Kurator Case Study by Whatsupnoah

kurator the fun way to art

We asked ourselves a simple question. People like to look at visual art; what are their habits?

We interviewed eight people ranging from creative directors to studies MFA graduates to design students to total noobs who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know Basquiat from a basket.

THIS IS WHAT WE HEARD: “Yeah, it’d be cool if I could find out all this information in one place.” “I often add to my mental list of shows I’d like to see after spying an ad, but when the opportunity arises I often forget what it was that had sparked my interest, or I simply run out of time before the show closes.” “Instead of searching by an institution, you should be searching for the things you like.” “As a communication arts student, I’d like to be able to connect the dots between art movements by seeing art in person.”

PROBLEM STATEMENT: Crowds, prices and rude patrons were all pain points of the experience of looking at visual art. But two things that came up often were a lack of a central information source for all kinds of events (hence FOMO) and the feeling that every 4 and institution felt like a silo and a completely separate educational/entertainment resource acting in a vacuum.

After our interviews and information gathering, we were able to focus in on a problem and craft our problem statement:

Social media, word-of-mouth and traditional advertising provide a way for people interested in art to discover new exhibitions, gallery shows and art events. We have observed that these products are fragmented and not meeting goals (people are missing shows, not being able to keep track everything going on, no chance for discovery, etc). How can we help people be more aware of exhibitions, gallery shows, museum-centric events (gallery lectures, film screenings) and miscellaneous art events (open studios, art festivals, outdoor installations, art crawls, etc.), not miss out on the things that they are interested in and have a chance to discover new ones?

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Traditional Advertising (print, web)

Facebook Events

Twitter/ Instagram

Time out

- social - export to calendars function - most people are on it

- social - graphic

-reviews -map, location -detailed info

- graphic - in places with lots of traffic

- you have to choose places manually - no curation - not everyone is on fb - it’s dense - overwhelmingly so

- you have to chose places manually - no curation - not everyone is on these networks

- nonobjective curation - buried deep - dates are not highlighted - no personalization - can’t export to calendar - app is more broad with all types of cultural events

- you will miss out on things if you don’t serendipitously run into it - only big institutions have the budget to advertise

Positive

Negative

VISUAL ART-SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS

Foursquare

NY Art Beat

NY Museum

See Saw

- Tips are helpful - Personalized recommendations - Lists are pretty cool

- Has a Nearby Function and distance - Show permanent collections - Smart lists

- Divided into categories with large range of popular and niche - Clean layout of details page with links to Wikipedia, contact info, map, etc. - Large carousel highlighting high-profile exhibits - Search function

- Comprehensive list of all gallery listings by neighborhood - Discovery section with large pictures - Editor’s Pick section - Opening and Closing sections - New York and Los Angeles - Sexy visual design

- Art is not its focus - Not focused on specific exhibitions/shows; it’s more about the actual space - Almost too robust / not very simple

- It’s a hybrid app :-( - Categories are only medium specific - Strictly just a scheduling tool - No branding - Feed shows most popular OR end date; not both - Can’t export to calendars - Has no social aspect

Positive

Negative

- Focuses only NYC-based museums, - Favorites function doesn’t add much to experience

- Only gallery listings - Primarily for gallery-hopping

COMPETETIVE ANALYSIS: In our competitive analysis we found that there were already a few products in the marketplace for the purpose we defined in our problem statement. The quality of each product varied and features were mixed. Overall, they felt inaccessible, cold and not useful for anyone without a background in visual arts. We asked ourselves, â&#x20AC;&#x153;How can we take the best qualities of these products, improve upon them and add value to the experience?â&#x20AC;? To answer this, we went back to our interviews:

INTERVIEWS

These users wanted a platform where they could easily find the events they liked and made sure they didn’t miss them. “Yeah, it’d be cool if I could find out all this information in one place.” “I often add to my mental list of shows I’d like to see after spying an ad, but when the opportunity arises I often forget what it was that had sparked my interest, or I simply run out of time before the show closes.”

“Instead of searching by an institution, you should be searching for the things you like.” “As a communication arts student, I’d like to be able to connect the dots between art movements by seeing art in person.”

These users were still learning about art and wanted an easy and fun way to find more of what they liked.

