Mireille Duchesne Website
Redefining an artist’s web presence
Background
Mireille Duchesne is an artist and educator that has dedicated most of her life to painting and more recently to sharing her knowledge with others. She has held memberships in prestigious organizations such as the Salmagundi Club in New York and the Pastel Society of America and has had over 96 shows and exhibitions. She approached me to redesign her site as she felt it no longer met her needs. She wanted a site that was more intuitive, featured her work more cleanly, and catered to the needs of her various audiences.
Understanding the challenges and issues with the current site
The site did not meet the needs of her four user personas.
In the portfolio section, there was no details about the painting such as medium, size, subject, or price.
The e-commerce portion was never fully developed which lead to confusion and frustration for potential buyers.
Though the art centers she works with were listed, prospective students did not know the kind of classes she taught or her teaching methods.
There was also no clear pathway to register for her classes.
The site did not link to galleries where her work could be seen on display.
Understanding the existing site map
This was the current site map when Mireille Duchesne approached me requesting a rethinking and a redesign of her website.
Mireille Duchesne Existing Sitemap
Researching how other artists teaching and selling in the same spaces are representing their work...
The Research
User Interviews
I interviewed gallery owners, art center owners and students.
Competitive Analysis
I looked at the websites of 15 artists that either teach in the same art centers as Mireille Duchesne or show their work in the same galleries. I also looked at 5 websites of artist listed among top fine art painter websites in 2022. Of particular interest was how the artist chose to display their work; the format of their galleries, how they were subdivided, the manner in which paintings were displayed, and the information that was shared for each piece. Also of note was how the artist spoke about themselves, their inspiration and passions, their background and their technical information such as education, accolades, exhibits and events.
Portfolios
How the artwork was displayed:
About the Artist
These were the common sections on the about page
News/ Events/Exhibitions
Other sections
Artists that teach in the same space
Cindy Sacks
Cindy Sacks Web - Homepage
Cindy Sacks Web - Portfolio of works
Cindy Sacks Web - Oil paintings
Cindy Sacks Web - detail
Cindy Sacks Mobile - Homepage
Cindy Sacks Mobile- Portfolio of works
Cindy Sacks Mobile - detail
Cindy Sacks Mobile - navigation
Maria Kaprielan
Maria Kaprielan Web- homepage
Maria Kaprielan Web- pet portraits
Maria Kaprielan Web- humanitrees
Maria Kaprielan Web- galleries
Maria Kaprielan Mobile- homepage
Maria Kaprielan Mobile - navigation
Maria Kaprielan Mobile - Wild animal portraits
Maria Kaprielan Mobile - navigation main
Artists that sell in the same galleries
Ellen Hopkins
Ellen Hopkins - homepage
Ellen Hopkins - gallery
Ellen Hopkins - detail
Ellen Hopkins - contact
Erin Nazzaro
Erin Nazzaro - homepage
Erin Nazzaro - gallery
Erin Nazzaro - detail
Erin Nazzaro - contact
Richard Lang Chandler
Richard Lang Chandler - homepage
Richard Lang Chandler - gallery
Richard Lang Chandler - painting
Richard Lang Chandler - detail
Jane Cooper
Jane Cooper - homepage
Jane Cooper - gallery
Jane Cooper - detail
Jane Cooper - exhibits
Researching the marketplace. Who is buying art, why, where and what matters to them?
Statistical Research
I did some research on the art buying community: who is buying art, what are their motivations, how and where are they buying art as well as what is important to the buyer when considering an art piece.
of collectors buy art to decorate their home.
of online sales platform. Instagram remains the most important social media channel for sales.
biggest growth is in collectors under 40.
of online art sales in the first half of 2021 were sold through mobile devices.
Paintings were the most common fine art mediums bought online worldwide in 2020.
Percentage of art purchases by age groups.
Percentage of those buying art by age groups.
Word cloud of motivating factors in purchasing art.
Resources
The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report
Popular types of fine art bought online globally during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020
Published by Statista Research Department, Dec 10, 2021
Identifying the site's users, their goals and their needs, in order to redefine the site's purpose and flow.
Our Personas
David Smith
Consumer
About:
38yrs old
Married
Motivations:
David has just moved into a new home and is looking for original works of art to decorate his new place. He prefers browsing for art online where he is free to take his time and where prices and details about the artwork is easily accessible
Goals and Needs:
Wants to learn about the artist and her inspiration
Wants a gallery that is easy to navigate
Wants to know which paintings in the gallery are currently available for sale and where.
Pain Points:
Wants to know more about the artist
Not enough information about each painting.
Not sure how or where to purchase the paintings displayed in the gallery.
No price listed for each painting.
Shopping cart doesn’t work.
No events page to see current exhibitions or upcoming events.
Giovanna Ricci
Gallery Owner
About:
42 yrs old
Married with children
Motivations:
Giovanna has been approached by clients who have seen the artist’s paintings in her gallery and would love to be able to refer them to the artist own website
Goals and Needs:
Wants to learn about the artist and her inspiration.
Wants a portfolio of paintings that is easy to navigate where the work is clearly displayed.
Wants to see the art work and the details about each piece such as size, medium, price.
Would like for the artist to link back to the gallery website.
Pain points:
The artist site does not link back to the gallery.
The current site does not provide enough information about the individual paintings.
The current site does not show availability to show in galleries.
Mike Woodrow
Art Center Manager
About:
51 yrs old
Divorced
No kids, but has 2 dogs
Motivations:
Mike manages a small art center that has about 10 teachers teaching a variety of classes. Ideally he would love to direct current and prospective students to the teachers’ websites to help them learn about their teachers and their work.
Goals and Needs:
Would like for the artist to link back to art center website, specifically to the classes she teaches.
