Project Overview
ArtCal is a simple and beautiful website for art lovers to find new art exhibitions to visit. ArtCal was created to encourage Australians to return to galleries after having endured isolation and lockdowns for much of 2020.
Organisation
Team
MASS
Project Brief
We came up with the idea of ArtCal during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 as a way for small and medium sized galleries to promote their exhibitions and, in turn, for patrons to be able to discover these exhibitions and learn more about the artists exhibiting.
We want to see people return to galleries after the period of isolation. We want them to return so that they might buy art and support local artists. We couldn't find a site that did this one thing well, so we decided to make our own.
Project Need
We believe innovation can be achieved by simplifying existing ideas. In a cluttered online space where more information is often mistaken for better, ArtCal is unique in its focus and simplicity.
We've designed something innovative by keeping functionality simple and instinctive, and focusing on a single minded intention; to allow users to pick a date and find out what's on.
User Experience
The entire user interface is built around an interactive calendar; instantly recognisable but entirely unique to online. The calendar layout makes it easy to identity the day/date, while exhibition content is viewed without obscuring the calendar or losing context.
Our decision to go with a typographic-led design language made the artwork content the hero of the experience, with the heptagon motif chosen as a reference to the 'seven days of the week'.
The outcome of all of this is an interface that is simple and easy to use, whether you're on a laptop or mobile device. It's a single page application dense with information but limited in scope; an experience that focuses on the things that matter.
Project Marketing
On a very practical level, one of the main challenges we faced was committing to the idea initially then having to design, build and launch it from scratch. Once we decided that it was something we wanted to pursue seriously, it became more of a discussion around how we could create a product that we could confidently say had a single minded intention.
From there, it was a matter of setting ourselves a reasonable deadline so that we could get something to market quickly. While the amount of work to do (at the time) was not insignificant, having a bit of time constraint meant that we didn't lose sight of why we were doing all of this in the first place.
We adopted a product and user-centred design approach with ArtCal; our focus with the launch of the MVP version (back in June last year) was to validate the idea with the market through research and user testing, while at the same time working to establish visibility among local galleries. Since then, we've slowly iterated and improved on it to the point now where we can focus on a longer term roadmap that will hopefully help to get ArtCal in front of many more people.
Launching our own product has allowed us to experience what it’s like to be a client. It’s helped us refine our own internal processes and our ability to provide better recommendations to our start-up clients.
Project Privacy
We follow standard privacy procedures in instances where personally identifiable data, such as email addresses, is collected.
Tags
Digital - Community
This category is all about helping our communities to connect and engage, from emergency services to Not for Profits to social groups, these apps and sites not may not only assist in delivery but also create efficiencies providing those at the coalface more time to do their important work whether it be fighting fires or managing the local team. It's not all serious though we're also looking for projects that work to help bring the community groups together with fun and enjoyable activities.
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