Due to the closure of physical art galleries during the pandemic, visual artists were left without a platform to replicate the experience of an in-person gallery experience where they could demonstrate relationship building and storytelling, and interaction. Curisto's mission was to empower visual artists and bridge the gap between artists and art buyers, by creating a unique online art platform that would deliver an engaging and interactive experience for users.
The challenge was to identify the key pain points and opportunities for opportunities to reimagine the experience for both artist and art buyers, and create a platform that showcased artists' work in a visually appealing manner while allowing them to interact with their customers on a deeper level.
Another key underlying issue was that many artists lacked the business background necessary to tackle related issues such as marketing, taxes, and strategy. They were focused on their art and often struggled to navigate the complexities of running a successful art business.
In response to these challenges, we saw an opportunity to create an online art platform that would empower artists to connect with buyers and with the tools to run successful businesses.
Our initial step was to get an idea of the problems artists faced and with it we published an online questionnaire to get an overview of the problems artists were facing. We uncovered that artist artists saw running their business as technical and were reluctant to focus on it. It was important to dig deeper and learn more about it, so we decided to run 8 discovery interviews.
We learned that many struggled with the business side of the art industry, particularly with marketing, taxes, and strategy. With physical galleries closed due to the pandemic, artists also faced challenges in connecting with buyers and telling the story behind their art. On the other hand, art buyers were interested in building a relationship with the artist and understanding the inspiration and vision behind the art they were interested in purchasing.
Our learning and insights allowed us to define our problem space more accurately. Here is the problem statement we ended up coming up with based on the context and problems we were observing.
“How might we create an online art platform that empowers visual artists to interact with buyers and tell the story behind their art, while delivering an engaging experience for users in the absence of physical art galleries during the pandemic?”
In response to the challenges faced by artists and art buyers during the pandemic, we developed a one stop shop online art platform for artists, where they would access services from copywriters, content creators, tax officers, marketing agencies etc. The idea was - “You do the art, let us do the business of it”.
Artists could just focus on making art and building relationships with their clients, the platform helped alleviate the administrative and logistical burdens that many artists face. This reduced stress and allowed artists to focus more on their creative work, which led to improved productivity and artistic output. Also with a centralised platform for art sales and marketing, the platform helped artists expand their reach and visibility.
"The platform transformed my art, empowering me to unleash my creativity without the burden of logistics. It propelled my career, connecting me with a thriving community of art enthusiasts and expanding my reach beyond my expectations." - James
