MAKER
With a background in fine arts, I’ve built lasting relationships with working artists who often turn to me for support. Over the years, I’ve offered pro-bono help to visual artists, musicians, actors, and others, creating spaces for them to share their work, while gaining insight into the challenges they face. Now working in social media, I’ve seen firsthand the lack of platforms tailored specifically to artists. Spaces that not only professionally showcase their work but also help connect them with opportunities and audiences.
For my capstone project in the MS in User-Centered Design program at Brandeis University, I focused on developing a social platform designed to support creatives. The goal was to create an environment where artists can easily share their work, gain visibility, and find encouragement, especially those who may be struggling to sustain their creative pursuits.
Role
Lead Research, UX and UI Design
Duration
10 Weeks
When
September 2021
What
Capstone project toward the completion of an MS in User Centered Design at Brandeis University
Goal
Understand the needs of creatives trying to share their work for personal and professional gain
Market
Creatives of all kinds (visual arts, musicians, actors, gallerists, etc) who share their work online
Problem
Creatives lack the resources, skill, or time to create portfolios to display their work and experience
Mission
Create a social product allowing creatives to share, connect, & grow personally & professionally
Surveys & Interviews
The initial phase of research centered on discovery and understanding how existing products are or are not meeting the needs of creative users. I shared a survey within my network and on social platforms to reach creatives from a variety of different fields. With multiple creative fields and demographics represented, I proceeded to interview a number of survey participants and get more specific and in depth needs and requirements.
Affinity Mapping
After interviewing a selection of potential users I did an affinity mapping exercise to find common themes and trends producing the following takeaways:
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Creatives are sharing their work with the goal exposure
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Creatives share their work with the goal financial gain
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Creatives need a way to compete with big influencers
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Creatives are struggling to meet the time and effort required to achieve their goals
Competitive Analysis
Based on the surveys and interviews, the top used platforms for creatives are Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube. Using this information I did a competitive analysis to review the creator tools and resources from each pla
Personas
I created two personas reflective of the demographics, needs and wants of the interviewees to keep in mind when beginning design.
Journey Maps
I created journey maps to accompany the personas and outline a concept for design. Each journey map describes the opportunities that accompany the different paint points and goals of the users
Initial design
The initial designs were created with the intention of a user experiencing a start to finish experience within the Maker app. In order to achieve this they include all stages of registration, onboarding, and exploration of all potential features Below are a selection of screens from initial design.
Next Steps
- Additional Flows: Create a flow to show the experience of a non creative user or business
- Additional Features: Adding additional desired features like analytics that were left out of the MVP
- Test & Iterate: Continued testing and iteration on new and existing designs