Revamping Gallery Delarue's Online Presence
Role: Lead Designer for Gallery Delarue's Digital Makeover
As the lead designer, I took on the ambitious project of transforming Gallery Delarue's digital presence. I started with a discovery phase, dedicated to capturing the gallery's core essence through detailed conversations with the gallery's owners and engaging workshops. These discussions were crucial for uncovering unique ways Gallery Delarue could truly differentiate itself.
Gallery Delarue is far from your ordinary art gallery. It's a vibrant venue for art events, workshops, and exhibitions. My mission was to enhance the customer online experience and drive revenue growth. To tackle these goals, I developed design strategies that resonated with its core audience. I focused on ensuring that every aspect of the digital experience, from the overall layout to the finer details of the user interface, genuinely represented Gallery Delarue. Keeping art as the central element of the user experience was a priority.
Strategy & Beginning Steps
The transformation began with a strategic blend of design and business goals. A three-day intensive workshop set the stage, where we dove into the essence of Gallery Delarue. Alongside the gallery owners, we explored the gallery's identity, its community, and its future aspirations.
Our goal was to distil what Gallery Delarue represents, leading us to define its key characteristics collaboratively:
- Culture: Ever-evolving
- Customers: Devotees of culture and art
- Voice: Bold and distinct
- Benefits: Stirring emotions
- Value: Community-centric
- X-Factor: Daring to be different
This brainstorming session helped us craft a concise statement that encapsulates Gallery Delarue's mission: "Delarue Gallery showcases fluid and authentic art for culture lovers in an engaging environment with an unapologetic voice. Helping evoke emotions and challenge perspective" This vision steered our efforts in redesigning the gallery's digital footprint, ensuring it accurately reflects the unique spirit of Gallery Delarue.
Exercise 2: Identifying Opportunities & Core Priorities Breakdown
With Gallery Delarue's brand essence now articulated, we began to develop strategic growth plans across various timeframes. Our strategy was comprehensive, aiming to boost awareness, increase revenue, and enhance efficiency. We considered the feasibility and relevance of each goal in relation to our overarching objectives at the gallery.
Expanding Awareness:
- Long-Term - Cross-Promotion Tactics: Leverage Gallery Delarue events to enhance the visibility of our online store and vice versa. For instance, offering special discounts to event attendees for online purchases to foster brand loyalty.
- Short-Term - Content Marketing Efforts: Craft and share engaging artist stories, interviews, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content. in hopes to engaging with our digital audience and driving traffic to both our in-person events and online marketplace.
- Medium-Term - Community Engagement: Focus on nurturing community interactions through comment engagement and social sharing. This strategy aims to build a vibrant, interactive online presence that extends the reach of our content and grow the community
Streamlining Efficiency:
- Long-Term - Personalised Member Features & CRM Integration: Implement a personal profile feature for members to gather insightful data, which will inform the tailoring of our product offerings. Utilise CRM tools to pull data from both physical events and the online store to gain a deeper understanding of our members, and allow for personalising communication and promotions to boost loyalty and sales.
- Medium-Term - Event Booking System Enhancement: Refine the event booking process, simplifying the customer's ability to engage with gallery events seamlessly.
- Short-Term - Newsletter Launch: Roll out a newsletter campaign to cultivate email leads and provide consistent updates to our community, keeping them informed and connected.
Boosting Revenue:
- Long-Term - Merchandise Expansion & Artist Collaborations: Broaden the scope of our merchandise offerings and explore commission-based partnerships with artists to create new revenue channels.
- Medium-Term - Brand Partnerships for Content Marketing: Collaborate with brands for content marketing campaigns, giving them a platform to integrate their messaging within articles and workshops.
- Short-Term - Ad space: Capitalise on our website's real estate by providing advertising opportunities to carefully selected partners that share our brand ethos.
By refining these strategies, Gallery Delarue is poised not just to elevate its market position but to forge a path toward enduring growth and creative innovation.
Exercise 3: Identifying Opportunities
Midway through our discovery journey, Gallery Delarue was not only reborn with a brand clarity but also equipped with a roadmap for sustainable growth.
Competitive Landscape Analysis and Opportunity Identification
As we progressed through the discovery phase, Gallery Delarue's identity became sharply defined, revealing a clear path to sustainable growth.
1. Exhibitions:
Gallery Delarue offers strong artist relationships that many competitors, like Artsy and Dulwich Picture Gallery, don't fully utilize. By hosting exclusive in-house exhibitions, Gallery Delarue can offer unique merchandise opportunities, enhancing revenue and deepening artist partnerships.
