Kala
An Art Gallery that discovers more about artists through their art.
Overview
Kala is an app designed specifically for the “Kala” art gallery, providing a platform for artists to showcase their artwork, describe themselves and their art, and connect with other artists. The app will help remote artists be a part of the gallery community to showcase their work and engage with the gallery exhibitions. It will help nonartists to reserve the artworks available for sale residing remotely.
Kala in Sanskrit means "Art"
Problem
In the growing age of technology, many art galleries and museums own websites but lack an application for people to stay connected with the gallery anytime, anywhere.
An art enthusiast residing in a remote area finds it challenging to stay updated on exhibitions.
Artists face difficulty showcasing their work without a communication platform to maintain and build relationships with the gallery.
Solution
How might we Propose an app for the gallery to provide information about artists and their artworks and connect them with the Art gallery activities?
Goal
The goal was to create an app for An art gallery so artists and non-artists could be a part of the art gallery community and contribute their work to the gallery.
Date
April, 2022
Role
Research, UX designer, UI designer.
Type of work
Research, Interaction design, UI design, App design
Tools
Figma , Adobe illustrator, Millanote
A phase of discovery
A little insight from background research
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I began my research process by conducting secondary research to obtain information about art galleries and to get enough knowledge about them.
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While gathering information, I got to the point that most of the art galleries don't have their app.
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The Art galleries, with their websites, often have limited information about the artists and their artwork, leaving people empty-handed to know more about them thoroughly.
Let's understand the user
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After gaining a deeper understanding of the existing research, I interviewed 7 people, 5 of whom were artists and the other 2 were art visitors.
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User interviews further revealed that many found it difficult to engage with the art gallery, stay informed of upcoming exhibitions, access new artworks, and connect with the art community.
"I would love to use such an app as it will help an artist to publish their artworks in the gallery even working remotely"
- a user from interview
After learning from users, I developed wireframes and visual identities to keep up the heat and display the needs.
Sketch wireframes
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To begin ideating, I initiate sketching out my designs onto paper to get a rough view of addressing user pain points and deliver better design solutions or related problems.
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During sketching, I kept a consistent user flow throughout the designs, maintaining the user's needs followed by a simple and easy-to-use approach to interact with the app.
Skeching wireframes during ideation phase of design thinking process
Describe your image
Skeching wireframes during ideation phase of design thinking process
UI Development of High-fidelity Wireframes.
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​The sketched wireframes have been upgraded into digital wireframes after low-fidelity usability testing. After several iterations and insights obtained through usability testing, I moved forward and upscaled the digital low-fidelity wireframes into visually appealing high-fidelity wireframes for further usability testing.
Flash Screen
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Getting start with the flash creen
Onboarding screens
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The illustrations on the onboarding screens introduce the following activities one can expect from the app.
Usability testing
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The usability testing was carried out to see how users feel while accessing the prototype and to get insights from the testing.
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The Usability testing was carried out among users having an art background to get meaningful insights from the user testing and to know the user's point of view.
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The following are the results of the usability testing for some of the screens after iterations.
Users positively responded to the overall interaction of the app, UI design, and user flow
Users feel the need to have iterations of micro-interactions on the screen for a better minimalistic look.
The results of the Home and Artist profile screens describe the changes made while considering the insights from the usability testing.
Home screen
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The Home screen represents some of the changes made after the usability testing. The changes are done with the user insights gathered during the testing, keeping it visually appealing and easy to use.
Artists Profile Screen
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The Artist's profile screen highlights the importance of minimal design after the usability testing keeping it simple and intuitive.
Accessibility View from User Testing
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The accessibility testing for color contrast is done by a Web AIM Contrast checker.
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The color contrast testing is done for the foreground & and background color, having a Contrast ratio of 9.95:1
Exhibition screen
The Exhibition screen exhibits the Audio accessibility feature, which is accessible to everyone, and users with a disability can use it more easily.
Hamburger Menu screen
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The Hamburger menu screen is designed for users keeping accessibility in mind as the button suggests the list of items it contains.
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In addition, Language options enlisted in it enable the users to use it according to their preference
Visual design
The visual design of the Kala Art Gallery was inspired by the concept of minimalism and focused purely on art and aesthetics. The purpose of using yellow is to let users feel joy and empowered while using the app.
Interactive Prototype
Here is the final look at the working prototype of the Kala Art Gallery app.
The conclusion
Key learnings :
Good research is all that it takes: The project taught me the importance of good research. The Art gallery research drew me towards the feature to consider the importance of artists featuring their works that gain attention for the users to communicate with the gallery.
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Empathy plays a huge role: Interviewing artists and non-artists helped me to get into their shoes, connect with them, and explore their pain points to deliver the desired solutions emphatically.
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Iterations and more: Usability testing provided me with the user's insight and practical views and approach to the app. Constant iterations and user feedback can provide me with insights to make the apps work, engage, and meet the user's needs.
Next Steps:
As I progressed further with the usability testing and gaining insights, I focused more on accessibility considerations by keeping the user-centered intact throughout the project.