Gallery Marketing & UX UI design
Our client is Tin Sheds Gallery (TSG), a gallery located at Sydney Uni. My role focused on creating the website for both desktop and mobile platforms with Figma, as a key part of the marketing plan. The website is a key part of the marketing plan to increase awareness and engagement of TSG. It serves as a platform for digital archiving. This will help TSG achieve its key performance indicators(KPIs) and secure additional funding from the university.
Timeline
Role
Collaboration
Platform
February 2023-May 2023
UX UI Designer
a team of four
Figma
Desktop Homepage
Mobile
THE PROBLEM
Lack of awareness: Low public awareness of TSG by public
Missing from many databases/websites providing information about galleries in Australia.
Insufficient outreach to content providers/influencers.
Not much information about the gallery is available online; no independent website
Low website traffic and SEO issues - Not frequently found during Google keyword searches. (e.g.not findable via keyword- university gallery)
Low awareness across the University of Sydney’s student community (a vast potential audience remains untapped*)
Limited Human Resources:
Lack of adequate staff or specialists to handle various functions like curation, marketing, administration, and visitor services. This could limit the gallery's capacity to host events, and exhibitions, or engage in community outreach effectively.
Space Constraints:
The physical space of TSG limiting the number of artworks displayed, the size and type of installations, and the number of visitors it can accommodate at any given time. This also affects hosting of larger events or workshops, potentially limiting revenue streams and visitor engagement.
Dependency on University Funding & Absence of Alternative Revenue Avenues:
TSG's operations are majorly financed by the University of Sydney. This exclusive reliance poses risks, especially if the university alters its funding priorities or faces budgetary constraints
Venturing into new financial avenues, while aligning with its non-profit status, could provide some monetary cushioning. Examples: Ticket sales, memberships or regular art sales
Lack of Availability to Engage and Inadequate Technological Infrastructure for the Archiving:
TSG have limited access to historical records, artworks, or documentation. Some artworks details are lost and are only recorded with its exhibition’s name and description. In summary, currently lacks a comprehensive archive system, making it difficult to chronicle, retrieve, and showcase past exhibitions. This gap not only poses operational challenges but also limits the gallery's ability to leverage its rich history for marketing and engagement purpose.
SWOT ANALYSIS
MARKET LANDSCAPE
The Tin Sheds Gallery is located on the University of Sydney campus, offering free entry. It stands out as an art and culture hub in the academic environment. In the broader Sydney art scene, it competes with a range of competitors, from larger established galleries to dynamic pop-up spaces, but its university location presents both challenges and opportunities to engage a diverse, young audience.
Competitors
Brand Positioning Table for TSG
UNDERSTANDING OUR TARGET AUDIENCE
PROTOTYPE: WEBSITE WIREFRAME SHOWCASE
The TSG website wireframe aims to amplify its digital presence and serve as a platform for digital archiving. Why? To boost visibility and engagement. How? With user-friendly navigation, interactive features, and curated content that emphasizes TSG's legacy and offerings. What? The site showcases exhibitions, fosters artist connections, and introduces potential revenue streams, directly addressing TSG's challenges and enhancing its outreach.
WIREFRAME SHOWCASE - DESKTOP
Homepage
Exhibition
Workshop
Shop
WIREFRAME SHOWCASE - MOBILE
Exhibition
Workshop
Shop
Homepage
Key features of the website include searching and browsing past, current and future exhibitions.Users can also share content from these exhibitions on various social media platforms, includingInstagram, TikTok and Facebook. The sticky app icon is located in the upper right corner of thewebsite, making it easy for users to share on their favorite social platforms at any time. Users canalso directly access other social media platforms hosted by TSG by clicking on sticky app icons.Other features include workshops, shop and membership options. Users can become membersto receive invitations to future events. They can attend various workshops hosted by TSG andpurchase merchandise or artwork created in collaboration with local artists.
USER TESTING
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Interact with website prototype:
Users were asked to interact with the TSG website prototype by completing specific tasksdesigned to test the usability and functionality of the site.
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Questionnaire Feedback:
After experiencing the prototype, users were given a questionnaire to rate various aspects ofthe website, such as navigation ease, content relevance, and overall user experience.
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Face-to-Face Interviews:
Users participated in face-to-face interviews to provide more in-depth feedback on theprototype. They also discussed their personal behaviors and preferences related to visitinggalleries, which provided qualitative insights into the potential effectiveness of the websiteas a marketing tool.
