“ARKEN” Mobile Ordering App for an Art Gallery
Arken is a regional art gallery located in the suburbs of Copenhagen. Arken strives to showcase, promote and sell local and international artworks related to the modern art movement.
March 2022 to May 2022.
problem
Busy students and workers who love and support the art scene, sometimes are not able to visit the gallery in person and purchase an artwork.
Busy students and workers who love and support the art scene, sometimes are not able to visit the gallery in person and purchase an artwork.
goal
Design an app for Arken that gives users the ability to view, learn, shop and deliver their favourite art pieces online.
Design an app for Arken that gives users the ability to view, learn, shop and deliver their favourite art pieces online.
role
Research
UX design
UI design
Research
UX design
UI design
responsibilities
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wire-framing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.
Conducting interviews, paper and digital wire-framing, low and high-fidelity prototyping, conducting usability studies, accounting for accessibility, and iterating on designs.
1.
UNDERSTANDING
THE USERS
THE USERS
For the purpose of understanding our users better, I conducted a combination of surveys and field studies with gallery visitors. Most of the users confirmed our initial assumption that the digital presence, website and mobile app lack good features and updates.
One feature that most of the users agreed they would love would be a mobile ordering feature in their app.
accessibility
The museums and galleries do a great job in hosting exhibitions and promoting art, but their online presence and usability of website and apps is very poor.
time
Our users are mostly working adults or students with busy schedule and not enough time to visit galleries.
covid
Covid pandemic has made a major impact on the art scene. Most of the museums have been closed, therefore users have been unable to purchase art pieces.
Covid pandemic has made a major impact on the art scene. Most of the museums have been closed, therefore users have been unable to purchase art pieces.
2.
STARTING
THE DESIGN
THE DESIGN
paper
wireframes
wireframes
DIGITAL
WIREFRAMES
As a gallery app that allows us ordering artworks online, i figured it would be nice to update users on the art scene first, and what’s going on, by adding current exhibitions as first information on the homepage.
There are many various forms and shapes of artworks, NFT being the last of them, so having a nice filter, that categorizes our gallery is essential.
LO-FI
Prototype
Prototype
Usability study:
findings
findings
For the usability study I used a moderated-remote, assessment type of research on 5 persons (2 male, 2 female, 1 non-binary, aged 18-60). This helped me test a user's satisfaction with a product and how well they are able to use it. I used the findings to evaluate the product's general functionality.
round 1
1. Users ask for a search option
2. Users asked for a categories filter
3. Users need a better ordering process
1. Users ask for a search option
2. Users asked for a categories filter
3. Users need a better ordering process
round 2
1. Users want a more familiar nav icon
2. More detailed product description
3. Reduc colors & text in design system
1. Users want a more familiar nav icon
2. More detailed product description
3. Reduc colors & text in design system
3.
REFINING
THE DESIGN
THE DESIGN
MOCKUPS
Early designs allowed limited search, so after adding the search function, it became much easier to browse for desired art pieces.
The second usability study revealed desire from some users to learn more about the artwork piece, history and artist biography. That has been resolved by adding more space in the product description section.
HI-FI
Prototype
Prototype
4.
GOING
FORWARD
FORWARD
IMPACT
This app makes users feel like Arken really thinks about their users and how to meet their needs.
One quote from peer feedback:
“Beautiful app, when is it live? I can’t wait to download it..”
One quote from peer feedback:
“Beautiful app, when is it live? I can’t wait to download it..”
What I learned
While designing Arken’s mobile ordering app, I learned that the first ideas for the app are only the beginning of the process. Usability studies and peer feedback influenced each iteration of the app’s designs.
*This project was designed as part of the
Google UX Design Professional Certificate.
Google UX Design Professional Certificate.
