The Creative Hub is an innovative platform born out of the need for an ecosystem in the creative industry that lacks sufficient support for sustainability. Recognizing the challenges faced by the creative community regarding limited access to resources, connectivity, and necessary opportunities, owner Simon Laughin holds a strong vision to create a space where individuals and groups within the creative industry can grow, learn, collaborate, and access meaningful opportunities.

The background of the formation of Creative Hub includes:

1. Lack of support for the creative industry.
2. Many talented individuals hindered by limited access.
3. Insufficient training.
4. Difficulty in promoting their work.

Through experiences and testimonials, Simon was inspired to create a platform that connects creatives from diverse backgrounds, provides training, and helps them achieve the deserved recognition for their works.

I myself got involved when Patrik and Simon Laughin contacted me to materialize this Creative Hub platform and assist the core team in realizing the platform’s marketplace idea, starting from designing the logo, brand guidelines, to developing the user interface (UI). This project was not only enjoyable but also complex.

Although I had done similar things before, this time I delved deeper. In this project, I created every detail that appears on the platform, ranging from dashboards, user profiles, to the small pop-up notifications. The design system and asset management were crucial keys in this project.

In developing the Creative Hub platform, the approach I chose is Human-Centered Design (HCD). This approach guides the entire development process by focusing on user needs and experiences, ensuring that the platform not only meets user expectations but also takes into account broader social, cultural, and ecological aspects. HCD allows me to delve into a deep understanding of users, consider diverse perspectives, and shape a design that is functional, inclusive, and sustainable. With this approach, my goal is to create a platform that is not only functionally adequate but also has a positive impact on the creative community and its surrounding environment.

When this project began, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Patrik as a stakeholder and Simon Laughin, the owner who had a strong vision for creating an extraordinary marketplace. They wanted to create a platform that not only connects creative sellers with buyers but also becomes the right destination for creatives to access various support and better opportunities. Creative Hub has many significant goals that will impact individuals and even the creative industry itself.

Through discussions with stakeholders, I got to understand their goals for creating the Creative Hub platform, including:

1. Supporting Creative Growth:
   Providing a space where individuals can develop skills and explore their creativity without barriers.
2. Facilitating Learning:
   Granting access to quality education in various arts and crafts fields.
3. Building a Strong Community:
   Encouraging interaction and collaboration among users to build a robust network and community.
4. Overcoming Business Constraints:
   Providing resources and support for entrepreneurs and craftsmen to grow their businesses and promote marketing and sales to a global audience.
5. Marketing and Expanding Creative Products:
   Assisting craftsmen and small businesses in marketing their creative products to a broader audience, including the global market.
6. Enhancing Accessibility:
   Centralizing information about classes, events, and instructors in crafts to ease access for everyone.
7. Helping Users Track Progress:
   Allowing teachers and crafts businesses to track and manage their activities more efficiently.
8. Encouraging Collaborative Creativity:
   Inspiring users to collaborate, share ideas, and support each other in their creative journeys.
9. Providing Quality Resources:
   Offering quality training resources and guidance to advance businesses and users’ crafting skills.
10. Assisting in Brand Building:
    Supporting entrepreneurs and craftsmen in building their brands and developing a strong business identity.

Through these discussions, I also learned what they wanted to emphasize for Creative Hub, distinguishing it from similar platforms like Etsy. While Etsy mainly focuses on facilitating buying and selling, Creative Hub has a broader focus, empowering users not only for commerce but also to create an inclusive ecosystem, blending offers and needs in the creative industry, facilitating learning, collaboration, product sales, and community growth, thus strengthening the creative ecosystem.

For the users targeted by Simon and Patrik for Creative Hub, the majority are art enthusiasts. Here are some target users of the Creative Hub platform:

1. Teachers and Instructors:
   Individuals or organizations interested in teaching arts and crafts classes.
2. Craftsmen and Experts:
   Those skilled in a creative field and willing to share their knowledge.
3. Creative Communities:
   Organizations or community groups interested in arts and crafts.
4. Shop Owners:
   Individuals or businesses selling creative products.
5. Creative Learners:
   Individuals looking to learn and improve their skills in arts and crafts.
6. Anyone Interested in Buying Handcrafted Products.

Through an in-depth understanding of all target users via user research and competitor analysis, I could identify the issues they face and find challenging points that need to be addressed in developing the Creative Hub marketplace. Some user problems that I framed into problem statements are as follows:

1. Lack of Centralization:
   Users have trouble finding the best classes, events, and instructors worldwide due to scattered information.
2. Marketing Difficulties:
   Craftsmen and creative merchants face difficulties in marketing and selling their products to a wider audience.
3. Interaction Limitations:
   There’s no platform allowing creative community members to interact and collaborate more effectively.
4. Limited Learning Resources:
   Users struggle to access quality instructors and training in arts and crafts.
5. Networking Challenges:
   Users face difficulties in building networks and interacting with like-minded communities worldwide.
6. Business Tracking Issues:
   Instructors, craft groups, and stores find it challenging to monitor their crafting business activities efficiently.

To generate creative solution ideas, I transformed the above problem statements into how might we challenge sentences:

1. How might we create a platform that consolidates information about classes, events, and instructors worldwide into a single, easily accessible source?
2. How might we empower craftsmen and creative merchants to market their products more effectively to the global market?
3. How might we build a platform that facilitates interaction, collaboration, and the exchange of ideas among creative community members?
4. How might we provide easier and more affordable access to quality instructors and training in arts and crafts?
5. How might we assist users in building networks and interacting with like-minded communities worldwide?
6. How might we offer tools and analytics allowing instructors, craft groups, and stores to track and manage their businesses more efficiently?

