Atlanta Contemporary

Atlanta Contemporary: Project Overview

The Contemporary has a mission to select 100 artists each year to support.  The competition is stiff and there are applications from across the United States.  When someone is selected, the support they receive can be studio space, shows of their work, and a LOT of exposure.  The primary aim of the process is to assist individuals in being professional artists.  This means they are self-supporting and working as an artist full-time.  Say goodbye to that restaurant gig, right?  To do this, it's really important for more people to buy the work from the artists.   For the Contemporary to host this program, they need to increase their own revenue and donations while also giving their audience most of what they want - events, education, community and the opportunity to BUY art.

This mobile application for the Contemporary focuses on that connection between the organization and it's audience.  If we distill the aim, I would say it is to increase revenue and increase donations.  To do this, we wanted to make it super easy to buy the art (no matter where it's displayed) and really clear where your donation goes. 

Reading left to right, top to bottom:
1.  The most important aspects of this application were to make sure it was always Art First, accessible to new collectors, and giving the audience multiple ways to connect with the art both on the Contemporary campus and around town.
2.  Art is something that people want to buy, but they don't know how.  What we see in the media is usually very expensive and totally out of reach.  In actuality, there is a lot of art available for purchase from amazing artists at very low prices.  To widen the audience of the Contemporary and to help people become "art collectors," the app offers a whole section devoted to items under $500.  In addition to the work shown here, this part of the app connects you to events that provide education on buying, opportunities to meet the artists, and opportunities to hear other collectors talk about how they got their start.
3.  In addition to the Contemporary, the 100 artists may have work in a wide variety of places for you to see it.  This gives you a map of all of those locations - coffee shops, galleries, restaurants, workspaces, and even private homes (if they want to be listed).  It was important to show the audience that the art wasn't off the beaten path, but might be all around them in everyday places.
4.  Users that we interviewed who were already collecting said that they started with one artist.  They might have met them at an opening or through their social network and became interested in them.  After that, they wanted to learn more and see more of their work.  By putting a page for each of the artists in the app, we created a digital gallery.  From here you can save a piece to your own personal gallery, buy something, read about the artist, or see other places where you can find their work.  For those first-time collectors, it was all about finding one person they liked and then feeling like they had a relationship with that artist.
5.  A calendar of events includes educational events, artist talks, openings & on-going exhibits, and social events.
6.  You can also see events in a list format with direct access to tickets or to rsvp.
7.  Each location where art is displayed has it's own listing.  This way you can see what they do and other art in that location also.  The Contemporary is a hub and this aspect of the application shows the audience more about the ecosystem of places and support for the artists that surround the Contemporary.
8.  The app should feel like an art gallery in your phone.  To do this, we wanted to use high-quality images and make them as large as possible for viewing.
9.  Finally, we know that buying and enjoying the art is its own reward, but a little more never hurt anyone.  So, as a member you collect points for buying and ALSO for attending events and stopping by to see art at other places.  You can redeem these points for the usual swag like t-shirts and water bottles OR you can buy art with it! 

This was absolutely one of the most fun projects I have ever worked on because it combined something beautiful with working with someone awesome; my partner on this project was the amazing Molly Dickinson.  She's the best and you should check out her LInkedIn profile too.  She's smart, hard-working, and has a good time at work.  She's fun and funny.  I would happily recommend her for your team or your project. 

AND if you love art and want to see if we could build this application for the Contemporary, let me know.

Atlanta Contemporary: PRESENTATION