Wants to be able to refer students to the artist’s website so that they can learn more about her and see her work.
Pain points:
Wants students to be able to know more about the artist/teacher.
Wants a link back to the arts center to make the class registration process easier for students who have decided to take classes with this artist after reviewing her work on her site.
Wants the artist/teacher to list any requirements and materials list on their site for classes she teaches at the center.
Chloe Kim
Student
About:
35 yrs old
Married with children
Full time mom
Motivations:
Chloe is a full time mom with kids. She’s always dabbled in art and has decided to start taking art classes during the day while her kids are in school. As such she has been looking online for local art teachers and art centers.
Goals and Needs:
Wants to find art classes.
Wants to learn about the artist’s teaching methods.
Wants a gallery that is easy to navigate.
Wants know to know where the artist teaches.
Pain points:
Wants to know more about the artist, her inspiration, her methods.
No information on kinds of the classes this artist teaches.
Would love a direct link to the classes the artist teaches to make registration easier.
Wants a materials/supply list for classes the artist teaches.
Devising a solution
Considerations
Must be easy to use and navigate.
Must meet the need of 4 different personas: consumers, gallery owners, art center managers and prospective students.
The portfolio must be easy to navigate and provide clear information on size, price and where to purchase.
Prospective students need to understand Mireille's teaching methods, have access to supply lists and recommendations, as well a clear pathway to the classes she teaches.
Galleries interested in showing Mireille’s work need to be able to see her artwork and know which pieces are available for show.
The galleries that display her work should be easily accessed directly from Mireille's site.
Goals
Provide clear navigation for the 4 user types.
Allow all four personas to learn more about Mireille as an artist, her teaching methods and browse through her artwork.
Create an elegant portfolio section that allows the artwork to be the focus.
Provide viewers with clear information about each painting regarding its size, medium, style, price and availability.
Allow consumers to know where they can purchase her paintings and link directly to the galleries that display and sell her work.
Allow gallery owners to know what paintings are available for them to display in their galleries.
Allows current and prospective students to find where Mireille teaches and link directly to the art centers to register for classes.
Give prospective students basic supply list and links to vendors.
Defining the key features
With the challenges and goals understood, these were the key features I identified as necessary.
Portfolio
Create a clear Portfolio section which allows the user to navigate through the artwork easily.
Separate the artwork within the gallery by painting subject.
Provide users with all information they need to know about a painting they are interested in and where it can be purchased.
Artist
Provide users with information about the artist such as her inspiration, her education and affiliations.
Classes
Allow users to see where the artist teaches and specifically the classes she teaches.
Provide direct links to the classes she teaches at the art centers, thereby enabling users to find her classes and register for them directly on the art center sites.
Provide general supply list for the classes she teaches.
Galleries
Provide users with direct links to the galleries that represent Mireille.
News and Events
Provide users with information regarding upcoming gallery openings, current events and exhibitions.
List past events, exhibitions and workshops.
Provide links to news articles about the artist.
Proposed Sitemap
image of proposed site map
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Low Fi Wireframe : Welcome
Low Fi Wireframe : Portfolio main
Low Fi Wireframe : About
Low Fi Wireframe : portfolio subsection
Low Fi Wireframe : Classes
Low Fi Wireframe : Painting detail
Medium Fidelity Wireframes
Medium Fi Wireframe : About
Medium Fi Wireframe : Portfolio main
Medium Fi Wireframe : Classes
Medium Fi Wireframe : Portfolio subsection
Medium Fi Wireframe : Galleries
Medium Fi Wireframe : Painting Detail
Medium Fi Wireframe : Contact
Logo Design
Mireille Duchesne was not completely satisfied with her current logo and asked me to design a new logo for her. Though she did not like her full signature as her logo as it currently was, she liked the idea of using her initials in the logo and so I incorporated those elements in my concepts.
Mireille Duchesne Logo Exploration Board
The final logo…
Mireille Duchesne Final Logo
Design Considerations
Before I moved on to my High Fidelity Wireframes, and now that we had the logo, I decided to explore the color palette, fonts, and photography themes for the website. I went, on site, at Mireille Duchesne's studio and took pictures of her space, of her materials and tools to truly make the site and its imagery a reflection of her and her work.
Mireille Duchesne Design Considerations Board
High Fidelity Wireframes
High Fi Wireframe : Welcome
High Fi Wireframe : Contact
High Fi Wireframe : Portfolio main
High Fi Wireframe : About
High Fi Wireframe : Portfolio Portrait
High Fi Wireframe : Class
High Fi Wireframe : Painting Detail
Building and launching www.mireilleduchesne.com
I chose the Webflow as my platform to build Mireille Duchesne's website. It has the flexibility I wanted to truly customize her site, particularly the portfolio section. You can view the site at https://www.mireilleduchesne.com
Additional elements…
Along with the redefining of Mireille’s website and a logo redesign, I also designed some of her social content such as an Instagram post for her site launch as well as a Facebook announcement. I created a content matrix to track her paintings, their subject matter, prices, sizes, and where they can be purchased. And lastly I took custom photography of her studio.
Facebook cover image, profile image and accouncement post.
Instagram post.
Content matrix which consisted of 12 columns and over 75 rows.
Conclusion
Mireille Duchesne’s website has been my biggest, most challenging and most exciting project. What presented as a site redesign with a focus on UX and research quickly became just as much about design, branding and photography. This site was a wonderful 360 design experience in which I developed a full echo system of assets. I had the opportunity to delve into logo design, site design, and site development, learning Webflow in that process. Redesigning Mireille’s site and her overall branding and social media presence gave me a hands on chance to broaden my skill set to the point that I would love to take on more 360 projects like this one. She is very happy with the end result, and has been receiving positive feedback from peers, clients and those she works with.