Ally Artsy: A Platform for Social Crafting and Tutorials

UX Designer

Prototyper

UI Designer

Figma

Case Study for Ally Artsy

Overview

Ally Artsy is a platform designed to make learning arts and crafts easy and enjoyable. With this website, users can find the tutorials they need with a customized quiz, extensive category menu, or search filtering. Along with tutorials, users can join virtual craft events so they can have fun creating socially in a supportive community.

Background

There are a wide variety of platforms where users can learn arts and crafts. The goal of this was to design a product that separated itself from the competitors while being fun, easy, and enjoyable.

Problem

Despite the popularity of current methods and products for learning crafts, there are existing pain points users face within those products. I wanted to address these challenges head on.

Role:

Product Design Lead (UX/UI) UX Researcher

Timeline:

4 months

Tools:

Figma, Zoom, Otter AI, Optimized Workshop, Canva

View Final Prototype

Goal

To discover common user pain and pleasure points regarding learning arts and crafts to design a website that attracts and retains users while providing a unique, fun, and pleasurable crafting experience.

Design Process

Research

Understanding the Crafter Demographic

78% of DIYers start their research for a new project online.

90% of crafters watch online videos to help with their DIY Projects.

76% of respondents are looking for crafting inspiration year-round.

47% did a project they saw on a social media post.

72% of crafters are women.

50% have been crafting for over a decade.

The average salary of crafters is $55,119 putting them in range of both financially stable yet also budget-conscious.

Crafters use their smart phone at every step of their project: inspiration, purchasing supplies, and tutorials.

The median age of crafters is between 35-44 but this age is decreasing over time.

Possible reasons for this are due to the increasing amount of crafting content on social media.

Assessing the Competition

Key Discoveries from User Interviews

75% use their phone for finding tutorials (rather than desktop).

65% seek tutorials with high-quality visuals either images or video.

75% want a qualified instructor who gives clear guidance.

88% prefer tutorials and projects that don't require a lot of time.

75% enjoy doing or learning crafts in a social group setting with support.

50% are budget-conscious and consider this in material requirements.

YouTube is the primary place users go to find tutorials, followed by Google, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Important filter criteria for users were: time, materials, skill level, and comments or reviews from other users.

Users do projects to: make instead of buy, home improvement, for fun, self-expression, sentimental reasons, skill-building, and for profit.

Due to the vast amount of tutorials online, users struggle with being able to find the exact tutorial they need. Lack of filters or vetting instructors add to this.

Extract Insights

"Creative people don't stick to just one area. A quarter of households participated in five or more (arts and crafts) activities in the past year. Perhaps because there is so much cross-category participation, many makers identified themselves as 'beginners'. This points to major opportunities for education."

Source: Craftindustryalliance.org

The research validates that there is already a huge existing market for the product. Additionally, because many crafters are likely to try a new project after completing the previous one, there is massive potential for the product to be continuously enjoyed by users.

Defining User Goals & Needs

Insight: Users prefer to craft in fun social environments with charismatic and qualified instructors.

leads to…

Possible solution: Incorporate virtual crafting sessions where users can work on projects together.

Users have a variety of motivations for learning a new craft project. The product should consider the range of these motivations.

User Needs

Clear and comprehensive instructions with high-quality visuals.

A range of ways users can find tutorials with categories and filters.

Search options that include time, skill level, materials, and budget.

Pain Points

Some users feel intimidated or self-conscious when learning in a group.

Users feel overwhelmed with the amount of options when searching.

Inconsistent quality in instruction or visuals makes tutorial selection hard.

Storyboarding the User Journey

Story 1: The product helps the user to find other crafters with similar project goals. The user discovers options for virtual events where the user can learn craft projects with other users.

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Maya loves crafting with her friends but moved for college and hasn't met anyone who is interested in crafting with her.

Maya is sad because when she crafts alone she's faced obstacles and wasn't able to get social support and gave up on projects.

While face timing with her bestie who lives back home her friend tells her about Ally Artsy and says they can craft together on there.

Maya signs up for Ally Artsy and takes an onboarding quiz about her needs and preferences.

Maya is shown a list of crafts with virtual events. She selects a dream catcher making event because she's always wanted to make one.

Maya has completed several craft projects with support from the friends she made on Ally Artsy. She is excited for future craft events.

Story 2: The user tries the search filters to discover projects and enjoys the customizable search constraints which have subcategories for optimal customization in project discovery.

Anna is a busy entrepreneur who is crunched for time. Crafting is part of her business and she is looking for the next project she can sell on her website.

She feels overwhelmed when searching for project ideas as there are many options and she is unsure which one will suit her needs. She doesn't have time to waste by researching, vetting instructors, or buying new supplies.

While Googling ideas for her next project she discovers Ally Artsy in the search feed. She hasn't tried this platform before and is intrigued by the ability to easily narrow her search with filters.

Anna signs up for Ally Artsy and takes the onboarding quiz about her unique needs and preferences.

Anna is shown various projects and wants to narrow them down further. She uses the filter options to see projects that meet her unique criteria. She finds the perfect project.