PERSONAS

PIVOT POINT: We discovered a need for a user who wanted more than just a dumping ground for event listings; they needed a tool to sift and navigate through that information and use it as a wayfinding tool to help build their knowledge of the visual art world. We now knew that we had to cater to two different personas; Our core users were still learning about art and wanted a fun way to nurture their growth. This was our North Star. Our secondary users were already experts in the visual arts and wanted a way to keep track of all the events in their area.

Meet our two Personas:

“As a communication arts student, I’d like to be able to connect the dots between art movements by seeing art in person.” - Dana, the student

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: age: 30 city: New York, New York neighborhood: FiDi occupation: student at FIT education: MBA marriage status: single children: none devices: iPhone, Macbook Pro, ipad mini GOALS: Dana is enrolled in a Communication Arts program at FIT. After getting her MBA and struggling for years in unfulfilling jobs, she landed at a non-profit where she was turned on to graphic design when she befriended the Creative Director. NARRATIVE: Since Dana is still learning about design and communication arts, she relies on her peers and teachers to point her in the right direction when wanting to look at visual art. She follows a few big museums on Instagram and Facebook and often goes to the blockbuster shows, but is curious about all kinds of art movements, especially those under her radar. PAIN POINTS: Because she is still learning, she often doesn’t know what she likes until she sees it. When she goes to museums or galleries she makes it a point to grab collateral and fliers for other shows she finds interesting. She also feels a bit shy and intimidated asking museum or gallery staff to point her in the right directions. She feels that museums do a great job of educating the public, but feel very insular and fail at bringing a cohesive experience across one’s educational journey.

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:

“Yeah, it’d be cool if i could find out all this information in one place.” - Jillian, the workhorse

age: 32 city: Brooklyn, New York neighborhood: Bushwick occupation: project manager at a design firm education: BA in art history, MA in museum studies marriage status: single children: none devices: iPhone, Android phone (work), Macbook Pro, iPad mini GOALS: Jillian loves going to museums and art galleries. While she painted growing up and all throughout high school, she shifted her career goals after an internship at an art gallery where she realized that her skills would be better suited by helping young artists realize their own artistic ambitions and goals. Because she doesn’t consider herself a fine artist, she sees going to museums/ galleries as a release and wants nothing in between her and her goal of appreciating the art. She works long hours with tight deadlines and difficult personalities; she wants her leisure life to be as painless as possible. NARRATIVE: Jillian usually access a combination of services to learn about exhibitions and galleries, but finds them fragmented and wonky. She gets frustrated when sifting through the enewsletters of her favorite galleries and museums because she is forced to plug in the dates to her Google calendar manually. Facebook events are okay, but she finds that only a few of the institutions actually use them, and of course, Google calendar integration is clunky or non-existent. PAIN POINTS: Because she is so busy, Jillian often forgets about shows beginning and ending, which galleries are opening where, and what DIY miscellaneous art events there are (even the ones going on in her own backyard!).

HAPPY PATH: USER LEARNS ABOUT AN EVENT BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS, GOES TO EVENT, LIKES EVENT AND DISCOVERS SIMILAR EVENTS

FEEDBACK GETS FUNNELED BACK INTO RECOMMENDATIONS, THUS IMPROVING THEM

ON-BOARDING/ QUESTIONNAIRE/ PICK ON-BOARDING/ ON-BOARDING/ QUESTIONNAIRE RECOMMENDATIONS

START

VIEW ALL

QUESTIONNAIRE

NO ON-BOARDING/ QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONNAIRE

GOES TO EVENT DID YOU LIKE THE EVENT? YES OR NO?

GOES TO EVENT? YES OR NO?

