An Auction App for an Art Gallery

Project Overview:

This app was designed as a means for collectors to find and bid on artworks easily and remotely. There is a lack of high quality auction apps dedicated to fine arts and this app aims to solve that issue.

My Role and Responsibilities:

My Role:

• Lead UX Designer and Researcher

My Responsibilities:

• User Research
• Wireframing
• Low Fidelity Prototype
• High Fidelity Prototype

User Research

Summary:

User research included preliminary surveys to discover user needs and pain points. After creating a low fidelity prototype, more user research (usability studies) was conducted in order to understand how users interacted with the application so that improvements may be applied. This study was also conducted after creating the high fidelity prototype.

User Pain Points:

• Clutter
• Inability to message the seller

User Persona: Maria

Age: 62
Education: Bachelors
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Profession: Interior Designer

Maria owns and operates an interior design business and regularly purchases artwork and decor for her clients. Maria wants a reliable way to buy art at auction from a reputable source with little fuss and a smooth process.

Goals:
She wants to be able to find and purchase art from new and interesting artists for her clients.

Frustrations:
Many auction sites/apps are overly complicated.

Digital Wireframes

The wireframes were first drafted on paper, with multiple iterations created in the process. The best elements of the paper wireframes were then combined in order to create a finalized wireframe which was then created in Figma. Tweaks and changes were made to the digital wireframe, again in an iterative process, to optimize for digital use. My personal method of working is to stay as open minded as possible, right up to the end of the project! Not getting attached to any one part of the design helps the final design to be the best version possible.

After the low fidelity wireframe was create, it was time to prototype! This is an essential part of the process. The prototype was created by starting at the home page and working through the different areas of user navigation. After the low fidelity prototype was created, it was tested by multiple users in a usability study, which highlighted any pain points that the users had, as well as allowed me to better understand the natural flow a user follows when using the app. Once these issues were resolved, the design was ready to move into the next stage.

High Fidelity Prototype

The low fidelity prototype, after much user testing was converted into a high fidelity prototype, Typeface and font selection, color scheme, iconography and animations were incorporated as part of a design system to create a polished working model of the application. After this was completed, another usability study was conducted, to see if there were still any pain points or areas of improvement.

Takeaways

What I've Learned

Every project is a learning process that allows me to learn about the user and their needs. This project was no different. I learned a lot about the user flow and navigation within an application and how to optimize it via an iterative process.

Next Steps

• I will continue to build wireframes and add other sections of the app to the prototype.
• I will make sure the app has a responsive design and is optimized for other devices.
• I will continue testing with more users to find bugs and pain points and make changes as needed.

Let's connect!