[ YOR SPATIUM ]

Decorative Arts App
User centered design, UX, UI, branding, digital 

2023

View user testing here →

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Yor Spatium is a platform for users to buy and sell quality decorative arts, vetted by professionals.

 

Its intention is to be an international system that improves the delivery process and transparency of cost when purchasing quality decorative arts.

The platforms overall design is intended to be as aesthetically pleasing as the product itself to create a full, immersive experience for those who are passionate about timeless, quality and considered objects.

These features were the foundation of the platform and through thorough user research additional key elements were also threaded into the platform which molded the app into a larger more layered space for users to engage with.
 

My Role:

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• Project management

• Research (interviews, surveys, competitor analysis, affinity mapping, empathy mapping, user stories, customer journey)

• Ideation

• Information architecture

• User flows

• User testing

• UI

• lo-fi/ hi-fi prototyping

• Product design

• Branding

Users Key Pain Points:

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• "Expensive and multifaceted delivery processes."

• "Filtering systems aren't extensive enough or specific enough to decorative arts."

• "Always sifting through "junky photos and product."

• "Uploading and styling imagery is time consuming."

• "I go off Trademe to research designers and product - usually Cult Design." 

• "I like the story that comes with vintage dec arts and the story that comes fro the old owner."

• "I like the community aspect."

• "I would be more inclined to buy on a platform if it was more visually pleasing."

The Solution:

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1. Through key user research techniques, create an app where people with a keen interest in the decorative arts can sell/buy their quality decorative arts.​
    

2. Have an option for users to engage with a professional who can help them sell an item if they are happy to incur an additional cost for this.
    

3. Design a space that compliments the beauty and architecture of the decorative arts being sold/purchased.
    

4. Integrated community - this was integrated as a result of research highlighting that users benefited and generally enjoyed the connections and conversations from other users on platforms like Facebook Marketplace.

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5. Incorporate more specific filters
    

6. Incorporate a transparent, affordable and easy to use delivery system
    

7. Automatic camera angle prompts and use of AI to crop backgrounds from imagery and replace with a selection of tonal backgrounds to ensure the product is portrayed to its highest standard both singularly and as curated pages.
    

8. Sales history - A history of all product sold. This was integrated to offer a transparency of how much items of a specific type were being sold at to ensure other users can understand how much to price similar product.
   This system helps to vet pricing so users are not over inflating products. 
    

9. Designer index - this was integrated as research highlighted that users were often navigating off a platform to research a designer or product. Having this resources incorporated into the app means people don't have to leave the platform to learn about an artist, designer, product or era of dec arts.

 

Branding: 

Branding was a key part of the project due to the visual importance of the product being sold on the platform. The branding needed to encapsulate the beauty, history and value of the product while in tandem allowing the product to still remain the key feature on the platform. The struggle with this is that decorative arts span across a multitude of eras, so creating a brand that all items organically sit against would be a challenge.

The most classic era that came to mind was Roman. So using this as the building block the name "Yor Spatium" derived from "Your Space" was conceived.

Colour was carefully considered - brown has been dominant in the history of art. It conveys a sense of strength and reliability which is what, at its core, the product on this platform is. It also emits a sense of safety and warmth allowing the user to feel an instant sense of trust.
Cream is an extremely complimentary colour of brown and is associated with luxury, elegance, and sophistication - all of which are themes that relate back to the research and product on the platform. 

The overall layout is intended to be clean, easy and intuitive to navigate while the design hints at an essence of the understanding of the beauty that comes with the architecture of design.