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UMBRELLA-X

Public Interfaces, Case Study
How might we create a form of exchanging services for purely mutual wellbeing, rather than monetary gain? Advised by Kate Lee for the course, Public Interfaces at SVA, I designed an experiential art gallery that is based on a foundation for exchange.
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The Problem

How can people value each other beyond a price tag?How can we choose to spend our time without the need to pay for it, where the experience itself already holds enough value?

The Solution

Umbrella-X is a pop-up exchange space for art with the proposed located at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

Deliverables

User Interviews; User Testing; User Research & Site Analytics; Persona & Scenario Modeling; Brand Development; Wireframes; Prototypes; Experience Design; Concept Design; Interaction Design; UX Strategy

Role

UX Designer & Researcher

Inspirations
Low-Fidelity Prototype
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  • Didn’t really work

  • I didn’t post on the Slack because I wanted it to be natural and not prompted

  • After meeting with my professor, I reassessed my fundamental “why” behind this

  • The exchange needs to be in one designated space, reserved just for it — or to address more of a reason and a need.

Mid-Fidelity Prototype

I organized an art exchange event on the stoop of my apartment in New York, where anyone was invited to paint on one of my blank canvases simply using a palette of acrylics, paintbrushes, and mixing water. This prototype kept people involved in the moment and engaged with each other. It also prompted an exchange of conversation and appreciation for art.

  • Involve kids while giving the mom or dad a break

  • Engage in a conversation while the kid is active & happy

  • Exchange a conversation in a calm “oasis-like” space, which felt so refreshing in contrast with the rhythm of the street traffic steps away

User Interviews

Q: What do you want in a gallery-like space for exchange?

A:

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I want to be inspired.

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A place where I know my art will be valued.

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I would still need to be playful and zany, while also sophisticated and upscale feeling.

Sketch
Final Design

Proposed Space:

pioneer works in red hook

How does it work?

a time swap: 30 minutes for 30 minutes, etc.

Space Details:

a pop-up arrangement

Schedule of Activities:

  1. time swap  //  2. submit piece  //  3. leave with exchange

 

The Premise:

to exchange an experience & art while having fun

 

Why this?

unique: there is nothing else like it. pure sharing.

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