To comply with my confidentiality agreement I have omitted and appropriated confidential information. The information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of Arius Technology. The designs are a reinterpretation of the original.
From Van Gogh to Monet, Arius Technology specializes in 3D textured reproductions of painting that closely resemble the original masterpieces. Their works allow everyone to see, touch and even own the priceless paintings that they would only ever dream of owning.
With a bold vision to make art more accessible to everyone, Arius needed to simplify their production process. As part of the solution, I collaborated with them to design a software application for their specialized laser scanner.
I worked closely with the Director of Engineering on this project. My responsibility was to design the UX and UI of the software application for their specialized laser scanner. At the time, Arius was looking for a developer, so I was unable to consult about any possible technical constraints that I might not have been able to foresee.
Arius used a custom laser scanner that required specialized mechanics on-site to operate and adjust specific settings for each print job. To drastically simplify this time-consuming and costly process, we focused on delivering a software application solution that can automate the process as much as possible for use by staff with little training.
With my lack of knowledge about the production process meant I needed to understand Arius' scanning and printing technology thoroughly. I met with Ken, the director of engineering, to learn and experience their production on-site from start to finish.
With Ken's knowledge and my on-site experience, we both acknowledged that mechanics were required to manually adjust an overwhelming number of data inputs that could be automated using a software application with a simple and clean interface.
Before I met with Ken for the first time, he already had wireframes ready to show me. I worried that some details may have been overlooked, so I suggested taking a step back and reviewing the workflow first. Doing so guided us to streamline the user flow and provided alternative labeling to use in the wireframing phase.
Going back to Ken's original wireframes, we made adjustments to the UI based on the streamlined user flow.
To move forward, I designed sets of mockups to resemble the final application. I collaborated closely with Ken for a few minor iterations to fine-tune details, particularly with icons and colors that represented different scanning statuses and stages.
Because Arius was still looking for a developer at the time of the project, I created a documentation and style guide to communicate the design as thoroughly as possible. This process would have been much easier if I could have communicated with the developer directly throughout the project, to ensure nothing got lost in translation.
Although I wasn't involved with the development process, I followed up with Ken about the application later on. Since launching the scanning application, Arius' production process has become much more streamlined. Staff members could operate the scanner with little support when necessary, and production time has substantially improved, allowing Arius to deliver their works to customers in a much shorter time, at more affordable prices.