Interviewee Demographic: 9 interviewees
Interviews Limitation:
The sample is limited to those who were willing to participate in the interview. This may result in aselection bias, as those who are more comfortable sharing their opinions may be more likely toparticipate. Moreover, the answers provided by the interviewees are a reflection of their personalexperiences, opinions, and perspectives. While their responses provide valuable insight into theirindividual experiences, they may not necessarily be representative of the wider population.
Affinity Diagram and Statement Cards
Following conducting the interview and questionnaire, we decided to create an affinity map tocategorise the responses. This approach is employed to comprehensively grasp and structurelarge amount of data, and allows us to come up with new patterns of thinking (S. Gupta, K. Patil,R. Panchal, 2016). This method has proven to be greatly useful for our research, since we wereable to sort and summarise the responses into a few key interests:
Major Changes Based on User Testing:
Shop:
According to user feedback, a good to note statement is that the NFT trend is fading out. Comments indicated that the bidding mechanism and the high selling prices were not suitable for the TSG website since our target audience is primarily students with relatively lower purchasing power.The merchandise store's primary function is to attract artists to showcase their works and draw in customers, rather than to serve as a major profit centre for TSG. So, we have decided to change the online merchandise direction from selling collaborative NFT and auction-based artworks to into collaborative artist souvenirs. These items will be more promotional and accessible, including T-shirts, wall prints, mugs, art books, puzzles, calendars, etc.
Exhibition Archive:
Some users (22.22%) encounter difficulties in the task of finding a specific exhibition. An interviewee suggested that search box feature, which would allow users to find particular exhibitions directly, could improve the experience. We then re-categorized the exhibition into “Current”, “Past” and Future” and also added a search bar to facilitate easier searching.To make the archive even more engaging, we decided to incorporate a recommendation algorithm that prompts users to browse past exhibitions related to the one they are currently viewing.
Layout and Visual:
Some mentioned issues with the inconsistent font size and text spacing. It creates discomfort when browsing. When making adjustments, we also made sure the site was device-compatible.
Logo：
We decided to redesign the logo in a simple, clean, modern direction. It should be eye-catching and impressive. The three circles indicate the interconnecting of past, present and future.
Linkage to Social Media:
To fully showcase our marketing plan in a holistic view, we have decided to also focus on social media marketing which is a good tactic when targeting the young student community. On the website, users can also share content from these exhibitions on various social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. The sticky app icon is located in the upper right corner of the website, making it easy for users to share to their favorite social platforms at any time.
EVALUATION OF PROTOTYPE
Audience can explore and interact with the website by navigating through its various functional pages. The Workshop page allows both in-person and remote audiences to book workshops. Viewers can look through specific past exhibitions through detailed text descriptions and virtual views, and also shop for artworks. The website showcases archives from both past and present exhibitions. Registered audience members will receive emails about upcoming exhibitions, workshops, and promotional offers from the shop, linking them to the future of the Tin Sheds Gallery. Our prototype, based on a variety of mature marketing plans for the gallery, aims to increase funding and revenue. Therefore, functions such as membership, Shop, and Workshop have been added to the website.
FINAL REFLECTION
Conceptualization and Design Journey:
Our journey began with an understanding of the Tin Sheds Gallery's landscape and then movedon to imagining future scenarios for TSG, defining both global and local variables. Usingspeculative design and futuring methodologies, we thought outside the box to create innovativeideas and scenarios that could unfold at TSG by 2050. Zooming back to 2025, to create aprototype for TSG, we encountered challenges in conceiving a feasible prototype idea that wouldtruly help TSG achieve the scenario of "Increased Space" and "Art Embraces Technologies." Ourgoal was to develop a prototype that transcended mere assignment work and could address thereal situation at TSG. By understanding and analyzing the market landscape, challenges, andconsidering global aspects, we structured marketing strategies to realistically tackle the identifiedissues.
User Testing:
An important aspect of our process was adopting a user-centric approach. It was challenging totest the marketing plan physically. We faced difficulties in how to present the strategies andeventually decided to create a website. By testing our marketing strategies through a websiteprototype, we focused on the actual needs and behaviors of our audience.
Learning from primary research
The feedback loop showed us that while digital presence is crucial, it must be balanced with thephysical experience of the gallery. Discovering that the NFT trend was fading and that our pricingstrategy required reconsideration were significant insights that prompted us to shift toward moreaffordable and accessible approaches.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, the development of the marketing plan for TSG has been an extensive exercise instrategic and creative thinking. It represented a balance of speculative foresight and practicaluser testing.