Exploration

A client begins their journey in the Explore tab. Similar to the Explore page of Instagram or For You Page of TikTok, this homepage uses an algorithm to show clients new artists that are similar to others they’ve followed or interacted with in the past. Artists can set their medium (ceramics, printmaking, illustration, etc.) and toggle whether or not they are accepting new commissions at the moment. Users also see a tile preview of recent work on the artist’s profile.

Clients can also browse projects via the Following tab, which shows recently fulfilled commissions by artists they follow. Clients see when the project was posted, likes from other users, and the price of the piece.

Explore Tab Iteration

Since the Explore tab is the first thing clients see when they open the app, I wanted it to be as engaging as possible and show the maximum amount of information without being cluttered. To achieve this goal, I iterated on my initial design to the V2 design, which shows more of the artists’ work by compressing the navigation bar at the top of the page and including a horizontally scrolling library of tiles for the client to explore the artist’s portfolio before even clicking into their profile.

I also included a filtering function that allows users to see local artists, artists currently accepting work, specific mediums of work, and set a price range for an artist’s average selling price.

Artist Profile

After navigating to an artist’s profile, the client can explore more past work, see follower count, and navigate to external social media profiles. They can also click into specific past projects to see additional photos or get a link to share the project externally.

If the client is interested in commissioning a piece, they can open the Pricing and Inquiries menu to see the typical price range for specific sizes and types of work set by the artist.

Commissioning Work

If the client decides they’re interested in commissioning the artist for work, they send an inquiry via direct message. Once the artist has accepted the message, both parties have the option to call one another and talk over the phone if they prefer. It’s at this stage where product details, production timeline, and pricing are negotiated. Once these are agreed upon, the artist sends a custom invoice showing product details, and a price breakdown including estimated shipping and taxes.

Clients can also use the Notifications tab to see invoices that require fulfillment, as well as receive updates on their orders.

Clients fulfill an invoice by entering their shipping and billing information, then clicking Complete Order. After this, they are provided documentation that their invoice has been fulfilled and that the artist will soon begin production on their piece. The artist can also update clients on any delays in the production process via the app’s messaging feature, which saves all voice and text conversations as documentation should either party file a dispute. This secure messaging and invoicing system is intended to protect both parties from fraud and eliminate some of the risk inherent in pre-paying for a custom product.

Reflections

Overall, I think this is one of my most robust UX design projects yet. I was able to have complete freedom with the end-to-end concept, and think that there was cohesive brand language enhanced by my design choices. I find the design exciting and novel but not to the point where a user would feel unfamiliar with using the interface, and think the black and white theme ensures that the art will be the true focus of the platform.

For future iterations, there are a few things I would do to take the concept further:

• Create a prototype for the artist’s journey. This would include different UIs for creating a post, filling out an invoice, and fulfilling an order.

• Conduct interviews with artists and clients who have experience with commission-based work, or want to enter the world of commissioned work but are unsure how to start.

• Add a Shop feature to artist profiles to let them consolidate their commissioned and pre-made work into this platform.

• Consult a legal advisor to gain a better understanding of what a dispute could look like, and what kind of documentation would be best to protect both buyers and sellers during a dispute.