Anna successfully finishes multiple projects in her ideal time frame and is thrilled with the results. She adds the projects to her website and her customers love them.

Ideate

Defining Design Challenges

Point of View

Doing craft projects with others and in a social setting enhances my enjoyment of crafting so much more. I wish there was a way I could easily do this without having to plan out a big in-person craft event.

How Might We…?

How might we design a platform that makes it easy for people to discover and join craft events with other creative enthusiasts without having to put it on them to plan and arrange the event?

Most of the users interviewed said they enjoyed the social aspect of crafting as it gave them support and made the overall process fun and pleasurable. This would be a great way to stand out against competitors as well.

In addition to designing a platform for social crafting, it is also important to consider how to make the product comfortable and welcoming for people who feel self-conscious in group learning so they can equally benefit.

Essential Product Features to Include

An onboarding quiz to help the user find projects that meet their unique needs.

A project page that includes an overview, the tutorials, upcoming craft events, reviews, and user showcase.

Multiple options for tutorial discovery such as the quiz, subcategories in the main menu, and search filters.

The option to save project tutorials in a favorites collection.

A calendar that displays upcoming virtual craft events and allows the user to join an event for a project.

Design & Prototype

Low Fidelity Wireframe Sketches

Mid Fidelity Wireframes

Mood Board

A mood board was designed to help establish the brand identity and serve as inspiration for the color palette, typography, and logo. I wanted to include colors and graphics that evoked happy, bright, and cheerful emotions that gave off a bit of a party vibe.

By branding the virtual craft events as more of a party rather than a class, I wanted to make it appealing and welcoming to users who may feel intimidated by crafting with others.

The brand values I established based off user research are enthusiastic, fun, compassionate, positive, and belonging.

Original Logo Design

The logo design was inspired by an emoji to evoke feelings of friendliness and positivity to align with the brand values. The two circles outlining it create a shape that emulates the look of a traditional button (like one that is used for crafts and sewing) and the face is where the button holes would be.

A similar design was also created and after A/B testing, this design was the one that users liked the most.

Style Tile

Using the mood board as inspiration, a style tile was created to establish the color palette, typography, and icons that would be used in the high fidelity wireframes. Additionally, components were created as part of the design library that included elements like buttons, navigation, progress bars, and menus.

High Fidelity Wireframes

Prototype

The primary purpose of the prototype was to set up multiple tasks for testing such as taking the onboarding quiz, registering for a virtual event, and signing up for the platform.

User Testing

Overview

5 testers moderated via Zoom

Age ranged from 25 - 55

80% M, 20% F

Most have prior craft experience

3 tasks: signup, onboard quiz, register for event

Success Metrics

Users can complete the tasks within set time.

The user does not encounter any blocks while completing tasks.

Overall the user finds the tasks and product to be easy and enjoyable.

Rating scale questions have an overall favorable rating of 80% or higher.

98 % said they'd recommend the app to others, indicating satisfaction

1 minute 28 seconds: Average time for task completion, all tasks done within set metrics

9.4: Overall experience rating on a scale of 1 - 10 (10 being the best)

Evaluating & Iterating

Feedback & Iteration Insights

"The color threw me off a bit, I thought I had made some mistake." - User Feedback

Change Out the Coral Coloring

Some testers were put off by the red coloring and thought they made a mistake. The coloring for the primary buttons was changed from red to pink so the user would not think they made an error.

“I really liked the quiz and thought it was a great addition. I felt the number of questions was perfect in order to determine what the perfect craft for me would be.” - User Feedback

Make the Quiz Navigation Easier

The testers had some confusion during the quiz. To fix this, navigation was added to the quiz with back and exit buttons, a coloring change was added to indicate user selection and a button was added for the user to confirm their choices before moving on to the next question.

"I like the geolocation feature to figure out your timezone for events, that was a nice touch. I also like that you can see how many other users will be attending the event." - User Feedback

Increase Sign Up Visibility

Some testers did not notice the sign-up prompt at the bottom of the screen. A rectangle was added to the sign-up prompt for better visibility.

"I love the aesthetics of this. I would love to use this and know many others that would as well. It feels cute, welcoming, and fun!" - User Feedback

Add Quiz Instructions

Testers didn’t realize they could select multiple answers in the quiz. An overlay was added prior to starting the quiz to inform users that they can select multiple answers or skip answers.

Iterations from User Testing Feedback

Final Product

View Final Prototype

Final Thoughts

Ally Artsy has potential to expand the niche of crafting websites and become a unique addition to user's who are seeking new project tutorials. The aesthetic and branding proved to be effective in giving users the positive feelings they expect from a crafting experience.

Future steps include designing the platform for responsive viewports and devices, integrating social features like user project showcases, profiles, and messaging, adding a variety of filtering options to the search, and conducting beta testing for the virtual events feature.

Key user discoveries:

Users value and seek out products that offer high-quality visuals such as photos and video.

Factors such as time, skill level, materials, and budget are important to users when seeking out craft project tutorials.

Users find joy in branding and aesthetics that are done well which makes them more likely to continually use a product.

Users value having multiple ways to find the project they're looking for such a searching, filtering, using a menu, or something gamified such as a quiz.