Yor Spatium -
Decorative Arts Marketplace App
UX, UI, Branding
Sector: Marketplace / Decorative Arts
Role: Product & UX/UI Designer
Yor Spatium is a marketplace platform designed for buying and selling decorative arts, focused on improving trust, transparency and digital presentation within the category. Existing marketplace experiences often lack the curation, contextual storytelling and visual refinement required for users to confidently discover, evaluate and purchase high-value pieces.
Yor Spatium was designed to create a more considered and immersive marketplace experience, combining ecommerce functionality with editorial storytelling, curated discovery and community-driven engagement.
[ The Problem ]
Users buying and selling decorative arts often navigate fragmented and inconsistent marketplace experiences. Early research revealed recurring challenges around unclear delivery processes, inconsistent product imagery, limited pricing transparency and overly broad filtering systems that failed to support the nuances of decorative arts discovery.
Users frequently left marketplace platforms to independently research designers, provenance and product context, highlighting a broader lack of trust, curation and confidence within the buying experience.
The challenge was to design a more refined and intuitive marketplace experience that could simplify discovery and transactions while elevating presentation, transparency and user trust across the platform.
[ Discovery & Research ]
To better understand user behaviour and expectations within the decorative arts market, research focused on how buyers discover, evaluate and build trust when purchasing high-value pieces online.
Through marketplace analysis, behavioural research and user interviews, several recurring friction points emerged around product presentation, pricing transparency, delivery logistics and fragmented discovery experiences. Research also revealed that users frequently relied on external sources to validate designers, provenance and product quality, highlighting the importance of contextual storytelling, curation and trust-building within the platform experience.
[ Key Insights ]
Research revealed several consistent behavioural patterns:
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Trust was closely tied to presentation: Users associated high-quality imagery, curation and contextual storytelling with product value and marketplace credibility.
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Generic marketplace structures created friction: Broad filtering systems and standardised browsing experiences made it difficult for users to discover decorative arts in a meaningful or intuitive way.
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Buyers relied heavily on external research: Users frequently left platforms to independently research designers, provenance, pricing and product context before making purchasing decisions.
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Selling workflows were time-intensive and inconsistent Creating listings — particularly styling, photography and product descriptions — created friction for many sellers.
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Community and storytelling added value: sers responded positively to marketplace experiences that fostered interaction, shared knowledge and a stronger sense of connection around objects and collecting.
These insights informed both the platform functionality and the broader marketplace experience.
[ Design Strategy ]
The design strategy focused on creating a marketplace experience that balanced functionality, trust and visual refinement. Priority was placed on elevating product presentation, reducing friction throughout the selling process and improving transparency around pricing, provenance and delivery.
The platform also integrated richer storytelling and contextual information to support more informed purchasing decisions and create a stronger sense of connection between users, objects and sellers. This required combining traditional marketplace functionality with more curated, editorial and community-driven experiences.
[ Product Experience ]
The platform was designed as a layered marketplace experience combining buying, selling, discovery and research within a more curated digital environment. Product functionality focused on improving trust, transparency and usability across both buyer and seller workflows.
Key features included category-specific filtering tailored to decorative arts, AI-assisted image optimisation to improve listing consistency, simplified delivery systems and integrated pricing history to support more informed purchasing decisions. The platform also introduced a built-in designer index, allowing users to research designers and provenance without leaving the marketplace experience.
Alongside transactional functionality, community and storytelling features were integrated throughout the platform to encourage interaction, shared knowledge and deeper engagement with decorative arts and collecting culture.
[ Brand Identity ]
Brand identity played a key role in shaping the overall marketplace experience. The visual language was designed to reflect the timeless and considered nature of decorative arts while allowing the objects themselves to remain the focal point.
The name Yor Spatium - derived from “Your Space” - draws from classical references, positioning the platform within a broader architectural and cultural context. A restrained palette of warm neutrals and soft cream tones was used to create a sense of trust, familiarity and refinement across the digital experience.
The interface balanced clarity and usability with subtle references to the architectural qualities, materiality and composition of the objects being presented.
[ Outcome ]