Helping
art collectors
to create exhibitions

Rookery — app

American Cyborg, an art collective, invited AREA 17 to help realize their mission: To create an art archiving software that encourages meaningful engagement and is a joy to use.

rookery app preview
Role
UX/Product Design Lead
Activities
Research, Discovery, UX & Product Strategy, Interaction Design.

What are we trying to solve?

Design Sprint Workshop Leading a design sprint workshop to unpack the opportunity space.

Product hypothesis: Domestic art collectors want to centralize and enjoy their collections without spending too much time in the archiving process.

The concept of a room composition tool stood out from the various prototypes we tested with our audience. Our strategy: To deliver a proof of concept for a limited group of users and investors to further explore the product/market fit.

An example of how the story was cut in multiples tiles. Conceptual prototype

Shaping the MVP structure with the product manager and engineer.

Mapping the mvp screens Mapping the mvp screens and features

I worked with the product manager and lead engineer to define the necessary tasks, views and features. Ready to outline a sprint plan and enter the implementation phase.

Establishing design principles with the brand / visual designer.

Necker cube’s thin lines and prominent white space as a design principle for panel divisions and hierarchy.

Necker cube
Collection Index
Artwork detail
Room

A software made to both archive and contemplate the art collection, balancing functional and expressive UI spaces.

Functional
Expressive Visual design by Paul DeCotiis

Designing a system of panels, views, UI elements, and how they are articulated together to access and present information.

Panels and views

Interaction Design:
Exploring the workflow of creating an artwork ensemble

Ensemble authoring task flow

Iteration one: Letting the user focus on art curation first, then composition

Prototype side by side

Iteration two: Keeping the room as a central element of the interface during the whole process

Prototype horizontal

Helping users guess artwork sizes using everyday objects as references.

Helping users guess artworks sizes

Handling errors and corner cases by signaling incoherent states to the user.

Signaling error status

On the path to a public launch

Launching the private MVP in July 2020 leads the path to a future public release, supported by a mobile app to capture artworks and a proper onboarding process.

Rookery, an App by AREA 17

Product Design Lead
Christophe da Silva
Brand & Visual Design
Paul DeCotiis
Product Manager
Jesse Golomb
App Engineer
Joe Critchley