Some objectives of the Creative Hub project include:

1. Integrated Information Hub:
   Creating a platform that integrates information about classes, events, instructors, and creative products centrally for easy user access and search.
2. Supporting Creative Product Marketing:
   Facilitating craftsmen and merchants to market their creative products more effectively, expanding market reach and increasing sales.
3. Fostering Interaction and Collaboration:
   Building an environment where creative community members can interact, share ideas, and collaborate to advance creativity and innovation.
4. Connecting Teachers and Learners:
   Allowing teachers and learners to connect, providing access to quality instructors, and facilitating knowledge and skills exchange in arts and crafts.
5. Building a Global Community:
   Assisting users in building networks and communities with like-minded people worldwide, enabling experience exchange and intercommunity collaboration.
6. Improving Business Efficiency:
   Providing tools and features for instructors, craft groups, and stores to monitor and manage their business activities more efficiently, including classes, events, bookings, and revenue.
7. Empowering Creativity:
   Encouraging and supporting creativity among individuals and groups, offering access to training and resources for creative growth.
8. Creating an Outstanding User Experience:
   Prioritizing a good and intuitive user experience through excellent interface design, easy navigation, and beneficial features to ensure user satisfaction and loyalty.

In building Creative Hub’s branding, I embrace values of inclusivity, creativity, skill, collaboration, marketing, global inspiration, and quality support. I aim to convey to all users that Creative Hub is a global platform that embraces diverse backgrounds, promotes creative exploration, provides quality training, enables user collaboration, and supports entrepreneurs in marketing creative products. With a focus on global inspiration and education, Creative Hub highlights its commitment to delivering an outstanding and inclusive user experience in the world of creativity.

To ensure all the intended value messages are conveyed, I performed Brand Strategy, Brand Style Guides, Logo Design, Presentations, and Business Card & Stationery design, creating a visualization of all branding efforts.

To achieve all the objectives of this project, I sought ideas through mind mapping. Additionally, I utilized mind mapping for analysis and decision-making, resulting in a list of recommendations and decisions to be made. Here are some key solution recommendations for Creative Hub:

1. Book class:
   Allows instructors to create classes and facilitate participant registration.
2. Book event:
   Enables instructors or guilds to organize events and accept participant registrations.
3. Book other teachers:
   Allows instructors to book other teachers’ services for classes or events.
4. Buy product:
   Permits users to purchase creative products offered on the platform.
5. Sell product:
   Allows users, especially guilds and shops, to sell their creative products.
6. Be visible on the map:
   Displays the physical location of instructors or shops on a global map.
7. Create an event:
   Enables users to create events and invite participants.
8. Create a class:
   Lets users create classes and manage teaching content.
9. Sell project:
   Provides instructors with the ability to sell their creative projects.
10. Social feed (posting, commenting, sharing, liking, following):
    An interactive platform that facilitates content sharing, communication, and interaction with other users.
11. Dashboard (compose email, write & sign a contract):
    User area for managing communication and contracts.
12. Reporting (class lists, total orders, revenue):
    Generates reports related to classes, orders, and revenue.
13. Project bank (add a product to the own project bank, add a product to the guild & shop project bank):
    A place to store and share creative products within one’s own project, guild, or shop.

There are also several other solutions that cannot all be mentioned here. Through mind mapping, I was able to connect all of these with the four user types, resulting in a clear schematic diagram and specifications. From the mind map’s outcomes, I transformed it into a more workable structure for designing by incorporating and organizing it using a site map and information architecture.

This is quite a complex project. To efficiently design a good user interface, I didn’t jump straight into high-fidelity UI design. Instead, I started with sketches, wireframes, low-fidelity prototyping, and conducted concept testing until I found a rough concept worthy of design.

Once I had the best patterns, I also created a design system to expedite and streamline the design process, then proceeded to convert the low-fidelity designs into high-fidelity UI. In designing High-Fidelity UI, I prioritize maximum excellence and quality. I create prototype designs and interactions that are not only visually stunning but also provide an intuitive, smooth, and engaging user experience. I carefully consider each pattern, component usage, visual elements, animations, transitions, and interface interactions to ensure that users feel comfort and satisfaction while using the Creative Hub platform.

As a validation step for the Creative Hub project, I conducted comprehensive testing, including design testing, usability testing, A/B testing, and heuristic evaluation. Through these tests, I identified areas that required improvement, including:

1. On the ‘Assign Contract’ page, the user flow needed a better pattern to ensure a seamless experience.
2. The ‘Teacher Profile’ page lacked important information, such as teacher bio and skillsets.
3. The maps on each user’s profile were too large, causing an imbalance with other attributes.
4. On the ‘Cart’ page, Patrik wanted it to resemble Etsy for specific reasons.
5. The absence of an ‘Accommodation Page’ was noted.
6. Users had difficulty finding the “Add project from the project bank” button, making it challenging.
7. The ‘Classes’ section lacked a live stream feature, which Patrik and Simon desired.

I underwent many design iterations, and both Patrik and Simon provided invaluable feedback and critical perspectives that helped shape a user-friendly interface aligned with user needs. Eventually, the design underwent testing and numerous iterations to meet Simon’s and Patrik’s expectations.

All of these challenges were an exciting journey for me. This collaboration contributed to creating a better user experience and providing solutions that cater to the needs of the creative community.

I am pleased to have contributed to designing and helping realize the Creative Hub platform, which has significant potential to drive the growth and sustainability of the creative industry and empower creatives to reach their full potential.