Project
Create a regional online art marketplace where professional artists can market and sell their art directly to the consumer.
UX Components
Artist & Collector Surveys
Competitive Audit
Journey Map
Interactive Prototype
User Personas
MN Art Gallery
Connecting Minnesota's finest artists to buyers.
I attended St. Olaf College in Northfield MN, and double majored in English and Studio Art. And, although I am not a practicing artist, I have many friends that are professional artists, and I enjoy collecting art.
There are many full-time artists, but very few opportunities for them to get their art in front of the buying public. Galleries are few and wall space is limited.
Buyers of original art have limited options to discover art that speaks to them. Art fairs can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Goals
MN Art Gallery will create opportunities beyond art galleries and art fairs to connect fine artists and buyers.
Ease the struggles of buyers in discovering art and artists for their tastes and budgets.
Talk with artists about their struggles to make a living, and create online features that would help them reach customers.
Prototype a set of touchpoints between artist and consumer, social media, physical spaces and digital.
Journey Map
In examining the customer journey, actions, thoughts and feelings, we discover pain points and opportunities. The typical art buyer has limited opportunities - galleries, art fairs, friends - to discover meaningful art. Likewise, artists need avenues to expand their reach to those to whom they are unknown. In addition, the map exposed opportunities for social media touchpoints as well.
Homepage
Visually compelling images to draw the visitor deeper.
An art buying consumer visits MN Art Gallery. The visually rich and simple homepage invites the visitor to click on a subject matter to see more.
Category Page
Welcome to the land of visual delights.
At the level of Paintings & Drawings, the consumer is presented with a variety of images representing the artists in this category. It’s a rich visual tapestry to enjoy and then explore more deeply by clicking on an image/artist.
Artist Gallery
Easy to edit artist gallery without the hassles of managing your own site.
An artist should focus on creating art, not on on troubleshooting their website. MN Art Gallery supplies the infrastructure and support. The artist will utilize an easy interface to populate their gallery page and reap the benefits of being among a curated group of talented artists.
Social Media Support
To support this selection of curated artists, MN Art Gallery will promote the site through social media channels like Instagram and Facebook.
Conclusion
What a great journey to bring an idea to life! Next steps would be to form an exploratory panel of artists and art galleries to pursue the feasibility and adoptability of supporting this regional tool. Thanks to all the artists and collectors who helped me get it to this stage.
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