Lately, I’ve been discussing the creative network, Ello. If you missed my last post about the social media’s audience, check it out to better understand today’s update. As mentioned, Ello is a platform for artists, and is a great way for them to connect with each other, business opportunities, and fans. To be fully functional for these audiences, Ello’s interface must be appropriately designed to satisfy their needs.
The website is immediately attractive to artists, as the homepage features an array of artwork and interesting information for creative types. As an art-lover myself, I already had a positive user experience from the moment I found Ello because of the network’s simplicity and aesthetic appeal.
A nice feature is that visitors can browse content and posts without creating an account, which is a good way to entice people to join. Once convinced, creating an account is simple and fast, requiring only basic information. Ello asks new users to identify themselves as “artists” or “fans,” as to tailor the experience to your use of the network. I really liked this because since I am not an artist, my dashboard is cleaner with only features I would use.
After creating an account, the user is asked to subscribe to their favorite media, such as photography, illustration, digital, and so many more. This is another appealing feature for Ello’s audience because it allows users to customize their experience to their interests.
The Ello homepage and dashboard is clean and simple as to not distract from the artwork on display. The wording is clear and everything is labelled appropriately, making navigation very straightforward and easy.
To me, it’s clear that Ello’s user interface and information architecture were designed with the audience in mind. The ease of use and the logical arrangement of information is appealing to artists who want an outlet to share their art, the fans who simply want to browse their favorite styles, and for brands who are scouting talent and inspiration for future projects.
Below, is a UI sitemap that shows the clarity of navigation of Ello. The map was created from the point of view of a logged in member. (Sorry it’s hard to see! Zoom!)
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