ART BLOCK
SUMMARY
Social media platforms are often a means for artists to share their work and connect with fellow creatives. But often these platforms lack functionalities that would allow for artists to better control how they share and consume art. I wanted to design a social media app that was tailor made for artists. One that was not focused around numbers and algorithms but by inspiration and community.
Problem Overview
Social media is a a great way for artists to be discovered and connect to one another. However, these platforms lack features that artists would want and need in order to better flourish and build creative communities.
Design Opportunity
How might we design a social media that is useful for artist.
User Surveys
Surveys were sent to and completed by artist who use social media as a platform to share their art.
Persona
With information gained from user surveys and interviews and persona was generated to help focus the app for the individual.
Sketching and Ideation
With research done and a target audience in mind, it was time to start ideating what this app would look and feel like.
Branding
Overall I wanted this app to be light and playful to reflect the environment of the app. Art Block is a fun play on a common art term. The art block is given a face so that the brand has a mascot character. This character helps humanize the brand and is helpful when using it in other social platforms like twitter for any announcements or updates. The character also adds a likeability and positivity factor to the product.
Wireframing
Created wireframes for the core pages of the app: home, discover, notifications, pins, and profile.
Prototyping
Visual styling added in the form of color, icons, font, and formatting to bring the app to life. The goal was to keep the app fairly neutral in palette in order to not distract from the art being showcased.
User Testing
Had people test the main home page and see how they would expect to interact with each element.
Testing Results
Overall the flow was quite straightforward. Problem point came with reshare posts. Users found it hard to interact with a reshared post and were frustrated with having to go to the original post to interact with it.
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Action buttons were added to the reshare post so that users can quickly and easily interact with the reshared post. To show that the actions were related to the reshared post and not the reshare post, the action buttons are aligned toward the shared image.
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This proved successful and made the app much more streamlined and enjoyable. It helped avoid disrupting the flow and promoted more interaction with posts.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Successes
An app that frames studying in a positive, fight light and motivates staying focused through a time management technique. An experience tailored our target audience.
Learning Opportunities
Tailoring the product toward a specific user helps keep the product's vision aligned. This makes decisions easier and more accurate which leads to a project being done more efficiently and successfully. Simplify. Less is more. Clearing up clutter allows users to move through an app more intuitively and seamlessly. Which in return, creates a more positive experience. It is important to group elements meaningfully so breathing room between elements can be achieved.