2. Digital Community:
Gallery Delarue places great emphasis on community, an aspect that while somewhat addressed by Artsy and Artfinder, still holds untapped potential. Strengthening the online art community can position Gallery Delarue as the premier digital destination for art conversation and discovery.
3. Editorial:
Articulating art narratives is a forte of established players like Artsy and Dulwich Picture Gallery. Gallery Delarue can distinguish itself by curating unique content that offers fresh perspectives and elevates the stories of artists within its community.
4. User Profile:
Personalised experiences are now expected in the digital realm, with Lofty being an exception. Gallery Delarue has the opportunity to not just align with this digital standard but to surpass it by crafting deeply personalised, memorable user journeys.
5. Online Store:
In the current digital-first environment, a basic online store is no longer sufficient. While competitors have online shopping options, Gallery Delarue can revolutionize the art buying experience, making each transaction not just a purchase but an unforgettable experience.
6. Virtual Events:
The potential of virtual events remains largely underutilised by competitors, presenting a golden opportunity for Gallery Delarue to broaden its reach. By embracing virtual events, Gallery Delarue can bring art to a global audience, accessible from anywhere at any time.
With these insights, Gallery Delarue is poised to not only carve out a distinctive niche in the art world but also to set new industry standards, offering innovative experiences that resonate with art lovers globally.
Overcoming Market Traction Hurdles:
Gallery Delarue faced several challenges in establishing a stronger market presence. These included creating compelling content, enhancing merchandise sales, streamlining event bookings, and deepening engagement with art enthusiasts.
User Journey Touchpoints and Potential Solutions:
Awareness:
We identified the critical need to boost Gallery Delarue's visibility online. The strategy includes leveraging strategic digital campaigns, producing engaging content, and forming impactful partnerships to draw attention to the gallery's offerings.
Consideration:
We aim to elevate the website experience by offering seamless navigation and engaging content, such as artist stories and interactive forums, to captivate visitors' interest in the art world.
Decision/Purchase:
To simplify the decision-making and purchasing phase, we're looking to refine the process by providing immersive virtual art tours and efficient support, making it easier for users to purchase their preferred artworks.
Post-Purchase/Onboarding:
A comprehensive onboarding plan has been crafted, aiming to welcome users with personalised communication, such as tailored emails, informative art guides, and dedicated support, ensuring a smooth introduction to Gallery Delarue's ecosystem.
Retention:
We've designed a retention strategy that includes regular content refreshes, exclusive sneak peeks, and a loyalty program to maintain ongoing interest and engagement with the gallery.
Advocacy:
Recognising the power of organic advocacy, we've proposed initiatives to encourage the community to share their experiences with Gallery Delarue, from online reviews to social media interactions.
By addressing each of these touchpoints thoughtfully, we're not just solving immediate challenges but also paving the way for Gallery Delarue to build a loyal customer base and a robust market position.
Crafting User Profiles for Gallery Delarue's Diverse Audience
Gallery Delarue’s offerings are being finely tuned to meet the specific needs of diverse user profiles, ensuring each interaction is as unique as the artwork it showcase.
1. Tim Adedbayor - The International Artist:
At 45, Tim is a force in the contemporary art scene between Lagos and London. He seeks an integrated platform for his exhibitions, from digital showcases to on-site guest management.
- Solution: We are crafting bespoke exhibition templates complemented by a seamless online booking system, designed to enhance Tim’s visibility and streamline the exhibition process.
- Beyond the Gallery: Our platform is more than a showcase; it's a launchpad. We're blending the digital with the tangible, giving Tim innovative tools to present and market his art globally.
2. Bella Abdul - The Aspiring Artist and Mother:
Bella, 32, juggles her art with motherhood. She aspires for more exposure and financial stability through her art.
- Solution: Our platform transforms into her virtual gallery, projecting her work onto the global stage.
- Beyond the Canvas: We provide Bella with more than visibility; we offer her a community. Through live exhibitions and interactive platforms, we’re enabling connections that foster her growth as an artist.
3. James Clark - The Analyst with Artistic Aspirations:
James, a 25-year-old LSE graduate and business analyst, nourishes his love for art outside office hours.
- Solution: We’re crafting insightful content that unravels the complexities of the art world, from market trends to investment advice.
- Beyond the Frame: For James, art is an immersive experience. Our exclusive artist Q&A sessions and meet-and-greets offer him the in-depth engagement he seeks.
4. Rosa Thompson - The Globetrotting Art Seeker:
At 29, Rosa, a flight attendant, seeks to discover art's pulse in each city she visits.
