a2a: artist2artist, art2all
Roles
Quan Do - designer, master of the high-fidelity prototype
Grace Mazzarella - designer, documenter, master of the paper prototype
Dawn Wu - designer, founder, master of the high-fidelity and video prototype
Problem and Solution Overview
Art often has difficulty making its own space in the Williams community. Artists typically only work within their own medium, be it visual art, music, or dance, and community members who enjoy art do not currently have a single, centralized place to find out what events and works are being hosted by the different art communities. Hence, we designed a2a, a platform for local artists, both students and not, to share their works and host events, and for those who enjoy art to keep up-to-date with what is new in the Williams art community. The current version of a2a, while supporting some minor necessary workflows such as logging in and managing settings, focuses especially on the tasks of discovering future events and setting notifications for them, and uploading art to showcase for the community.
Initial Paper Prototype
Link to original paper prototype post
Testing Process
Link to “Usability Review” post; see section “Testing Process”
Testing Results
Final Paper Prototype
Digital Mockup
Discussion
Iterative design is an effective method to build a user-centered product. The interleaving dual processes of inquiry/testing and prototyping helped us keep our focus on the users, thereby conceiving features that were relevant to users’ experiences. We found that two core strategies allowed us to make the most out of this process. The first was to generate a lot quickly. This was true not only during the initial brainstorming stage, but also during the later prototyping stage where, if we took the time to constantly refine our prototypes and mock up features fast, we always benefitted from different insightful comments from our test users that hit one issue after the next. Another strategy was to try to see things from the users’ perspective. During contextual inquiries and testing, this translated to well-structured clarifying questions and sharp, useful observations.
We incorporated into our final design several key findings we uncovered during initial contextual inquiries. Our current version of a2a focuses especially on the tasks of discovering future events and setting notifications for them, and uploading art to showcase for the community. These tasks address the concerns raised again and again by multiple users regarding the lack of a centralized platform to explore local events and connect with local artists. Moreover, the process of paper prototyping was especially helpful in ensuring that our design is usable and relevant. It provides users with a way to pinpoint exactly which part of the design they do not understand, which helped us a lot.
Insight from usability tests really influences the overall flow of our tasks. For example, user feedback motivated us to reorganize our workflow for updating artworks, one of two main tasks. Our initial design allows a lot of different ways for users to upload new artworks, either by taking a new photo, or choose n existing one from cloud storage. Many users noted that the many options are very confusing, especially when they are not carefully worded. One user also commented that visual artists tend to pre-process their artworks before uploading anyway, instead of simply taking a photo and uploading straight away. We hence reworked the flow so that users get to upload simply from a variety of common storage options. During testing, we also identify many visual and organizational details that violate usability heuristics. This helps us a lot in improving the design, either through remaking icons, rewording user prompts, or repositioning page elements.
Looking forward, we could definitely use more iterations. We strongly believe that our current design already has the potential to fulfill a great part of our users’ needs. However, the entire design process is so wonderfully generative, in the sense that every new iteration brings in insight not only about the current prototype being tested, but also about potential new directions to pursue. For example, while testing our latest prototype, we receive a lot of user comments about functionalities that would enable group collaboration. This might be in the form of a group account where users could post about events and artworks as a group, or some work space where group members could work together. These are exciting possibilities that future iterations could definitely explore.
Appendix
Original Task Instructions
Onboarding: “You’ve heard of this new app called a2a which gives the Williams community a centralized platform for artwork and art-related event sharing. You’ve just downloaded the app. Please create a new account. Don’t forget to tell me what you’re thinking.”
Upload an artwork: “Now that you have an account, you’ve decided that your portfolio looks a little empty. Please upload an artwork. Don’t forget to tell me what you’re thinking.”
Set an event notification: “You’re looking for something to do over the weekend. Please choose an event and set a notification for it. Don’t forget to tell me what you’re thinking.”
Revised Task Instructions
Onboarding: [no change]
Upload an artwork: “Now that you have an account, you’ve decided that your portfolio looks a little empty. Luckily, you’ve just done an in-class portrait assignment in Drawing 100 that you’re proud of, and so you take a photo of it, crop it, and upload it to Drive. Now it’s time to add your portrait in green to your a2a portfolio. Don’t forget to tell me what you’re thinking.”
Set an event notification: “You’re looking for something to do over the weekend. One of your friends reminds you that their show, ‘Fancy Dance’, is happening. However, you know you’ll never remember when and where it is. You remember that a2a has an event notification feature, so you decide to set a reminder for the ‘Fancy Dance’. Don’t forget to tell me what you’re thinking.”
Critical Incidents
Link to “Usability Review” post, see “Results” and “Most Important Revisions” sections