LoCA — Turning coffee shops, restaurants, and public spaces into art discovery surfaces

Buying art is still surprisingly intimidating. Most people only discover local artists inside galleries, while artists themselves struggle to get work in front of new audiences.

LoCA connects artists, spaces, and buyers through QR-based discovery embedded directly into real-world environments. See a piece in a coffee shop, restaurant, or public space, scan it, learn about the artist, and purchase instantly.

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Previous

The original site was built during LoCA's early stages, when the organization was still growing its roster of artists and programming. A more expressive visual approach made sense for a smaller platform with limited content and evolving technical support.

As LoCA matured, the redesign focused on creating a faster, more consistent experience that puts the artwork first and better reflects the organization today.

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Problem

Buying art is often intimidating and inaccessible. Artists struggle to show and sell their work, while everyday buyers rarely discover local art outside of gallery settings. There is no simple way for someone to see a piece they like in a coffee shop or restaurant and just buy it.

Process

I defined core user journeys for each audience (artist, space, buyer), designed the complete purchase flow and onboarding experience, and collaborated with the founding team to align product vision with launch constraints. The approach centers on a QR-based system linking physical artworks to their digital listings, so visitors can scan, learn more, and purchase instantly.

Solution

A mobile-first marketplace where artists connect easily with spaces and showcase their work, spaces enrich their environments while supporting local creators, and buyers scan, learn, and purchase directly from the wall. Key design decisions included QR-first interaction that replaced traditional product discovery with contextual discovery in real spaces, streamlined onboarding that simplified artist registration from multiple forms to a single guided flow, and a unified visual system across artist, venue, and buyer interfaces.

Outcome

LoCA has expanded from Seattle to Chicago as the team continues to explore product-market fit. The MVP validated strong interest among local artists and spaces, and the platform's simple, QR-driven experience remains its foundation, connecting art, place, and people with minimal friction.