OVERVIEW
This project represented a coalition of six UX designers and a 3-week design sprint. We interviewed artists and participants who have been involved with EAST for as much as 10 years. Using iterative design practices, we created an innovative online donation platform that united artists, participants, and hosts together in a way that is mutually beneficial for everyone.
The Problem
Art enthusiasts need an easier way to support E.A.S.T. artists financially, because they want to contribute but often cannot afford the available price.
The Solution
We believe that by creating an interactive app experience, art enthusiasts will be able to donate an affordable amount, creating a sense of inclusion. We will know this to be true when we see artists and enthusiasts connect through the E.A.S.T experience at a price point that works for them.
The Current SOlution
STAKEHOLDER BRIEF
East Austin Studio Tour
Free and open two weekends in November from 11am–6pm
A free, annual, self-guided art event spanning two weekends in November. EAST provides opportunities for the public to meet the artists and artisans of Austin in their creative spaces.
Big Medium
Grassroots Non-profit Supporting Local Artists
A non-profit organization dedicated to championing and cultivating artists and the contemporary arts in Austin and across Texas. Through their programs and partnerships, they are working to foster the arts and facilitate an inclusive cultural dialogue between artists and their communities.
Discovery
Heuristic Evaluation
Our team conducted a heuristic evaluation to identify gaps in user experience and what could be improved, i.e. the usability score of Art Basel was markedly higher than the current EAST website.
User Interviews
Our team interviewed 12 locals who had attended EAST, either as an artist with an exhibit or as a participant. We did this to gain qualitative insights on their user experiences.
Landscape Analysis
In addition to our Heuristic Evaluation, we analyzed EAST in relation to some of its top competitors, Art Basel and EXPO Chicago, focusing on their online participant on-boarding experience. For instance, it's much easier to find tickets on any other competitor website than on EAST's. On EAST's website, it's almost like an afterthought.
Affinity Mapping
From our interview notes we mapped out the data points we captured to start synthesizing the data and identifying pain points and insights, such as art enthusiasts want to support their artist friends, but often can't afford the available price.
User Flow
Our team took our notes on the donation platform we wanted to create, and after several rounds of prototyping and user testing, we defined it into a simplified user flow. Our testing determined that users wanted to quickly get to the donation stage, and not be distracted by a lot of features.
Primary Persona
Our team created this persona to reflect an archetype we saw emerge from our research on user core motivations and pain points to inform our design decisions.
Ideation & Design
Paper Prototype
After several rounds of prototyping and user testing, we developed a paper prototype of the online donation platform. We conducted further tests and determined that some pages were not working, so we went through a couple iterations before raising the fidelity. For instance, we found that users wanted to be able to donate to a specific artist, not just a pool of all artists at once.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
In Sketch, our team created wireframes that included copy and a simplified user flow. We used this to further test and iterate. We found that people were really craving images of the community art installation project to get them inspired to get involved and to donate. We also found that some people did not want their picture online, so we included an option for them to opt-out.
High-Fidelity Wireframes
For our final presentation we increased the fidelity of these frames, and added a blue color to inspire trust. We made alot of changes to the user interface to make it easier to navigate using different devices, from desktops to mobile, such as using a single-column format and paying attention to the button placement.
Prototype
Our final design addressed participant needs to be able to support their artist friends at a price they could afford, with a simplified user flow that makes donating and participating in the community art project easy.
