Art.com iPad Application: artCircles Agency: Hot Studio Client: Art.

com Team (Hot): Rajan Dev, Heather Linn, Tanya Herrgott, Andrew Lyons, Paul Smith, Dan Harrelson Team (Art.com): Ivy Ross, Madav Mehra, Roberto Mameli, Rachel Rosenkrantz Contact: Kelly Meanley, Producer, Hot Studio Project link: http://bit.ly/z6Cv5W Pitch doc link: scr.bi/artcircles_app

Project Description Hot Studio conceived, designed, and built artCircles, Art.com's very first iPad app. artCircles takes you on an epic journey through Art. coms vast collection. Anchored by a clever filtering system (literally comprised of interrelated circles), the app allows you to easily discover classic, current, and little known works of art by viewing images inspired by curators, like Yves Behar; colors, from cyan to cocoliquot; or words, from "wanderlust" to "ethereal." And, deep social integration enables sharing and discussion of favorite pieces.

Project Purpose To design and develop a new iPad experience that will engage, entertain, and delight Art.com's target audiences. Known almost exclusively for its e-commerce business, Art.com wanted to create an app that would update their brand by offering users a rich, experiential app. The company wanted to use its incredible image collection of more than 1.2 million works of art to engage customers, allow for deeper experiences with the art itself, and reach a younger demographic of users. The directive to Hot Studio was simple: create an experience that WOWS people.

Business / Organizational Goals & Challenges Goal: Build new audiences and brand awareness Strategy: Create an experience that is closer to a general entertainment experience than e-commerce Goal: Foster peoples love of Art Strategy: A rich, beautiful, polished experience that showcases the art and allows the user to personalize and enjoy art on their terms Goal: Encourage repeat visits and longer engagement Strategy: By integrating with real time news and social trends, the experience changes day by day and hour by hour Goal: Increase sales Strategy: Enabling deeper discovery and a more personalized experience exposes customer to a wider selection of works

User Goals and Challenges Hot was told to think blue sky, and began by identifying the types of users who would want to view art on a tablet. What were their motivations and needs? Detailed user personas were created, and then Hot set about crafting features for these users.

UX process, methodology and approaches, pt. 1 Process was informed by personabased brainstorm sessions. These sessions yielded different feature sets that appealed to various wants and needs, and these were collaboratively narrowed down by Art.com and Hot.

Target Audiences, pt. 1 The Aspirational Decorator: I want guidance and inspiration decorating my home and help finding the right pieces. Defining characteristics: Buys art because they find beauty in it; often complimented on their taste in home decor; aspires to own more originals and unique works of art; buys art to reflect style, colors, themes of home The Confident Decorator: I want to discover art I love that will be the finishing touch in my home from Art.coms enormous inventory. Defining characteristics: Confident in their taste in art and doesnt seek others opinions; buys art for beauty, style, or theme; art is the finishing touch for room/home; buys art to reflect style, colors, themes of home The Art Lover: I want to explore and experience art in new ways, go deeper, and learn more about art and specific artists. Defining characteristics: Aspires to own more original art; is often complimented on their taste in art; buys art for the beauty they find in it; art plays a big role in their life; not price sensitive when shopping for art

Target Audiences, pt. 2 The Cool Maven: I like to discover and share cool, hip, new stuff. Defining characteristics: Early adopter; likes interesting uses of technology; watches trends; blogger The Professional Designer: I need a way to understand and reflect my understanding of my client needs and model potential designs and solutions for them. Defining characteristics: Needs wide range of options to suit various client needs; not brand loyal - relies on multiple services to achieve goals; price sensitivity depends on client budgets; eye for detail The Aspiring Artist: I need to get my art out there so I can earn some money and connect with fans and buyers. I also want to be inspired by like-minded artists. Defining characteristics: Needs inspiration and source materials; cares about style and aesthetics; elitist The Mainstream Media Consumer: I love all the cool apps I can get for my new iPad. Defining characteristics: Not conscious art-lover; follows trends rather than sets them; uses the iPad for entertainment, casual media consumption, Facebook, and email; likes Apple products for their simplicity

UX process, methodology and approaches, pt. 2 Ultimately settled on artCircles concept: a highly experiential interface that allows users to explore Art.com's immense image library by utilizing a clever filtering system comprised of interrelated circles. The interface not only simplifies browsing, but also seamlessly incorporates social features and curated content from tastemakers like John Maeda and Yves Behar.

Notable/unusual/innovative UX components The UX itself is the branding device; the UX is the style. Its basic functionality is the differentiator. Adds a much-needed human element to Art.com's image catalogue, and shifts focus from commerce to experience. Supplants parametric searches with more provocative search filters like colors, words (like melancholy), and curators.

Why does this project deserve an award? Uses UX to totally change brand perception of Art.com by creating fundamentally different experiences. An integrated approach to product development with high emphasis placed on creating exceptional user experience.