Gallery Delarue

Revamping Gallery Delarue's Online Presence

Role: Lead Designer for Gallery Delarue's Digital Makeover

As the lead designer, I took on the exciting task of transforming Gallery Delarue's online presence. I began with a discovery phase, having detailed conversations with the gallery's owners and conducting engaging workshops. These discussions were crucial to uncovering what makes Gallery Delarue unique.

Gallery Delarue isn't just any art gallery; it's a lively space for art events, workshops, and exhibitions. My goal was to improve the online customer experience and boost revenue. I developed design strategies that aligned with the gallery's core audience. Every aspect of the digital experience, from the layout to the user interface details, aimed to genuinely represent Gallery Delarue, with art always being the central focus.

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Strategy & Beginning Steps

The transformation began with a strategic blend of design and business goals. We kicked off with a three-day intensive workshop where we delved into the essence of Gallery Delarue. Together with the gallery owners, we explored the gallery's identity, its community, and its future aspirations.

Our goal was to distil what Gallery Delarue represents. We collaboratively defined its key characteristics:

• 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 perspectives."

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This vision guided 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 clearly defined, we developed strategic growth plans across various timeframes. Our comprehensive strategy aimed to boost awareness, increase revenue, and enhance efficiency. Each goal was evaluated for feasibility and relevance to our overarching objectives.

Expanding Awareness:

• Long-Term - Cross-Promotion Tactics:
  • Leverage Gallery Delarue events to enhance the visibility of our online store and vice versa.
  • Offer 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.
  • Engage with our digital audience to drive traffic to both our in-person events and online marketplace.
• Medium-Term - Community Engagement:
  • Nurture community interactions through comment engagement and social sharing.
  • Build a vibrant, interactive online presence that extends the reach of our content and grows the community.

Streamlining Efficiency:

• Long-Term - Personalised Member Features & CRM Integration:
  • Implement a personal profile feature for members to gather insightful data.
  • Use CRM tools to pull data from both physical events and the online store, allowing for personalised communication and promotions to boost loyalty and sales.
• Medium-Term - Event Booking System Enhancement:
  • Refine the event booking process, simplifying customers' ability to engage with gallery events seamlessly.
• Short-Term - Newsletter Launch:
  • Roll out a newsletter campaign to cultivate email leads.
  • Provide consistent updates to our community, keeping them informed and connected.

Boosting Revenue:

• Long-Term - Merchandise Expansion & Artist Collaborations
  • Broaden Merchandise Offerings: Expand the range of products available for sale, including exclusive items that reflect the gallery's unique aesthetic.
  • Commission-Based Artist Partnerships: Establish partnerships with artists to create exclusive merchandise, offering them a commission on sales to generate new revenue streams.
• Medium-Term - Brand Partnerships for Content Marketing
  • Collaborate with Brands: Partner with like-minded brands to develop content marketing campaigns that resonate with our audience.
  • Integrate Brand Messaging: Incorporate partner brand messages seamlessly into articles, workshops, and other content to enhance their visibility and relevance.
• Short-Term - Ad Space
  • Monetise Website Real Estate: Offer advertising opportunities on our website to select partners who align with our brand values.
  • Targeted Ad Placements: Ensure that advertisements are relevant and enhance the user experience, creating additional revenue without compromising the site's integrity.

By refining these strategies, Gallery Delarue is set to not only elevate its market position but also pave the way for sustainable growth and creative innovation.

Exercise 3: Identifying Opportunities

Midway through our discovery journey, Gallery Delarue not only found brand clarity but also established 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:
   • Opportunity: Leverage strong artist relationships to host exclusive in-house exhibitions.
   • Advantage: Many competitors, like Artsy and Dulwich Picture Gallery, do not fully utilise these relationships.
   • Benefit: Offer unique merchandise opportunities, enhancing revenue and deepening artist partnerships.
2. Digital Community:
   • Opportunity: Strengthen the online art community.
   • Advantage: While somewhat addressed by Artsy and Artfinder, there is still untapped potential.
   • Benefit: Position Gallery Delarue as the premier digital destination for art conversation and discovery.
3. Editorial:
   • Opportunity: Curate unique content that offers fresh perspectives.
   • Advantage: Established players like Artsy and Dulwich Picture Gallery excel here, but Gallery Delarue can distinguish itself.
   • Benefit: Elevate the stories of artists within the community, creating a unique narrative voice.
4. User Profile:
   • Opportunity: Craft deeply personalised, memorable user journeys.
   • Advantage: Competitors like Lofty have yet to fully embrace personalised experiences.
   • Benefit: Surpass digital standards by offering tailored user experiences.
5. Online Store:
   • Opportunity: Revolutionize the art buying experience.
   • Advantage: Competitors have basic online shopping options, but there is room for innovation.
   • Benefit: Make each transaction an unforgettable experience, not just a purchase.
6. Virtual Events:
   • Opportunity: Embrace the potential of virtual events.
   • Advantage: Competitors have underutilised this format.
   • Benefit: Broaden reach by making art accessible globally, anytime and anywhere.

