In this project, we were challenged to create a solution around the theme of Art and Creativity. We documented our entire process using the FigJam tool. Because it is a very broad theme that spans multiple social, economic, and political spheres, a focused investigation into a specific sub-theme was necessary. We began with a brainstorming session about the topic, generating some initial questions called essential questions. We each conducted individual Desk Research and then came together to share our findings.
This initial ideation session led us to a few main facets of the theme: access to art, gamification, art therapy, and accessibility in art.
From these sub-themes, we created a complexity vs. impact matrix to decide which sub-theme to pursue.
After that debate, we opted for the problem statement "How can we make art accessible to more audiences?" and began investigating more deeply what problems are involved in this area.
Based on the chosen problem statement, the team held additional brainstorming sessions to develop new questions to investigate around the sub-theme. These questions were essential in guiding our user research process in the next stage of the project.
Through discussions about the questions and ideas generated, we found a more specific problem, more closely tied to the theme of creativity: "How can we fit art learning into people's routines?" With that, we began our research process with users of art-related applications, in an attempt to explore possible solutions to the problem.
We conducted a short quantitative survey via a form built with the Airtable tool. The form was distributed to students at the Federal University of Ceará and the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Ceará, the main places where our team operates. All team members helped with distribution. The form received approximately 85 responses and included the following questions:
We conducted interviews with 4 users, aiming to capture at least 3 different profiles: a user who has contact with art but it is not their primary field of work (1 interviewee); a user who has contact with and works in art (1 interviewee); and users with little or no contact with art (2 interviewees).
All interviews were conducted in person. The team was divided into pairs, with each pair conducting two interviews. My partner was Letícia Dutra. In the first session I was responsible for interviewing while she took notes, and in the second session we switched roles.
From the results of the quantitative and qualitative research, we analyzed all responses as a team and made several discoveries, including:
The most consumed art forms are cinema and drawing.
The art forms most sought after for learning are painting, photography, sculpture, and theater.
All interviewed users said they don't know where to begin a new artistic hobby.
All interviewed users said they have little time to develop artistic skills, mainly because they spend a large portion of their day commuting (by car, bus, etc.).
Most users don't start new artistic endeavors due to two main factors: time and financial investment.
There is a lot of frustration involved in starting new hobbies, as people lack the practice and motivation to keep improving their skills.
Half of the interviewed users stated that artistic communities help to strengthen and encourage artistic habits.