Study: Open-Ended Discovery
We realized Artsy had a limited understanding of the signals that inspire collectors’ discovery. Historically, we had leaned into the idea that artists were the sole driver in this process. However, we found this approach was short-sided and needed to be explored more. Our aim was to understand our collectors’ mindset in moments of passive browsing. We hoped to gather enough insight to help us validate future projects and unlock new potential opportunities.
Recruiting Participants
We sent an outreach email to about 20 registered collectors on Artsy and narrowed down to 5 final participants (1 no-show). We targeted users who have shown past commercial intent on the platform, meaning they either sent inquiries, placed bids, or successfully purchased works in the past. All four of our participants had varying degrees of involvement in the art world and a wide range of works in their individual collections.
Crafting our study
We organized our study into 3 parts (with a short upfront). We time-boxed each section to about 8 minutes, giving enough buffer time in case things went over. Our questions included open-ended topics such as: ”Describe a time when you recently discovered a new artist you liked enough to pursue further?”or “How would you describe the way you want to be engaging and discovering new art and artists?”
1. Current Discovery Experience
We spent time asking the collector to recall recent experiences in which they had discovered a new artist or artwork (online or offline). We encouraged them to walk us through the end-to-end process so we could understand what general factors were at play.
2. Motivation to Engage
Here we dug a little deeper into what initially inspires collectors. We asked them about what (if any) types of information they may seek, what draws them in, and what tends to resonate with them most.
3. User Problems & Needs
Lastly, we wanted to understand what collectors found difficult about their process of artwork discovery. Understanding where gaps exist could help us provide real value for them going forward.
Key Observations & Trends
Visual appeal is a major catalyst for interest in a new artist/artwork.
Collectors noted things like “...color is something that drives me pretty strongly” and “I just look for something that looks different, something I haven’t seen a thousand times”. Our major takeaway here was that users don’t naturally know how to describe their aesthetic tastes. There is an opportunity for us to gather this data on platform in a more automated way.
Fairs, biennials, and major exhibitions are significant gateways to discovery.
Multiple users spoke about discovering new artists by visiting group exhibitions at galleries/institutions as well as biennials. They are frequently drawn to these exhibitions by the inclusion of an artist they know (or via the brand of the gallery/institution). Our takeaway here was that collectors seek familiarity as the stepping stone for discovery.
Instagram was also cited by multiple users as a frequently-used discovery mechanism.
Collectors reported following individual artists and artist hashtags as well as art-world influencers and tastemakers as a method to learn about new art. One collector noted “I follow the artists I collect... Shepard Fairey often posts about new artists that he works with, which helps me discover...”
Desire for less quantity, more quality.
Multiple collectors mentioned that browsing on Artsy is currently overwhelming. They expect Artsy to use the data we have on them to provide for focused personalization. The most notable quote from this
"I find Artsy a little overwhelming at times, too may artists, too many works, not curated at all. It's like you're throwing spaghetti at a wall and seeing what sticks."
Collectors seek curation to help filter through a crowded and noisy market.
Artsy Editorial was noted by several collectors as a useful tool for them to learn about whats worth noting in the art market. Similiarly, other users noted that they seek the opinions of peers or art-world insiders as a way to support their pursuit. This identified an opportunity for us push curation through editorial, guest curations, and public-facing collector profiles.
Notifications frequency causes fatigue.
We heard collectors report that only being surfaced for-sale works by artists can cause their interest to fatigue over time. One collector noted "186 new artworks have been posted by artists you follow. Great. That is not a helpful email. A better version of this would be: 'Sam, one of our editors wrote about an artist you follow” The main takeaway here was that there are more natural ways to open up a collectors purview into new discovery pathways.
In summary—