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Chicago Artist Guide, 2020-present
Role: Lead UX/UI designer, board member
Status: v1 recently launched

Problem statement

Local theaters often struggle to find diverse talent and crew members, while artists face challenges accessing opportunities that align with their unique identities. This lack of centralized resources limits meaningful connections and perpetuates a lack of representation in productions.

Objectives

  • Centralize resources: Create a user-friendly platform to centralize resources for theater professionals and artists.
  • Facilitate connections: Enable meaningful connections between local theaters and a diverse range of talent.
  • Increase representation: Promote greater diversity in theater staff, talent, and the productions staged.
  • Improve access: Ensure equitable access to opportunities for underrepresented artists and crews.
  • Streamline matching process: Develop efficient tools for matching talent with theater opportunities based on identity and skills.
  • Foster community engagement: Encourage collaboration and networking across neighborhoods and theater communities.

Success metrics

Platform usage: 200 individual talent profiles and 30 theater groups signed up in the first year

70% of posted roles find a matching candidate within 2 months

Increase in number of productions featuring new or diverse stories as a result of the platform

Talk to users to gather qualitative feedback on the platform’s impact on creating opportunities

Initial branding + identity development

Objective: Create a cohesive brand identity reflecting the mission of fostering diversity and meaningful connections in theater.
Key activities:
  • Collaborated with stakeholders to define the nonprofit's mission and values
  • Developed branding guidelines for consistent application across marketing and platform interfaces
  • Designed a logo, color palette, and typography to visually communicate inclusivity and creativity

User research + journey mapping

Objective: Understand the needs and pain points of talent and theater groups to shape a user-centered platform.
Key activities:
  • Conducted interviews and surveys with actors, crew members, and theater managers to gather insights.
  • Mapped user journeys for both talent and theater users, identifying key touchpoints such as profile creation, searching, and matching.
  • Highlighted opportunities to streamline the process of finding roles and posting opportunities.

Low-fidelity wireframes + prototyping

Objective: Validate core functionality and user flows before investing in high-fidelity designs.
Key activities:
  • Created low-fi wireframes for key screens, including user registration, talent profiles, opportunity postings, and match results.
  • Conducted usability testing sessions to gather early feedback and refine workflows.
  • Iterated on prototypes to ensure intuitive navigation and ease of use.

High-fidelity mockups + design system integration

Objective: Translate validated wireframes into polished, visually appealing designs aligned with the brand.
Key activities:
  • Designed high-fi mockups for all platform screens, incorporating branding elements and accessibility best practices.
  • Collaborated with developers to hand off assets and provide ongoing support during implementation.
  • Established a design system to ensure consistency and scalability, including reusable components and style guides.

Platform launch

Objective: Deliver a functional platform that addresses the core needs of users with a flexible IA and user flows to allow for future functionality.
Key activities:
  • Launched the platform with core features, including profile creation, opportunity matching, and notifications.
  • Promoted the platform through community outreach, social media campaigns, and theater partnerships.
  • Monitored early adoption metrics and addressed any launch-related issues.

Post-launch user feedback + iteration

Objective: Continuously improve the platform based on real user experiences.
Key activities:
  • Collected qualitative feedback through surveys, interviews, and support requests.
  • Measured user satisfaction and engagement to identify areas for improvement.
  • Prioritized new features and enhancements, such as expanded filtering options and advanced analytics for theater users.

Results

Outcome + metrics

Platform usage: 120 individual talent profiles and 13 theater groups were added in the first year with a backlog of interested groups that need are awaiting onboarding

94% of posted roles found a matching candidate within 2 months, but this metric did not account for the imbalance between roles posted and artists with profiles

The number of productions featuring new or diverse stories as a result of the platform turned out to be quite objective and hard to measure but we hope to continue tracking the diversity of roles and using that metric to gauge overall show diversity

Members of the team that are local in Chicago use in-person events with artists and theater groups to collect feedback and ensure the product is meeting their needs. We may look into some kind of user research repository in the future to organize this feedback efficiently.

Lessons learned

  • Build an MVP with only the most critical features - this allowed us to launch quickly and gather valuable user feedback and focus on core functionality while prioritizing additional features based on real user needs.
  • Engaging diverse stakeholders—actors, crew members, and theater managers—early in the process was essential for identifying barriers to access and ensuring the platform met their needs.
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