My role:  Project Management | Research | Design | Testing |
Duration: 3 Months

Problem space

Color plays an important role in many artists’ creations. Artists who are limited by their medium in their ability to mix colors, have to invest in purchasing every shade they need. With so many colors to keep track of, it’s easy to forget which ones are running out or what’s available. Artists can end-up with duplicates or inaccurate shades in their inventory.

Color Stash is a platform that tries to address this problem by providing artists a better way to keep track of their colors. I conducted the research, and did the design for the platform’s two MVPs:  

1. A mobile App

2. A web app

Summary

I received Color Stash as a client project.  With the client’s agreement, I expanded the scope of the project to interview artists and research the future potential of the platform.

I spoke to 5 different artists to better understand how they manage and keep track of their colors. Next, based on the research, I built use case scenarios, and defined the scope of the first and second MVP. I was able to deliver the mobile app designs for the first MVP in six weeks, and the Web app in four.

Research

Initially, my client wanted a tool to help her manage her Copic Markers. I proposed to expand the scope of the project to look into how other artists keep track of their colors.  

What I learned in the interviews was that, a tool, such as the one we were developing for my client would be especially helpful for artists who are limited by their medium ( such as markers, spray paint, embroidery artists, etc ) in their ability to mix colors. These artists have to invest in purchasing every shade of the colors they need.

Use sase scenarios &  design brief

Based on the research and drawing on the expertise of my client as an artist, I came up with six main use case scenarios. Here is a brief description:

1. Make an inventory of colors

2. Create projects for different art pieces

3. Group colors that go together for a given art piece

4. Search colors

5. Quickly look for colors that are running out

6. Understand his or her color use overtime

I then used that information to explore the platform’s information architecture, and come up with a rough idea of its features and components. I then drafted the design brief, defining the scope for the first and second MVPs.

 Mobile app - First MVP

In tackling the first MVP, I incorporated some of the scrum project management techniques. I used Sketch for my designs, and InVision for prototyping.  After a number of exploratory Sketches, I was able to deliver the design in six sprints.

You can find out more about this design phase in my blog entry.

Web app - Second MVP

For the second MVP, I did the designs in Figma. A lot of the look and feel of the app was already defined in for the mobile app, and I had to make sure to keep the platform consistent across different media. So, I set up a design system, and in four sprints was able to translate the platform from mobile to web.

The following are samples of the final design. You can find out more about this design phase in my blog entry.

Conclusion

Color Stash gave me an opportunity to delve deeper into design systems. I also enjoyed the research that went into the design, and the possibility to help out fellow artists with a new tool.

Next : Magnify