Background
The Art of Water is an art showcase website I launched with marine biologist Dr. Barbara Krystal in June 2021. The website, funded by a Washington State Grant, features paintings, poetry, music collected from 56 independent artists. As a digital art exhibition devoted to the theme of water, The Art of Water was the first of its kind — galvanizing public interest in the marine sciences and developing conversations about the relationship between art and science.
Since its launch, The Art of Water has been included in a curriculum at Antioch University, promoted by 9 marine science centers, and featured on a local radio.
To understand what art galleries accomplish, I went to the Seattle Art Museum and mapped out the actions and emotions associated with attending an art exhibit.
Focus Group
To understand the problem space, I interviewed the team who worked on a similar project for Foundry10 called EverydayUnboxed. Their developers, designers, and artists gave us initial input and tips on how to approach this project.
Competitive Analysis
I also looked at larger scale online art projects such as that of MoMA and UW's Henry Art Gallery for style inspiration.
Card Sorting
Since most of the information on this website was going to be static images and text, it was crucial that navigation was simple and content was well-organized. To inform the site map of The Art of Water, I conducted a card sort with Dr. Krystal.
Information Architecture
The categories obtained through our card sort helped me create an information architecture, which included additional pages such as a spot for art submissions.
Wireframes
I created a wireframe of our landing page which would include our art categories. We decided to go with a neutral approach by not featuring any particular pieces or artists.
Final Product
I opted for Squarespace because it has a built-in CMS and it would be easy for Dr. Krystal, who was unfamiliar with technology, to maintain and add additional works on her own. I launched the website on June 31, 2021.
Impact
- We collected from around the world 20 paintings, 9 poems, 16 photographs, 8 songs, 2 performances, and 1 film
- The Art of Water formed partnerships with 8 marine science centers, who helped promote the project
- Project was featured on the Coastal Cafe Radio
- Project was selected for a talk at the Sailish Sea Conference
- The Art of Water was integrated into a course curriculum at Antioch University