The Works of Kara Walker

Brief

This website is to showcase the artworks of Kara Walker, an African-American artist who uses art to communicate messages regarding race, gender, sexuality, violence, and identity. While most known for her paper cut-out silhouettes, she is also well-versed in other mediums such as film, watercolor, and sculptures.

Kara Walker uses silhouettes because they do not need much to convey a lot of information, just like stereotypes. To emulate this message, this website was designed with a minimalistic approach.

Research

I observed the websites of the NYC High Line, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Biology department of Washington University in St. Louis. Below are my main takeaways:

• Hover states should be made obvious to give people the best experiences.
• Color and contrast should be optimized to help people navigate the website.
• Cluttering of text and images should be avoided.

Sketches

Below are the initial sketches:

Wireframes

These are the lo-fi wireframes before usability testing:

These are the lo-fi wireframes after usability testing:

Usability Testing

Wireframes were shown to college students for testing. Findings are as follow:

High priority

• Carousel's navigator should be moved from above the pictures to below the pictures.
• Bread crumbing should be included to help people navigate between pages.

Medium priority

• "News" can be made clearer and more self-explanatory.
• The title overlapping into the rectangular box can be adjusted.
• The text on the about page can be moved to the right side of the screen because it might feel more natural.

Low priority

• Include a way to contact the artist.

Color & Font Exploration

Directions

Below are three possible directions with different combinations of fonts and colors:

Prototype

Reflection

Gains

• User feedback acts as a reality check for designers.
• Usability tests can help detect flaws in a design that was thought to not be a flaw.

Next Steps

• More field research on the artist before diving into designing.​​
• More usability testing after the first round of testing.
• Reorganize the way Walker's art is presented in the archive.