YES

ASKS ON-BOARDING/ FOR FEEDBACK

CHOOSE EVENT

ON-BOARDING/ RECOMMENDATIONS ON-BOARDING/ QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONNAIRE

GIVES RECS ON SIMILAR EVENTS

ASKS ON-BOARDING/ FOR FEEDBACK ON-BOARDING/ QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONNAIRE

SETS REMINDERS AND EXPORTS TO CALENDAR

REMINDER COMES / DETAILS FOR EVENT DIRECTIONS

SITE MAP / CONTENT STRATEGY

HOME / RECOMMENDATION LIST

EVENT INFO

‘LIKES’ PAGE

SETTINGS

EVENT DETAIL UGC

The main piece of content in Kurator is the ‘Event Details’ page, which is User-Generated Content. Institutions, gallery owners, people throwing events have to upload event details themselves as well as provide ‘Likes’ (our categorization taxonomy) that help users discover their events. Content creators can link their RSS feed to our internal CMS which will automatically update content of a pre-existing calendar that they work off of. There is also an option to manually enter an event via a form in the native app.

SAVED EVENTS

Preliminary Wireframe Sketching + Coffee = Lots of ideation

Second Round of Wireframes + Coffee = Lots of refinement

WIRERAMES 2.0 HAPPY PATH / MEDIUM-FIDELITY

USABILITY TESTING / ROUND ONE TAKEAWAYS: • Users were naturally inclined to want to see a map before they made any decisions We added a quick view drop down on ‘For You’ home feed with map and links • Users had trouble with icons, categorization taxonomy and action nomenclatures Icons were removed, categorization taxonomy, action buttons and all language was refined to be explicitly clear • Users wanted a sign that events were nearby Nearby function was added

USABILITY TESTING / ROUND TWO TAKEAWAYS: • Users made suggestions to onboarding process Onboarding process was simplified and refined • Users still struggled with naming conventions Naming was further refined • Users wanted a hint of the ‘swipe to review’ action An extra frame was added in the onboarding process

WIRERAMES 3.0 HAPPY PATH / MEDIUM-FIDELITY

KURATOR - Happy Path 1.0 Recomendations (Home Screen)

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Event Date: Jan 24, 7pm

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2.0 Events Details Page

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5 minutes before 30 minutes before

Events Details

1 hour before

You probably haven't heard of them readymade food truck meggings Echo Park actually. Listicle literally Vice, occupy drinking vinegar bespoke Helvetica asymmetrical Brooklyn. Meditation farm-to-table synth, craft beer hoodie freegan meh narwhal sriracha mixtape Truffaut health goth Banksy PBR&B. Williamsburg polawriter

1 day before 2 days before More... Filter

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Event Date: Jan 31, 7pm

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- User is prompted to set an alert for event

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Event Date: Feb 21, 8pm

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- Alert is selected

- Alert is show in event dialouge box

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Event Date: Feb 27, 8pm

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have an awesome event to share? tap here

- User adds event 9

10 Filter

11 Likes

- User taps on event

Settings

1. Event Information 2. Geolocator alert that event is nearby (distance can be configured in settings) 3. Add Event to Saved Feed 4. Quick View dropdown 5. ‘For You’ feed: shows recomendations based on onboarding choices 6. ‘All’ feed: all events based on location regardless of onboarding choices 7. ‘Saved’ feed: all events that have been added to the saved feed will be prompt the user to review when event date is completed Users can also manually review at any time by swiping right 8. Search bar 9. Filter events by distance, date, popularity, categorization (likes), with option to save filter 10. Likes - takes user back to Onboarding Topic Selection 11. Settings 12. Users can manually enter events 13. Share event through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, e-mail and text

WIRERAMES 3.0 HAPPY PATH PART 2 / MEDIUM-FIDELITY 6.0 Saved Screen

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9.0 Review Page

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Kurator now You have 1 eventSearch today You ForFor You

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Event Location EVENT IS TODAY

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Would you like to review this event? Yes

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Let’s review. This event has these Likes. Click ones you enjoyed:

Architecture

Mixed Media

Painting

Photography

Sculpture

Textiles

alarm set add event

Related Event

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Related Event

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- User is alerted about event

- Event flashes throughout the day, signifying to the user that the event is happening

- The next time the user opens the ‘Saved’ tabthey are prompted to review the event

- A picture of the event is added to the User’s Gallery

Related Event

add event

Related Event

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Did you like this event? no

yes

Done!

