Overview.

Inuit Art Foundation

What's north and south and state of the art?

Our new artist database and user interface for the Inuit Art Foundation had to be accessible to users from the populous south to the remote north. The IAF is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the work of Inuit artists across Canada. We created a resource for artists to control their self-presentation and crowd source information otherwise unavailable to them.

SERVICES

Design

System and Workflow Architecture
Website Design
Interface Design

Technology

Responsive Websites
Content Management
System Integration
Workflow
Location Detection
Low Band-Width Version
Sitefinity

Associated Services

Hosting
Upgrades & Maintenance

Overview
Gather
Shape
Build
Engage

Gather.

Understanding the special needs of artists working in remote communities was essential.
Our first priority was to really listen to IAF representatives before making recommendations and drawing up priorities. In addition to cultural and historically based sensitivities, technical barriers to internet communication in the far north emerged as a key issue.

Overview
Gather
Shape
Build
Engage

Inuit Art Foundation's website's hand drawn wireframe

Inuit Art Foundation website's Information Architecture

Hand drawn wireframe and information Architecture for Inuit Art Foundation's website

Shape.

Project success would ultimately depend on artists taking part and contributing.
We created interactive mock-ups and proto-types for the IAF to circulate among artists in the north. Their feedback helped us determine which fields should be public or private, which should be configurable and which should framed to accommodate special sensitivities.

Overview
Gather
Shape
Build
Engage

Build.

The community now has a new home base.
We provided the IAF and their constituents with a central repository of information on Inuit artists across Canada. Our solution met the overriding goal of offering access in communities where bandwidths are extremely low, even while maintaining a high standard of visual design. An intuitive interface allows artists to edit their profiles and users to suggest improvements.

Overview
Gather
Shape
Build
Engage

Inuit Art Foundation's website displayed on a mobile

Inuit Art Foundation's website displayed on a tablet

Engage.

“Engagement statistics have been very, very high.”
“Artists,” the IAF has told us, “have been particularly excited about the way that their work is being presented.” Our database is helping establish professional records essential for attracting interest from museums, collectors and grant-giving bodies. It’s moving Inuit art towards a new state of play.

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Overview
Gather
Shape
Build
Engage