Chroma
A community-driven platform designed to help artists connect, collaborate, and safely monetize their work through commissions.
My Role
UX Research
Product Design
UI Design
Brand Identity
Team
2 Designers
Tools Used
Figma
FigJam
Adobe Illustrator
Timeline
12 weeks
The Problem
Artists often rely on large social platforms where visibility depends heavily on algorithms rather than meaningful engagement. Many experience art theft, inconsistent exposure, and fragmented commission processes, making it difficult to grow, connect, and safely share their work.
80% experienced art theft
Artists feel underexposed
due to algorithms
Commissions often
happen through DMs
Lack of community-driven
spaces for artists
The Solution
Chroma was designed as a community-driven platform where artists can safely share work, discover others through shared interests, build meaningful connections, and manage commissions within a more structured ecosystem.
Core Solutions
Community-focused discovery​
Built-in commission workflows
Safer content sharing​
Personalized artist spaces
Interest-based matching
Community
Profile
Chat
Design Challenge
How might we create a platform where artists feel protected, visible, and connected without relying on traditional social media algorithms?
Design Goals
• Support meaningful community interaction
• Simplify commission workflows
• Improve artist discoverability
• Create safer spaces for sharing and monetization
Research
Understanding artists’ frustrations with existing platforms
To better understand the challenges artists face online, I explored existing platforms, gathered survey insights, and identified recurring pain points around visibility, commissions, and community building.
Competitive Analysis
Most platforms prioritize exposure or portfolio building, while fewer focus on long-term community and structured commission systems.
User Insights
User surveys revealed recurring frustrations around visibility, commission workflows, and trust when sharing artwork online.
These findings informed features such as commission tracking, profile transparency, and community-focused discovery.
SWOT Analysis
A SWOT analysis helped identify opportunities for differentiation while highlighting risks around moderation, competition, and artist protection.
Personas
These personas helped guide feature prioritization around visibility, safety, and commission workflows.
Represents artists looking for visibility, community, and safer ways to share work.
Represents commissioners seeking reliable artists and simplified commission workflows.
Feature Prioritization
Features were prioritized based on user pain points, potential impact, and implementation complexity to focus development on community, trust, and commission workflows.
Information Architecture
Organizing a growing creative ecosystem
The platform structure was designed to support communities, commissions, messaging, and artist discovery while keeping navigation scalable as features expand.
User Flow
Understanding how users move through core actions
User flows explored key journeys such as discovering artists, initiating commissions, and maintaining communication throughout the process.
Task Flow
Reducing friction within commission workflows
Task flows helped simplify decision points and identify moments where users might abandon or interrupt the commission process.
Wireframes
Exploring structure before visual identity
Initial wireframes explored content hierarchy, navigation patterns, and interactions across communities, profiles, and commissions.
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Visual Design
Bringing the product to life
High-fidelity designs introduced a stronger visual identity while refining interactions around discovery, communication, and commission management.
Reflections
Balancing creativity with safety
Artists and commissioners have different needs
Future improvements and next steps
One of the biggest challenges was designing a platform that feels open and community-driven while addressing concerns around art theft, unreliable communication, and visibility. Features had to support both creativity and trust.
Research showed that artists focused on exposure and community, while commissioners prioritized reliability and communication. Designing for both required balancing discovery features with structured commission workflows.
With more time, I would conduct usability testing and iterate based on user feedback. I would also explore moderation systems, profile verification, and additional trust-building features.