- Solution: Our platform guides her to curated art events, enriching every stopover with cultural significance.
- Beyond the Journey: Rosa’s travels become a narrative through our platform, with each attended event adding a new chapter to her story, connecting her with the local art scene and its key figures.
Through these tailored experiences, Gallery Delarue not only caters to the unique needs of each user but also redefines the art engagement model, fostering a deeper connection between artists and art lovers
Site Architecture & User Journey
Homepage - The Gateway:
The homepage, or landing page, is crafted to be the first touchpoint for visitors, offering a curated glimpse into the Gallery Delarue experience. Here, users can interact with a dynamic array of options – shopping for exclusive merchandise, delving into rich editorial content, or exploring upcoming events – all from a single, cohesive page.
Level Two - Engaging with Content:
When users express interest in a specific offering, they are smoothly transitioned to a more detailed layer of content. Whether it's an intriguing art piece or an upcoming event, this second level provides a deeper dive, enriching the user's journey with comprehensive information and a closer look at what piques their interest.
Level Three - Navigational Cohesion:
At the core of the site's usability is the navigation level, which houses crucial tools like the menu, shopping cart, checkout, and login procedures. This level is designed for effortless navigation, ensuring users can navigate the site with ease and efficiency.
Strategic Event Bookings:
Addressing the revenue leak from external event bookings, we pivoted to incorporate direct event booking capabilities within the site. By embedding this feature, we not only keep the community engaged but also capture potential revenue that was previously lost to third-party services.
Content Strategy During Off-Peak Times:
To maintain engagement even in the absence of live events, a diverse content strategy is pivotal. Integrating articles, videos, and interactive Q&A sessions with artists directly on the site offers continuous value to our audience, keeping them connected and invested in the gallery's offerings.
Unified Content Approach:
Acknowledging the initial content limitations at launch, we adopted a unified approach by aggregating all content categories into a single, accessible page. This strategy not only simplifies the user experience but also facilitates content discoverability and interaction.
Design Consistency Across Levels:
The homepage is tailored with an attention-grabbing layout, while the subsequent pages follow an atomic design principle, ensuring consistency and adaptability of design components. This approach underpins a unified and engaging user experience across various site sections.
By revamping the site's architecture and user journey, we've created a digital space that not only addresses Gallery Delarue's immediate revenue challenges but also enhances the overall user experience, driving engagement and fostering a deep, lasting connection with the art community.
Wireframe & UI Design Creative Direction
The chosen typeface, Montserrat, mirrors the boldness of Gallery Delarue. It’s a clean, modern sans-serif typeface that balances classic and contemporary nuances, complementing the gallery's aesthetic. The block-inspired UI layout is rooted in the principle that art is paramount. Every design decision—from navigation to media display—reaffirms the art’s central role.
Atomic Design: Building a Flexible, Dynamic System
Embracing atomic design, the website is built with modularity in mind. This design system ensures components can be reused and adapted easily. For example, a single media component can display various formats—JPGs for still images, GIFs for animations, or videos—each chosen to best showcase the artwork. This adaptability guarantees that the site's visuals are consistent, yet dynamic, and always honors the integrity of the art.
Creating a Rich, Engaging User Experience
The ultimate goal is to create an engaging user experience that captures the essence of the art and the spirit of the gallery. Each step of the user journey is designed to keep the visitor engaged, informed, and inspired, from landing on the home page to becoming a part of the Gallery Delarue community.
Collaborative Design Steps:
I used Invision during our design sprints, which made it easy to share updates and get fast feedback from everyone involved. This helped us keep the design moving forward and stay on the same page.
Creating the Design Guide:
Once we settled on the final design, I built a style guide for Joe, our co-founder and the website's developer. It laid out all the visual elements like colors, fonts, and buttons, to make sure we kept a consistent look across the website.
Solving Problems Together:
Joe and I teamed up closely during testing. We faced a few challenges, like not being able to create the transparent layer effect we wanted due to some technical limits.
Adjusting Our Approach:
Because of this, we had to be flexible and rethink our design approach. We came up with a new plan that still made the site user-friendly and visually appealing, even without the layer effect.
Launching the Site:
Launching Gallery Delarue's website marked the successful culmination of our efforts. Not only did the site embody the artistic essence we aimed to capture, but it also provided an accessible, visually rich experience for visitors. By pivoting when necessary and keeping our core objectives in focus, we delivered a platform that not only showcases art but also facilitates interaction and commerce, fulfilling the holistic goals we set out to achieve from the outset.