Schuster
Art
Consultancy
Update and redesign a website
Overview
The Project
Schuster Art Consultancy was unhappy with their current website. They felt that the layout and design were dated and did not bring joy or positive feelings when being used. S.A.C. wanted their website to better reflect their brand and be updated with current UI design trends.The ultimate goal was to have an on-brand, modern, beautiful design that would call out to and retain new customers.
The Problem
Schuster Art Consultancy needs an on-brand, pleasant to use website, because the current website is outdated, clunky and not attracting new customers.
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The Solution
I believe that by using current UI trends and user research to inform the design I will create a website that reflects the S.A.C. brand while appealing to and capturing new customers.
Tools Used
Sketch, InVision, Axure RP
Duration
7 weeks, (part-time hours)
Role
UX Design Consultant, I performed each step of the UX process. This included research & analysis, ideation, design, prototyping and usability testing.
Process
Discovery
I met with Schuster to learn about her, her business and the goals she was looking to achieve through her redesigned website.
Research
I began my research by performing several user interviews and a series of competitive and heuristic analyses of other local art consultancy websites.
Analysis
I compared the comments taken during the interviews and made note of any similar responses. I then deduced the commonalities and discrepancies amongst the competitive sites to garner insight into the direction of the redesign.
Design
Beginning with pencil sketches to kickstart the ideation process I was able to create several potential options. I presented a select few to Schuster to confirm I was heading in the right direction. I then turned the chosen design into a hi-fi prototype for testing.
Usability Testing
Once the hi-fi prototype was completed I performed 3 usability tests with target users. The feedback was all positive with only a few minor informative comments on how to further enhance the design.
Delivery
With the design tested and confirmed I finalized the reimagined website and prepared it for delivery. I sat down with Schuster and presented my research findings and ultimately the new concept design for her website.
Discovery
Meeting the client and learning
the scope of the project
During my first meeting with Susan Schuster, owner of Schuster Art Consultancy, I was able to learn the full breadth and depth of what I was being asked to design. Her current website had been designed in 2015 and was overly simple, to the point of not leaving a positive impression on the site visitors. It was also expressed that the current site did, she felt, did not reflect her or her brand. She gave me a business card as a basis for her branding.
From here I dove into asking questions about how her business worked and how she felt the site would best serve her purposes. Understanding the client and the business goals put me on the path to designing a modern website that would aptly represent her and the business brand while successfully reaching and retaining potential customers.
Research &
Synthesis
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Understanding the needs of the users and sizing up the competition
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To reimagine Schuster's site, I needed to understand what potential customers would need to see; therefore, I conducted several interviews. I focused on their experiences with purchasing art, in person or online, individually or with the help of a gallerist or art consultant. I adapted questions and ran with their statements to allow for the deepest response. Being able to get people talking comfortably is a knack I possess that aides in discovering insights. I took all of the interview responses and began breaking them down to focus on the true needs and struggles of the target users. It quickly became clear that when looking for art it was necessary to easily view specific information such as the scale or size of the piece, the medium used, the date created and availability. It would also be important that the website focus on the art itself to draw-in and capture the attention of potential patrons. I then turned to performing competitive and heuristic analyses to understand how other local sites worked.
There were a few large consultant companies with more professional sites, and several individual consultants that mostly used CMS sites they created and maintained. I looked at what information they chose as important, the terminology used, page flow and iconography. Knowing how the competition behaved gave me an edge on my design, which I immediately began sketching based on my research.
Original
Pencil
Concepts
Ideation
Creating the redesign
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I began the design phase with ideating through pencil and paper sketches. Utilizing the insights I gained through my research, I knew that the design needed to focus on the art, the information related to each piece of art and a streamlined and easy way of requesting further details about the art. Once I felt like I generated enough concepts it was time to narrow it down, I chose the best few designs and presented them to Schuster. I walked her through the flow of each concept and why I chose each layout. In the end it was clear that one design was above the others. We scratched the idea of a portfolio page for her and kept the artists as the main focus. Her homepage would be a full-width slideshow of a single piece by each of the 9 artists she represents. I put the artists first on the global navigation followed by her about page, contact page and a favorite page that was added later through usability testing.
Designing
Wireframes
Mocking up a hi-fi prototype for testing and delivery
I swiftly began to build my design in Sketch, starting with the homepage. Selecting the right piece of art for the initial landing page was very important, I wanted the design to be arresting and capture the attention of the customer. It was important to Schuster that I reflected her brand, as she felt it was represented on her business card. Based on the card design I felt her brand was modern, minimalist, clean and chic. I did my best to keep the design on track with those descriptions and kept a card next to me while I worked, as inspiration. with the homepage designed, I built out the contact and about Schuster pages. These designs were simple in concept but ultimately would be iterated on several times before the project would be delivered. Then, I began the largest part of the project, building out the artists pages. I chose 2 of the 9 artists to build out, one with the fewest piece and one with the most pieces to demonstrate how the site would flow regardless of the number of works provided. In the end, between full pages and overlays, I created a total of 165 artboards. These were then uploaded into InVision where I proceeded to add hotspots and give functionality to the design.
Usability Tests
Confirming the design and finessing the experience for the user
Having a working prototype in hand, I set out to test my design. I sat down with 3 target users and provided then with a scenario and a set of tasks. I then made note of their comments, struggles and general thoughts. I found the usability tests enlightening and several changes and adjustments were made.
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When I first showed Schuster a mock-up of the design I had included a portfolio section on the homepage. After a lengthy discussion we decided it would be best to forgo a portfolio section for her altogether. This worked well as it allowed for a streamlined homepage that focuses all of the attention on the artists.
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The interviews had informed me of information around the art that would be expected, but it wasn't until the usability tests that it was discovered that other options and information would be of use. Such things as an option to favorite an item for easy access later, numbering the piece of art so people could track where they are as they browse and having the name of the artist repeated at the top of the page as a second reminder of whose art they were looking at.
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The contact page in my first design concept was kept rather simple. The usability tests resulted in the addition of a subject line, a favorite attachment section and a rewording of the heading itself. It was clear that the user wanted more guidance and cues as to what to do and what was relevant.
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I took all of the data gathered from the usability tests and finessed the final design to look, feel and behave like the website the users wanted. I was then able to take my final design to Schuster for delivery.
Delivery
For the delivery of the final design, I scheduled a time to sit down with Schuster and go over the process and prototype. I had already shared the initial research, original pen ideations and a homepage hi-fi mock-up to keep Schuster in the loop. I decided it would be best to touch on the research and what drove the design to its current status. I reminded her of the information the users wanted to see, the aesthetic and branding she asked to have and competition she needed to position herself against. These insights were all used while I created the reimagined site.
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I proceeded to showcase the prototype through InVision so she could see how a customer would click through her site. I demonstrated the process a client would take to browse an artists' work, favorite a piece or two, and then contact Schuster regarding the favorited pieces.
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In addition to walking Schuster through the design, I also included a coupe clicks to show her what a page would look like if the art piece wasn't sized to fit the width of the screen. I also showed Schuster a second alternate option for her "About" page, that included potential testimonial quotes under her photo, to help "sell" her to future clients.