire to have more payment options
“Ohh! What happened I was thinking to check my bid again and artwork too before getting confirmation".
participant 1
People want details and support while biding
Supporting evidence from the usability study.
-
4 out of 5 total participants said they wanted help for bids like process, expert advice, and authenticity of the artwork
-
Some participants noted that they would like an option for similar artwork and an alert for the bid
“This is my first time bidding on any artwork it would be great if I can find some suggestions or processes for bidding".
Participant 1
People want easy navigation for searching artwork
Supporting evidence from the usability study.
-
5 out of 5 participants got confused searching for artwork
-
Some participants want an easy way to search famous, trending artworks
"I am not sure which icon to select from artist or artwork or auctions"
Participant 1
Research Insights
Review Bid Page
Users need a way to see final review page of bid with details before confirming it
Bid process and Details
Users need every detail of artwork should be there on art bidding page like authenticity, process, expert advice, number of people biding, etc
Effective way of searching Artwork
Users need a clear navigation path to search it.
Recommendations
-
Add a “review page after registration page” so that users can see all necessary details before confirming.
-
Add a way for users to sort, and filter artwork for easy navigation
-
Add details related to the artwork including process, help, and expert advice on the artwork bid page
Low-Fidelity Wireframes created after Usability Study Round 1
-
For digital wireframes, the homepage is created to allow users to easily explore art from various mediums and obtain updates about upcoming events.
-
The main goal of designing an Artist and Insights page is to provide users with the opportunity to search for an artist's background, works, and achievements in advance, before deciding to bid. This gives users a sense of confidence and safety before participating in auctions.
-
On the Artwork bid page, you can find various helpful links such as expert advice, tips for bids, insights from the artists, and information about the work's authenticity. These links make navigating the page easy and provide users with a chance to gain clarity and gather all the necessary information before participating in a bid.
High-Fidelity Mockups created after iterations
-
When creating the wireframe, I had originally intended to divide the content into three categories. However, I soon realized that using multiple subcategories would be more efficient. Later on in the process, I improved the search and filter options.
-
At first, the Artist page displayed all artists with limited information and a scroll-down feature. But as I continued to design, I decided to create a separate page for each artist, with a flip page book feature for easier navigation.
Accessibility considerations
I have used multilanguage option for users to understand art they are bidding for in their own language
I have used icons for easy navigation of the peoples
For all the people I have kept option to zoom in the art work in order to see tiny details of artwork with precision
Impact
The application has generated excitement for Artlover regarding online auctions and has contributed to the growth of Artsoul Galleries' business. Additionally, it has made it easier for many people to participate in auctions. For example, Emily, a participant, is thrilled to bid on the art pieces that inspire her.
What I learned
I have discovered that iteration plays a crucial role in the design process. Initial concepts resemble unfinished artwork that must undergo refinement through peer review and usability studies.
Thank you for your time for reviewing my project on Artsoul Galleries Auction Application.