© April Mirvis, Novelty Theory Studio, 2025
FIELDWORK
Giving artists tools to get them outside[RESEARCH, UX, UI, BRANDING, WRITING]
Fieldwork is a platform for plein air painters. It is meant to be a digital off-ramp for artists looking to spend more time outdoors, but who don’t know where to start or how to stay consistent.
Plein air practice is complicated and intimidating for new practitioners.
Younger generations of artists aren’t being exposed to experiential learning when it comes to digital technology for art making; existing tools tend to foster reliance rather than encourage building technical skills.
Driven by experiential learning and an all-in-one design, it addresses the specific challenges artists face in the field, giving them more time to do what is important: paint.
DISCOVERY
PART I
PART I
Research began in the library, surveying several turn-of-the-century guides to observational drawing from authors such as Arthur W. Dow, Harlod Speed, and Tristram Ellis. The work of Andrew Loomis, an illustrator and painter who authored several books during the mid-century period, was also studied.
While the information these works provide holds up today from a technical standpoint, there were noticable gaps in the delivery, both in language and format, that would prevent many people, especially younger generations, from seeking them out for study—or to take with them outdoors.
From there, newer material on the subject from more diverse thinkers were researched. Comparing, contrasting, and identifying through-lines was the goal of this exercise.
Finally, Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think: Revisited was perused to help frame foundational usability questions that would align with the target audience (i.e. What kind of navigation system would work best? How could a digital tool visually reflect the act of field data collection for art’s sake?).
While the information these works provide holds up today from a technical standpoint, there were noticable gaps in the delivery, both in language and format, that would prevent many people, especially younger generations, from seeking them out for study—or to take with them outdoors.
From there, newer material on the subject from more diverse thinkers were researched. Comparing, contrasting, and identifying through-lines was the goal of this exercise.
Finally, Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think: Revisited was perused to help frame foundational usability questions that would align with the target audience (i.e. What kind of navigation system would work best? How could a digital tool visually reflect the act of field data collection for art’s sake?).
DISCOVERY
PART II
PART II
Additionally, an experiment with college-aged Illustration students, an interview with a professional plein air painter, and an internet survey to the wider plein air community were conduted to gain insight into potential users and their attitudes towards incorporating tech into their practices. Challenges were identified and insights were distilled netting out a set of objectives to design for. A user persona helped keep these ideas top-of-mind while iterating.
FEATURES
+ SYSTEMS
+ SYSTEMS
Moving back and forth between developing information architecture and rapidly prototyping/testing allowed for thoughtful refinement of the app’s core functionality, ensuring that every feature served a clear purpose and contributed to a cohesive user experience.
Eventually, a greater system beyond the mobile app began to take shape which included a website, a physical product line/lifestyle brand, and the ability to create customized “Field Reports” to be printed at home so that users could work off of screens if they preferred.
Eventually, a greater system beyond the mobile app began to take shape which included a website, a physical product line/lifestyle brand, and the ability to create customized “Field Reports” to be printed at home so that users could work off of screens if they preferred.
BRANDING
+ UI
+ UI
Branding for Fieldwork is inspired both by the colors of the landscape and antique paper ephemera, reminiscent of a time when typewriters and manilla file folders were a mainstay in the research process. The “F” within the primary mark hints at the shape of a tree. Custom type was created for the primary mark and the wordmark.
The UI is meant to encourage a curiosity for observation and a natural instinct for journaling, while feeling slightly tactile and meditative. While some aspects of the interface feel familiar (the camera), and therefore not distracting, an affective design approach was taken for others; something that would reflect the charm of analog, drawing on visual cues from archival paperwork.
The UI is meant to encourage a curiosity for observation and a natural instinct for journaling, while feeling slightly tactile and meditative. While some aspects of the interface feel familiar (the camera), and therefore not distracting, an affective design approach was taken for others; something that would reflect the charm of analog, drawing on visual cues from archival paperwork.
OUTCOMES
DELIVERABLES
- Mobile App prototype
-
Website prototype
-
Physical Product samples
- Marketing ideation
- 4000+ word research paper
[fin]
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