Brandywine Workshop and Archive: Artura
In 2020 Brandywine Workshop and archives (BWA), a Philadelphia based arts non-profit, received a Cultural Heritage Preservation NEA grant to digitize their entire 50 year collection. This grant was given for us to develop into an online resource for diverse artworks and artists. To achieve this, Brandywine needed a new digital framework that would be capable of servicing a much larger and more public user base than the organization traditionally used too.
One of only Three Collections of its kind in the United States, Brandywine is a leader in representing marginalized artists.
UX Research
User Flows and Journey mapping
Wireframing
Information Architecture
My Contributions
Timeline
18 Months
Tools
Figma
Collective Access
Sara Havekotte UX Designer, Content Strategist
John Cardone Front End Developer, Project Manager
Brooke Grant Intern
Design Team
What is it like to design a platform for your coworkers?
As a UX designer I facilitated the development of a new back-end database that allowed all staff members to develop and manage Artura.org
Research
It was really important to Artura’s development that all current BWA staff has a basic understanding of how all the different appendeges of an institution (and thus a database) interconnect with one another. So, it became necessary to do more than just create a site-map, I also had to visualize the IA in a way that laid out each item and its relationships. But, before I could build the new server, I had to figure out where we stood with the current one. I needed to take a more in depth look at my users.
Top Needs Identified by Research:
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With artworks and artists being related to so many genres, we needed a clear way to identify and group metadata.
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Brandywine employs a lot of young professionals, and its main user base is teens. We need to design an app that allows for independent discovery of content and features.
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Brandywine operates on a remote and hybrid format, with many individuals learning new skills on their own. We need to design a system that helps users know they’re performing their tasks correctly.
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For the addition of new material to Artura.org, our database needs a way for content to be developed on the back end, and then sent to a publisher for final approval, before implementation on the front end.
I gained a greater understanding of Brandywines current working landscape by using 3 Main methods of research:
Methods Used
1. Field Study
2. User Interviews
3. Affinity Mapping
Oh no, COVID-19!
Right after we finished the research phase of our design process, Covid-19 hit and the city of Philadelphia implemented their quarantine procedures.
All of a sudden, we lost access to 70% of BWA’s existing database as it was analog and in the office. Now, we no longer had the luxury of designing a new system independently, we were going to have to fly the ship as we built it and this meant changing our approach.
Deciding on a Structure
BWA’s initial proposal was to develop each staff members CollectiveAccess dashboard individually, and THEN brainstorm a basic dashboard for interns who may come on staff in the future. However, this was less viable now due to covid.
Instead, we moved in the direction of establishing a 3 tier security system, where each level would allow access to different parts of BWA’s whole system.
Redirections due to Covid
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• Interns
• Full-time General Staff
• Rotating Part-time Staff
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• Collection Manager
• Video and Records Manager
• Content Developer
• Marketing Manager
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• Director of Operations
• Developer
• Accounts and Finance
The 3 Tier Database System
Design
Because we had to use the database while we built it, our usability testing and our design iterations happened almost simultaneously.
I set up a complaint log, where other users could send issues or suggestions they found while in the field. This log linked directly to myself and BWA’s developer and weekly we would review, asses and update the database as needed.
I’ll be taking us through what it looked like to design the 2nd tier dashboard.
2nd Tier Navigation
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Ensure effective workflow for staff
Create guardrails to prevent users navigating out of their designated areas
Clearly define CTA’s and flow entry points
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Collective Access Top navigation is rigid and unchangeable. This means, in order to effectively create security measures, we have to manually go in and deactivate the unrelated, or inaccessible pathways.
Dashboard- Iteration 1
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• Establishing most commonly used widgets
• Prioritizing CTAs
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Our goal for the first iteration of our dashboard was mostly to set a foundation that users could then provide feedback on. We as the design team developed a skeletal framework that could then be improved.
Dashboard- Iteration 2
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• Widget expansion
• Increasing dashboard capabilities
• CTA hierarchy
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Once we had a foundation, our next goal was to begin adding in more features so all user types could access their main channels for tasks. Our goal here was to compromise between design want’s and needs without sacrificing usability
Dashboard- Iteration 3
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• Layout refinement
• Stakeholder buy-in
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At this stage, the design team worked with users and stakeholders to ensure the widgets we had placed on the dashboard functioned correctly and resolved any outstanding onboarding issues and bugs.
Mentorship
During my time at Brandywine I was given the opportunity to mentor 3 fellow employees. These staff members were young artists and professionals who supported the design team by adding content to the site and working on back end data synthesis.
I’m so proud of my three staff members, Cyan, Naetera, and Brooke. Working to build such a complex program as Artura, while also dealing with graduations, family loss and the general stress of COVID was no small feat. I set up weekly 1:1 sessions with each of my team members and was able to be not just a source of professional development, but also guide for navigating difficult conversations or live events in a healthy, and professional manner.
Proud to help in a time of anxiety
Learnings
What we want and what we can achieve don't always match
Conflict often arises from a lack of understanding or communication. Context can help stakeholders reframe their expectations.
We had to be flexible and open-minded about any design decisions we implemented. Users were constantly updating and adjusting their needs, and we needed a system that would dance in step with them.
Fancy Footwork
Artura.org was a huge undertaking without the added stress of COVID. I am incredibly proud and thankful to my teammates for their generosity, intelligence and commitment.
