Helping Depict digitize and deliver museum-quality art to your walls
An art lover’s dream, Depict’s one-of-a-kind digital frame uploads high-quality pieces via an app
Making the art world as accessible as music, Depict pairs a custom frame with an app that lets customers select digital art and directly upload it to their walls. It’s a system that can transform any space into a personal art gallery — and allow people to change their minds and their art when they want.
Depict knew that you only get one chance when it comes to impressing a demanding art audience. To ensure the best possible online experience, they reached out to us to help them deliver a simple, seamless, and quick way for customers to upload new art to their digital frames.
We helped Depict develop an app that lived up to this early promise. It efficiently reduced new customers’ app-to-frame setup, or “time to art,” to five minutes or less, even for people starting a new account.
Creating a world of art at your fingertips
Launching a new digital product requires two things: Clarity on the product experience and proper execution to reach the intended market.
It’s easier said than done, especially in a startup environment, where the process is amplified and accelerated by outside stakeholders, funding constraints, and the ever-present threat of competition. Add in coordination between hardware and software, and the process is even more complicated.
Depict needed our help improving the onboarding experience, including pairing art with the frame, in less time. They also needed a better browsing experience for art and artists represented on their site.
Through a combination of interviews, audits, and exercises, we developed a proof-of-concept presentation that the Depict team could use to align and excite its stakeholders.
How we did it
The ramp-up from prototypes to product development unveiled several required milestones: Improving the app-frame pairing process, setting cost expectations, curating and editorializing art collections, creating accounts, allowing users to select favorites, and setting up analytics.
Working closely with Depict’s executive team, our development team audited the prototypes to determine the most efficient path to launch. This included stabilizing code, fixing bugs, and simplifying the UX and design. To fine-tune the app, we pared it down to its essentials for a sleek, seamless experience. We also created the UI for the frame to better show customers where they were in the pairing flow.
In parallel, our design team refined Depict’s brand voice into a better fit for the product. Typically, the branding process can take several months. To keep pace with the project, we completed branding within weeks to align with the product’s launch.
The parallel work streams of design and development were brought together by continuously folding the brand system into the application as each were refined. Throughout the process, we delivered real-time staging environments, allowing everyone to monitor progress and stay aligned.
‘Time to art’ in five minutes
A primary focus for the app was customer onboarding, specifically reducing a person’s “time to art,” or selecting a piece and getting it onto the digital frame. With the beta version, pairing the app to a frame was unreliable and frustrating.
We helped reduce that time to five minutes or less from the moment the customer turns on the frame, opens the app, signs up/logs in, pairs with the frame, and displays their first piece of art. This streamlined experience was confirmed through feedback and testing sessions with external testers. A huge win.
We wrapped up by onboarding their CTO and helping build out their internal team, so they were prepared for the app’s launch and beyond.
We were an early partner with Depict, helping to define the product and build internal alignment for their team and stakeholders. That understanding accelerated the final push to launch, as we had the same goals and ideas about what it would take to get the app not just to market, but to market success.
Want to experience the app and frame for yourself? Find out more on Depict.com
Do you need a partner who can provide end-to-end digital products that make a lasting impact? See what we can do for you. Find us at substantial.com or reach out directly at newbusiness@substantial.com