With these insights, Gallery Delarue is poised to carve out a distinctive niche in the art world and 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

• Challenge: Boosting Gallery Delarue's online visibility.
• Solution: Leverage strategic digital campaigns, produce engaging content, and form impactful partnerships to draw attention to the gallery's offerings.

Consideration

• Challenge: Capturing visitors' interest in the art world.
• Solution: Elevate the website experience with seamless navigation and engaging content, such as artist stories and interactive forums.

Decision/Purchase

• Challenge: Simplifying the decision-making and purchasing process.
• Solution: Provide immersive virtual art tours and efficient support to make it easier for users to purchase their preferred artworks.

Post-Purchase/Onboarding

• Challenge: Ensuring a smooth introduction to Gallery Delarue's ecosystem.
• Solution: Implement a comprehensive onboarding plan with personalised communication, tailored emails, informative art guides, and dedicated support.

Retention

• Challenge: Maintaining ongoing interest and engagement.
• Solution: Design a retention strategy with regular content refreshes, exclusive sneak peeks, and a loyalty program.

Advocacy

• Challenge: Encouraging organic advocacy.
• Solution: Propose initiatives to encourage the community to share their experiences, 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 finely tuned to meet the specific needs of diverse user profiles, ensuring each interaction is as unique as the artwork it showcases.

1. Tim Adedbayor - The International Artist

• Profile: 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

• Profile: 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

• Profile: 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

• Profile: 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 is crafted to be the first touchpoint for visitors, offering a curated glimpse into the Gallery Delarue experience. Here, users can:

• Shop for exclusive merchandise
• Delve into rich editorial content
• Explore upcoming events

This cohesive page provides a dynamic array of options, all from a single, engaging platform.

Level Two - Engaging with Content

When users show 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 comprehensive information
• Offers a closer look at what piques their interest
• Enriches the user's journey with in-depth content

Level Three - Navigational Cohesion

The core of the site's usability lies in its navigation level, which includes:

• Menu
• Shopping cart
• Checkout
• Login procedures

This level is designed for effortless navigation, ensuring users can move through the site with ease and efficiency.

Strategic Event Bookings

To address revenue loss from external event bookings, we incorporated direct event booking capabilities within the site. This feature:

• Keeps the community engaged
• Captures potential revenue previously lost to third-party services

Content Strategy During Off-Peak Times

To maintain engagement even when live events are not happening, we implemented a diverse content strategy. This includes:

• Articles
• Videos
• Interactive Q&A sessions with artists

Integrating these directly on the site offers continuous value to our audience, keeping them connected and invested in the gallery's offerings.

Unified Content Approach

Given the initial content limitations at launch, we adopted a unified approach by aggregating all content categories into a single, accessible page. This strategy:

• Simplifies the user experience
• Facilitates content discoverability and interaction

Design Consistency Across Levels

The homepage is designed with an attention-grabbing layout, while subsequent pages follow an atomic design principle. This ensures:

• Consistency
• Adaptability of design components
• 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. This drives engagement and fosters a deep, lasting connection with the art community.

Typeface Selection: Montserrat

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. This font choice reinforces the gallery's identity and adds a touch of sophistication to the digital experience.

Block-Inspired UI Layout

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. This layout style ensures that the art is always the focal point, providing a visually appealing and intuitive user interface.

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, enhancing flexibility and consistency. For example:

• Media Component: Can display various formats such as JPGs for still images, GIFs for animations, or videos. Each format is chosen to best showcase the artwork, ensuring a dynamic yet cohesive visual presentation.
• Navigation Elements: Designed to be intuitive and easily adaptable, allowing for seamless updates and modifications as needed.

This adaptability guarantees that the site's visuals are consistent, yet dynamic, always honoring 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. Key elements include:

• Homepage: An inviting entry point with a curated glimpse into Gallery Delarue's offerings.
• Content Pages: Detailed and visually appealing, providing in-depth information and high-quality images.
• User Journey: Designed to keep visitors engaged, informed, and inspired, guiding them smoothly from landing on the homepage to exploring content, making purchases, and joining the community.

Each step of the user journey is carefully crafted to ensure a seamless and enriching experience, reflecting the gallery’s commitment to both art and its audience.

By focusing on these principles, the website not only addresses immediate design and functionality needs but also lays a foundation for ongoing engagement and growth, solidifying Gallery Delarue's digital presence.

Collaborative Design Steps

Using InVision for Design Sprints

During our design sprints, InVision was our go-to tool for sharing updates and getting quick feedback from everyone involved. This collaborative approach kept the design process moving forward and ensured we were always on the same page.

Creating the Design Guide

After finalising the design, I created a comprehensive style guide for Joe, (co-founder and the website's developer) The guide detailed all visual elements, including colours, fonts, and buttons, to maintain a consistent look across the website.

Solving Problems Together

Joe and I worked closely during the testing phase. We encountered challenges, such as the inability to create the desired transparent layer effect due to technical limitations.

Adjusting Our Approach

Faced with these challenges, we had to be flexible and rethink our design approach. We devised a new plan that ensured the site remained 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. The site not only embodied the artistic essence we aimed to capture but 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 showcases art and facilitates interaction and commerce, fulfilling the holistic goals we set out to achieve from the outset.