We Labs
Social app for student artists that fosters collaboration, resource sharing, and skill growth.
Project Details
Overview
Student artists are often creating in isolation, disconnected from peers who share their challenges, tools, and ambitions. Creating in silos prevents the kind of cross-pollination that makes artist communities truly grow. We Labs is a platform built on the belief that artists grow faster together. Through shared knowledge, skills, and resources, it turns a scattered creative community into a connected, thriving one.
Scope of Work
User Research
Competitor Analysis
Concept Development
UI/UX Design
Prototyping
Individual Role
Research, design thinking, market survey, conceptualizing, prototype development.
Tools
Adobe XD
Mural
Adobe Illustrator
Team Project: 3 member group
Project Details
Toolkit*
*Hover over to learn more
Focused on exploring the potential for domain-specific social media platforms; dissecting various apps within the artist domain, and analysing elements that make them successful. Highlighted the unique challenges faced by artists in today's digital landscape.
Brainstorming
Synthesized user insights and, with the group, defined the project scope based on our findings. Helped present a flow that illustrates a system shaped by clearly defined service steps and application features.
Insights & Concept Development
Driven by a desire to understand these needs and gaps more intimately, we initiated a series of interviews within the artist community from diverse backgrounds and disciplines through The New School student community.
User Interview
Collaborated in designing the entire experience and interface for the application. Created low-fidelity and high-fidelity wireframes along with a working prototype to help visualize the app's intuitive design.
Prototyping
User Research
Competitor Analysis
App
Features
Platforms
Behance
A platform for showcasing and discovering creative work. Artists and designers can create portfolios and connect with other professionals.
Website
iOS
Android
Dribble
Focuses on design portfolios and community, providing a platform for designers to showcase their work and connect with potential clients.
Website
iOS
Android
Slack
A messaging platform for teams that facilitates communication and collaboration. It's particularly useful for remote freelancers working in a team.
Website
iOS
Android
Trello
Helps users organize projects using boards, lists, and cards. It's useful for planning and tracking project progress.
Website
iOS
Android
Asana
A project management tool that allows freelancers and teams to collaborate, set deadlines, and manage tasks.
Website
iOS
Android
FreshBooks
Offers invoicing, expense tracking, and time-tracking features for freelancers and small businesses.
iOS
Android
User Research
Consumer Insights
We sought feedback from peers within the university community to gauge their sentiments regarding a service tailored to artists and their needs.*
*(Interviews were conducted within the capacity of The New School, New York)
Why are we drowning in scraps (design waste) when so many others could benefit from it? We need a platform for collaboration and resource exchange.
Learning Rhino (3D design software) is a task! I feel lost and alone, constantly seeking guidance from classmates and scouring the internet for scraps of knowledge.
In the design world, learning is most effective when it's collaborative. Traditional forums and chat groups are too chaotic for structured discussions.
User Research
Gap Analysis
Derived from our interviews and market research, the following insights highlight key industry gaps we have identified:
Designers' surplus dilemma:
Designers often accumulate excess materials without knowing how to redistribute them due to limited available channels.
Generosity in exchange:
Willingness to give items for free fosters a sharing culture.
Waste abundance:
Excessive scrap materials create challenges in efficient waste management.
Skill-building hurdles:
A lack of reliable resources hinders both skill development and knowledge sharing.
Creative block solutions:
Encourage community interaction for overcoming creative blocks in design education.
Ideation
Design Strategy
HOW MIGHT WE?
Empower art and design students by fostering collaboration, resource sharing, and skill development.
TARGET AUDIENCE
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Students within art and design domain
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University student communities
CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR
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Connect and collaborate: Seamlessly connect with fellow students to work on projects, brainstorm ideas, and learn from each other.
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Showcase and share work: Share design projects or work in progress with your peers for the university.
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Exchange and donate materials: Reduce waste and support fellow students by donating and exchanging unused materials.
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Gain and share skills: Learn from each other's expertise by providing and requesting help with software and specific skill sets.
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Host and participate in design sprints: Collaborate on rapid-fire design challenges and develop innovative solutions in a focused environment.
Ideation
Information Architecture
OPEN APP
WELCOME PAGES
SIGN UP/ SIGN IN
MENU TAB
PROFILE PHOTO / PUSH NOTIFICATION / CHAT / HELP / SETTINGS / LOGOUT
PROFILE PHOTO
PROFILE TAB
PROFILE TAGS
PROJECT SHOWCASE
MAIN TAB
SEARCH
FILTER
EXPLORE TAB
COLLAB-LAB / MAT-LAB / GIG-LAB
KEYWORD SORTING
COURSE FILTER
MESSAGE USER / SHARE POST / SAVE POST / RSVP TO AN EVENT
ADD POST
Prototype
Low Fidelity Wireframes
Prototype
High Fidelity Screens
Introduction
Sign In & Sign Up
Explore Page
Filter Page
User Profile
Notification Panel
Prototype
App Features
COLLAB-LAB
This forum is intended for users to conduct Design Sprints and Focus Groups on specific topics, enabling collaboration and idea generation. Participants share feedback and innovative strategies, facilitating the joint development of creative concepts.
MAT-LAB
Users can leverage the forum to purchase or sell materials by creating posts with details of their availability or specific requests. These posts are visible on the feed for a maximum of 72 hours, though the user can customize this duration while creating the post.
GIG-LAB
This platform enables users to showcase their work, including college projects, work-in-progress projects, and personal projects.
This sharing of works allows the community to draw inspiration and motivation from each other.
Filters let users organize their feeds
based on their university courses.
The Explore feed functions as a landing page, displaying posts from all three forums.
Allows users to RSVP to Design
Sprints or Focus Groups hosted by
other users in their university.
Each post includes features: Message publisher, share and save. Like-free metric helps create a pressure-free environment and prioritize meaningful interactions.
Add Posts allows users to add post details based on the forum type. They can filter their data and use forum-specific filters such as industry, time duration, images, text and much more.
User profiles contain tags that highlight the individual's skills and interests, which are identified by algorithms based on their interaction with the application.
Display of notifications from signed-up events and chats. Chat records will remain visible for 30 days before disappearing
My Gigs section showcases the user's ongoing projects and work, emphasizing their expertise and abilities.
Learnings
Conclusion
As a design student, I have felt the friction firsthand, searching for spare materials, needing guidance on tools, or just wanting feedback from someone who gets it. This project started from those small, recurring frustrations. Our research revealed that these are not isolated problems, but a cause of a fragmented creative community.
Designing We Labs allowed us to validate what many student artists experience and then zoom out, building not just for immediate needs, but for the kind of connected ecosystem where knowledge, skills, and support flow between peers. Beginning as a solution to a practical challenge, it became a deeper exploration of how design can foster community, enable collaboration, and create the conditions for collective growth.