Role
Product Designer
Timeline
4 weeks
Skills
Archa
A personalized app for documenting, reflecting on, and sharing your art discoveries.
User Research
Visual Design
Interaction Design
Storytelling
Tools
Figma, FigJam
Project overview
As someone who loves exploring art exhibits and museums, I often find myself taking photos of specific pieces I want to remember. However, these photos inevitably get lost in the chaos of my camera roll, and the memories tied to them fade away. For art enthusiasts like me, who cherish these experiences and want to revisit them, the lack of an organized way to document art exploration feels like a missed opportunity.
This project was born from the question: How might we help art enthusiasts document their art experiences while connecting with community? To address this, I designed an app that combines personal art documentation with social features, enabling users to save, revisit, and share their art experiences seamlessly.
The problem
Art enthusiasts often lose track of photos taken at museums or galleries, making it difficult to revisit and reflect on their experiences. Existing solutions, such as camera rolls or social media, fail to provide the organization and personalization needed for meaningful art documentation.
This app aims to bridge that gap by addressing two core needs:
Helping users document and revisit their art experiences in a structured, intuitive way.
Offering social features that allow users to share their discoveries with like-minded individuals.
User research
User Interviews
Motivated by my personal experiences, I explored how I could improve the process of documenting and sharing art. I conducted 10 interviews with art enthusiasts aged 18-30. I gathered the key interview quotes into an affinity diagram, discovering four main themes of concern: organization, personal reflection, social sharing preferences, and feature requests.
To summarize these key insights:
Users frequently forget about photos unless they’re actively organized.
Many users want a dedicated space to reflect on their art discoveries.
Social sharing is valued but should not overshadow personal documentation.
User Personas
Based on my interviews, I created two user personas to embody potential users of the app.
These insights informed the direction of the project, grounding every design decision in real user needs.
Design Process
With a clear understanding of the problem, I began the design process, which unfolded in several phases.
Ideation and Concept Development
In this phase, I brainstormed potential solutions that could address both the personal and social aspects of art documentation.
User Flow and Sketching
I mapped out the core user flow: from documenting an exhibit to revisiting saved visits and browsing users’ posts. The low-fidelity wireframes prioritized simplicity and clarity, mainly focusing on the user’s journey of adding and customizing details for each visit.
core user flow
Reflections & Next Steps
Low-fidelity prototype
After developing my early sketches into digital wireframes, I created a low-fidelity prototype. While the prototype was very “bare bones” and lacking certain features, this was necessary to save time and make improvements to the design after the usability study.
Usability Testing
Design System
Since Archa is an app meant to showcase art, I chose to use a simple and clean design system, using muted colors to make the art stand out. This allowed the art’s colors to be a part of the UI.
initial sketches for the main screens (homepage, profile, lists, adding visit, customization)
Usability testing was a pivotal phase of the project. I tested the low-fidelity prototype with 5 participants to understand user pain points and find places in the app that need improvement. I gathered the pain points from the usability study into an affinity diagram to better analyze the trends.
3 key themes arose from the usability testing results
Overwhelming Customization Process
2 out of 5 participants found the customization process too time-consuming and expressed frustration with having to fill out every field.
3 out of 5 participants appreciated the level of detail available for documenting their visits but wanted the customization fields to be optional rather than required.
Privacy Concerns
3 out of 5 participants were unsure how much of their input—such as notes and photos—would be private versus shared with others.
2 out of 5 participants hesitated to upload personal notes or sensitive content, fearing it might be visible to others without their consent.
Improvements
before
Profile Organization
2 out of 5 participants were unsure how their uploaded photos and notes were being stored on Profile
3 out of 5 participants expected a more intuitive organization of content, such as clear categories for public and private items, but this was not addressed in the low-fidelity prototype
Privacy toggle — Added a toggle to make visit details private during the customization process
Quick Add Mode — Introduced a “Quick Add” mode for just recording museum visit while keeping detailed customization optional.
High-fidelity prototype
after
Archive, Posts, and Collections features in Profile —
Introduced an archive section that holds all uploaded photos that are private to the user, as well as the option to review public posts and create user’s private collections based on theme, artist, etc.
Final Design
before
after
Building on user feedback from initial prototypes, I created a high-fidelity prototype that reflected the app’s dual focus. The interface combines minimalist aesthetics with intuitive functionality, ensuring that users can seamlessly transition between personal and social features. The final version of the high-fidelity prototype is visible below.
As my first UX/UI design project, this project was an amazing learning opportunity. I gained a deeper understanding of the product design framework, from defining user needs to conducting usability testing, and I developed my skills in using Figma for wireframing and prototyping. While I’m proud of the final design, I recognize that there’s always room for growth and refinement.
Looking ahead, I’d like to further develop the app by addressing several key areas:
1) Prioritizing Accessibility:
Ensuring the app is inclusive for all users is essential. I would like to explore options for accessibility, such as adding support for screen readers, increasing text size flexibility, and verifying that the color palette meets contrast requirements for users with visual impairments.
2) Conducting Additional Testing:
Before launching, I would like to test the updated iterations with a broader group of participants to validate the changes and uncover any remaining usability challenges.
3) Expanding Filter and Organization Options:
Incorporating advanced filter options alongside the existing organizational tools would enable users to locate specific visits, photos, or notes more efficiently. For example, filters by date, theme, or artist could streamline the user experience.
