Gallery 101
2023-2024
Gallery 101 is my capstone project, an art gallery located in Ottawa that specializes in the professional presentation and promotion of visual and media arts. Each year, G101 hosts an exciting series of solo and group exhibitions, featuring works by contemporary Canadian and international artists across various mediums. The gallery also provides services and professional development opportunities for artists, curators, writers, and critics.
As one of the UI/UX designers on the project, my role involved conducting user research, creating wireframes, designing the UI, developing prototypes, and working on high-fidelity designs. I was also responsible for implementation, content management, and creating 3D floor plans for the gallery.
Tool:
WordPress
Illustrator
Photoshop
Skill:
Graphic Design
UI/UX Design
Photography
3D Modeling
Challenge
Solution
Research
Timeline
The website's design might feel outdated or lack a modern, visually appealing aesthetic. Contemporary websites in the arts sector often use clean layouts, strong typography, and high-quality images. Updating the design without losing the gallery’s identity or overwhelming visitors with too much visual information could be challenging.
The navigation may not be intuitive, and users might struggle to find the information they're looking for (e.g., upcoming exhibitions, artist profiles). Improving the UX without making the site feel cluttered is key.
The lack of visually rich, immersive displays of the actual exhibition spaces. Visitors often want to get a sense of what the gallery looks like and how artworks are presented within it. Without these visual cues, it becomes harder for online users to connect with the physical space or feel motivated to visit in person. This lack of visual representation might make the website feel disconnected from the gallery’s core mission of showcasing visual art.
Introduce a modern, minimalist design that uses whitespace effectively and highlights artwork. Consider refreshing the colour palette, fonts, and layout to provide a more immersive, modern experience while staying true to the gallery's artistic identity.
Conduct usability testing to understand where users face difficulties, and redesign the information architecture to streamline navigation. Enhancing the menu structure, adding clear calls to action, and improving content discoverability can enhance the experience.
Add a 3D virtual tour of the gallery, where users can explore the exhibition spaces as if they were physically present. This could be achieved through 360-degree photography or virtual rendering software like Matterport. Users can navigate the gallery at their own pace, viewing each artwork in its actual setting, creating a more engaging and immersive experience.
Conducting thorough research is essential when redeveloping a website to ensure functionality and engaging storytelling. As we began the process of redeveloping Gallery 101’s website, our first step was to audit the existing site to determine which elements to retain, remove, or modify. The current website was well-designed, so we found several features worth keeping. Specifically, we decided to retain the logo (with a modification in the header menu), the white background, and many of the existing pages, though some would be renamed. Additionally, we planned to introduce a new "Resources" menu that consolidates the resources and artist-run sections currently under "Get Involved."
Next, we explored other art gallery websites to identify consistent design trends. A common theme we noticed was the use of full-screen images as backgrounds, with each design element highlighted by unique colours. Based on this insight, we opted to incorporate a full-screen image showcasing the G101 building and integrate the gallery’s signature orange into the top navigation menu.
Lastly, we reconsidered our initial idea to rebrand the website's colours, logo, and background. After further discussion, we chose to retain the original logo but create a new design for the header banner. We also restructured the navigation system to improve the overall user flow, ensuring a more intuitive experience for visitors.
