01 Project Prompt

Sharpen.io

Glass Paddle began as a randomly generated project via Sharpen.io.

This prompt just clicked for me, as I have an interest in art and art galleries, having frequented local art walks with friends for many years. During the pandemic, we were forced to cancel most of our typical monthly art walks, leading this prompt to present an opportunity: to connect artists and art lovers, even when separated by space and time. This project aims to develop an art auction app for art galleries + artists, allowing people to digitally browse, bid on art, & connect with others.

02 USER RESEARCH

Online Foundational Research

General online research was done to see what currently exists in the world of art auction apps & websites, their pain points, and their user base.

Google Forms Survey

Gathering Insight: 20 LinkedIn & Facebook community survey responses on users’ experiences with auctions, buying artwork, and points of interest / concern with app based purchasing.

Zoom User Interviews

3 In-depth user interviews to gain an understanding of how best to build an art auction app to serve real users needs.

Miro Board Theme Identification

The insights from the Google Survey & interviews were collected and analyzed using affinity mapping in Miro Board.

Common themes to address in the design stage were identified.

03 Persona Development

Two Distinct Personas

User personas were generated based upon the demographic information collected from the survey, the zoom interview participants, & indirect research.

04 User Empathy Maps,

User Journey Maps,

& Problem Statements

Mapping the Users

The two personas were explored further to increase empathy and understanding.

05 Competitive Audit

Direct & Indirect Competition

06 User Flow Diagram

User Task

07 Story Boards

Overall Storyboard

Scenario: An art auction app that allows users to bid on artwork remotely.

Close Up Storyboard

Scenario: Art auction app sign up, browsing, and remote bid process screens.

08 Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Sketches & Figma Wireframes

These wire frames follow the user flow diagram and user storyboards.

09 Low-Fi User Testing

Figma Prototype

The Figma file was expanded to include additional app screens. Various image, text, and text field symbols were converted to linked buttons to enable the simulatation of several user flows. This clickable prototype will allow for testing of the low-fi design by potential users.

Maze Testing: 5 Users

5 participants were asked to complete a series of tasks. These tasks simulated setting up a new user profile, populating profile information, searching for an art gallery, selecting artwork, placing a maximum bid on artwork, and placing a quick bid on an item that the user was losing out on. The click paths, reactions, and user feedback were recorded in a spreadsheet.

10 Affinity Diagramming

Miro Board

Common themes and quotes from the user tests were categorized on a Miro Board to help clarify positive moments and pain points. This provides the next steps in the app design.

User A: Yellow Notes

User B: Green Notes

User C: Pink Notes

User D: Teal Notes

User E: Blue Notes