ONBOARDING TAXONOMY Research was done into top level areas that our users would â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;likeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; during the onboarding process and MEDIUM: -architecture -ceramics -crafts -design -graphic +interior +industrial +digital -drawing -mixed media -new media -painting -photography +film +motion/ video art -performance art -printmaking +zines -sculpture -textiles

ERA / MOVEMENT/ CULTURE: -art deco -art nouveau -arts and crafts -baroque -bauhaus -constructivism -cubism -dada -de stilji -expressionism -futurism -hyperrealism -impressionism -lowbrow -modernism -pop art -psychedelic art -renaissance -rococo -surrealism -street art/ graffiti

ATMOSPHERE

COST

DISTANCE

-educational -party -diy -open studio -museum -gallery -kid friendly -nsfw

-free -under $10 -under $20 -under $30 -under $40 -over $40

-under 5 miles -under 10 miles -under 20 miles -over 20 miles

WIRERAMES 3.0 ONBOARDING / MEDIUM-FIDELITY 1.0 Splash Screen

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Select Likes below; related events will show up in your feed. (you can always come back to modify!) Medium

continue with Facebook

continue with Google

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Great - Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start Kurating!

Medium

Architecture

Mixed Media

Painting

Architecture

Mixed Media

Painting

Photography

Sculpture

Textiles

Photography

Sculpture

Textiles

More Movement

create password

Art Deco

Bauhaus

- Alert is selected Lowbrow Pop Art Medium

Movement

Cost

Atmosphere

Expressionism

Art Deco

Bauhaus

Expressionism

Street Art

Lowbrow

Pop Art

Street Art

Distance

Atmosphere

Architecture

Photography

Mixed Media

Sculpture

Painting

Textiles More

Art Deco

Lowbrow

Bauhaus

Pop Art

Expressionism

Street Art More

Educational

Museum

DIY

Kid-Friendly

Open Studio

NSFW More

Free

Under $30

Under $10

Under $40

Under $20

Over $40

Under 5 miles

More Atmosphere

Under 10 miles Under 20 miles

Educational

DIY

Open Studio

Educational

DIY

Open Studio

Museum

Kid-Friendly

NSFW

Museum

Kid-Friendly

NSFW

Under 50 miles Under 100 miles Over 100 miles

Detailed Category List

More Cost

WIRERAMES 3.0 ONBOARDING / MEDIUM-FIDELITY

KURATOR - ONBOARDING 6.0 For You - Tutorial

For You

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6.0 For You - Home Screen

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tap to see details | OK!

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Park actually. Listicle literally Vice, occupy drinking vinegar bespoke Helvetica asymmetrical Brooklyn. Meditation farm-to-table synth, craft beer hoodie

tap for quick info add event

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slide right to review add event

alertevent set add

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alertevent set add

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WIRERAMES 3.0 MISCELLANEOUS ACTIONS/ MEDIUM-FIDELITY

Filter Events

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EVENT IS TODAY

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For You

Filter events by: All

Medium

Atmosphere

Popularity

Likes

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(closest to farthest)

Save Filter

event nearby!

alert set

alertevent set add

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Twitter

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Date

Facebook

share event

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event nearby!

share event:

alertevent set add

Distance alert set

Likes

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Back

event nearby!

Movement

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Event Google +

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Facebook App

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Events Details

Events Details E-mail

You probably haven't heard of them SMSfood truck meggings readymade Echo Park actually. Listicle literally Vice, occupy drinking vinegar bespoke Helvetica asymmetrical Brooklyn. Meditation farm-to-table synth, craft beer hoodie freegan meh narwhal sriracha mixtape Truffaut health goth Banksy PBR&B. Williamsburg polawriter

Related Event

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WIRERAMES 4.0 HAPPY PATH / HIGH-FIDELITY EXPLORATIONS 1.0 Recomendations (Home Screen)

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Tai Xiangzhou “Celestial Tales” event nearby

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The Museum Of Modern Art Event Date: Jan 24, 7pm Gowanus Open Studio at the Morbid Anatonmy Museum

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Morbid Anatonmy Museum Event Date: Jan 24, 7pm

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Beverly’s Event Date: Feb. 3, 7pm

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PROTOTYPE: HTTP://BIT.LY/1H4IMMP

THE FUTURE: KURATOR 2.0 AND BEYOND • social integration • custom advertisements • geo-targeted offers and discounts • Uber integration • Integrated marketing with Gallery Feature featuring top-tier Institutions

kurator the fun way to art