Artify
A sustainable mobile app tailored for art students at USC Roski School of Art and Design, promoting sustainability by connecting students to exchange surplus art materials, fostering an eco-friendly and collaborative community.
DURATION
September - December 2023
SKILLS
Figma
FigJam
Adobe Illustrator
TEAM
Jun Hyun Kim
Valeria Jung
The Problem
Roski students tend to purchase art supplies in large quantities as a preemptive measure against frequent buying, resulting in excess materials and waste. This practice not only places a financial strain on students but also poses an environmental challenge, contradicting the school's sustainability objectives. The accumulation of excess art materials reflects a need for a more mindful and sustainable approach to resource utilisation within the Roski community. Addressing this issue could promote responsibility and align with the broader ecological aspirations of the institution.
Research
SURVEY FROM USC STUDENTS
They seek an app that acts as social media, fostering a trade community for art materials, promoting waste-utilizing projects, and suggesting inclusive material lists. Rewards are seen as a crucial element for active participation.
“... I purchased a bulk package of smaller items when I only needed one, and it’s difficult disposing them."
USER PERSONAS
My teammates and I created four user personas, specifically diversifying demographic characters, goals, motivations, and pain points to gain a deep understanding of a wide range of users. Doing so allowed us to consider solutions to different conditions, minimising the chances of 'Artify' lacking any purpose or features.
Research Takeaways
The research stage is the backbone of a project. From the beginning we need to make sure that the foundation is strong. Therefore my teammates and I spent a long time gathering information.
Through the survey results, user personas and competitor analysis, the three major characteristics of 'Artify' were narrowed down to exchange, sustainability, and rewards. Exchange would be the method of communication and material transferral, sustainability would be the purpose of the app, and rewards would be the attraction feature for users to actively participate.
Ideation
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
FEATURES
Material Listings
• Students can list art materials they no longer need
Material Search
• Students can search for specific art materials they need
• Filter search by material type, quantity, condition, and expiration date (if applicable)
Material Matching
• An algorithm matches users with surplus materials to those seeking them
Exchange Hub
• Facilitates secure and contactless materials exchanges within the school community
• Acts as a social media for users to gain information and find users to exchange materials with
Sustainability Metrics
• Users can track their eco-friendly contributions through the app
• Provides insights into environmental impact, statistics, reduced waste, and carbon footprint
Rewards System
• Gamifies the system as a competition
• Higher usage lead to rewards such as free beverages, food, cafe coupons, and art supplies
FUNCTIONALITY
Profile Page
• Basic information (name, class, major)
• Wishlist for needed materials (public or private)
• List of users' materials (with photos)
Material Matching
• Users can initiate conversations to arrange exchanges
• Use of booking feature (similar to housetour booking)
Feed Page
• List of leftover art materials
• Art/Design tips and inspirations
Chat Page
• Initiate conversations to discuss exchange and send invitations
Sustainability Metrics
• Motivates the users to keep exchanging and donating for the environment
Game
• Engages more users and encourages participation
A very important stage. Using all the information gathered, we planned out all the features we wanted 'Artify' to provide. Here we developed ideas on how to make the 'exchange' feature work, how to attract users (gamifying the system), and how to promote 'sustainability' so that the users would understand the purpose of the app.
SITE MAP AND USER FLOW
Ideation Takeaways
The Mission
Features must be developed revolving around the purpose of the application. There is no point of creating an app that fails to deliver its intended mission. Artify is an application promoting sustainability by connecting students to exchange surplus art materials, fostering an eco-friendly and collaborative community. We needed to set the focus on how to efficiently conduct exchanges, raise awareness of sustainability, and how to engage the users.
The Pain Points
A simple user flow covering all features efficiently is crucial for an app as it enhances user experience by reducing cognitive load and streamlining interactions. A straightforward and intuitive navigation system allows users to effortlessly navigate through the app, leading to increased user satisfaction and higher retention rates.
Artify will provide greatly simple user flows to guarantee efficiency in the exchange of materials.
The User Flow
Features must be developed considering the pain points of the users. We carefully ideated the features in order to meet the users' needs, creating solutions for the following pain points:
• Environmental concerns
• Inefficiency in obtaining materials
• Limited storage space
• Lack of community
Prototype
LOW-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES (SKETCHES WITH NOTES)
Prior to creating the prototype on Figma, I sketched out low-fidelity wireframes to briefly gain an understanding of how I wanted 'Artify' to look, and function.
I sketched out a few of the major sections including:
Log In/Create Account/Verification
Profile/List/Wishlist/How to Upload
Exchanging Materials/Messaging System
To see the final design system and prototype, keep scrolling!
Interactive Prototype
Take a look & enjoy a sneak peek of 'Artify'.
This prototype takes you through the major pathways of the app, showcasing an overview of how the system works.
Link to full screen prototypePrototype Takeaways
We successfully created a prototype considering simplicity and providing users with an intuitive and uncomplicated interface that minimized unnecessary complexities. The design facilitated efficient storytelling by providing a seamless progression of the user journey, allowing for a clear and coherent narrative. Iconography was clear and simple so that the users would not have to second-guess themselves when proceeding through the app.
Testing
USABILITY TESTING
Task 1. Sign in and add items to 'Listing' on your profile page.
100% Success Rate
Difficulty: Medium
Task 2. Sign up, go to your wishlist and send an exchange request.
75% Success Rate
Difficulty: Hard
Task 3. Either sign in or sign up. After sending an exchange request, arrange your meeting.
75% Success Rate
Difficulty: Hard
Testing Takeaways
We conducted a total of 4 user tests, each user completing the three assigned tasks. Overall, the test results were successful, but the feedback we received from the users indicated many areas to be kept, and areas needed of improvement.
Some positive feedback included:
1. The design system is simple and well designed. The iconography is very straightforward, and the dominant use of green and speckles of yellow harmonize very well.
2. All the screens that are necessary seem to be present.
Some feedback for improvement included:
1. The prototype isn't easy to navigate through. Not all the features and pages are connected, and are rather organized in a chronological order. Therefore it was difficult when going through the tasks, especially 2 and 3.
2. I'm not sure if the Creative Board is a necessary feature, it makes the application seem like a type of social media.
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