Artist using VizRef app to compliment their Procreate workflow
Optimizing the workflow of professional artists through a comprehensive referencing tool app.
VizRef /
Studio Pixanoh
The VizRef iOS app, released in 2019 from Studio Pixanoh, is the first mood board creation app that brings comprehensive referencing tools to animators and visual artists, allowing them to create visual reference boards with images or gifs from anywhere.
Role
Product Designer
Deliverables
Product Market Research
Design Sprints
Product Designs
Painting on the left in Procreate with references on the right
The Challenge
Professional artists use reference images when sketching, drawing or animating on their iPads but without a companion app, managing reference images while using most drawing apps is difficult as images must be copied and pasted into the drawing tool as a layer, which disrupts and slows down the artist’s workflow. As a professional artist, the founder knew this to be a real challenge for himself and his peers but wanted to validate that a reference board tool was the correct solution to and better understand what specific features the tool should include.
Our Approach
We came into the project knowing the challenge to be solved – to create a streamlined workflow by way of a reference board tool – but still needing to uncover how exactly the solution should work and what the key features should be. With this focus, we began by conducting problem interviews with several professional artists to understand their root pain points and to validate or invalidate and prioritize the concepts to be included in the solution.
Using the data from the problem interviews, we designed a high-fidelity prototype to test with five professional artists to get immediate feedback and further validate/invalidate specific product features. The information from these tests was used to finalize the development and design in preparation of launching the app.
Usability testing to prioritize must have features before initial release