Project Overview

The Problem

The Solution

Roles & Contributions

ROLE:

—

UX DESIGNER

The Gallery App is your home base for all things “The Gallery”. This is the supplementary app for those visiting The Gallery and interested in learning more. The app has many helpful features for gallery patrons such as an audio virtual tour, artist bios, and information about upcoming events being held at The Gallery. You can either make an account or stay logged out and still get most of the features of the app. The benefits of making a profile include saving favorite pieces, tracking your favorite artists, and saving upcoming events you may be interested in seeing.

When people visit The Gallery and aim to learn more, they may find the additional information to be inaccessible. An in-person gallery only has so much space for information, and often lacks accessible formats and language options for the different experiences of patrons.

A mobile app for the those gallery patrons aiming to learn more This app would provide additional information about the individual pieces at the gallery through a virtual tour with customizable settings to help all accessibility needs. This includes, color and contrast changes, speed and closed-caption options, as well as language options. There, you can also find in-depth information about resident artists and posts detailing events happening at The Gallery. This allows users to have a more personalized experience without limitations for different abilities.

This was my first UX Design project, and the first opportunity to put the skills of the Google UX Design course to the test. This gave me the opportunity to familiarize myself with the design process. For this project I,

  • interviewed potential users to gauge their needs and interests, then created empathy maps to identify my primary user group

  • did a competitive audit to research existing products and discover what is missing from the market

  • sketched up big-picture and close-up storyboards to understand the context of the app’s use

  • mocked-up paper and digital wireframes of the product using Figma

  • created both lo-fi and hi-fi prototypes of the product

  • conducted multiple rounds of usability studies to see how users felt about the experience of the app (specifically focusing on accessibility)

Moving Forward

Through this design process, I have learned the importance of iteration and how to combine my passion for design with a focus on the user’s experience. Accessibility is important to me, and through making The Gallery, I have been able to prioritize that in my designs.