Known almost exclusively for its e-commerce business, Art.com wanted to create an app that would update their brand by offering users a rich, experiential app. The company wanted to use its incredible image collection of more than 1.2 million works of art to engage customers, allow for deeper experiences with the art itself, and reach a younger demographic of users. artCircles takes you on an epic journey through the world’s most inspiring art collection. Anchored by a clever filtering system (literally comprised of interrelated circles), the app allows you to easily discover classic, current, and little known works of art by viewing images inspired by curators, like Yves Behar; colors, from cyan to cocoliquot; or words, from "wanderlust" to "ethereal." Deep social integration lets users tag their favorite art images and share favorite pieces with friends. Each of the 19 curator collections is accompanied by a recorded message or voiceover that plays while a slideshow of images appears on the iPad. Hot Studio partnered with Art.com on the app’s concept, user experience and interface design, naming and visual identity, and engineering and integration.

Online retailer Art.com wanted to shake up its established brand experience and reach younger users with its first iPad app. Looking for fresh perspective and tablet expertise, Art.com came to Hot Studio. Hot led an expansive concepting phase that considered numerous approaches and feature sets. A corresponding product strategy process helped define how a tablet strategy would integrate with Art.com’s existing product offerings and business goals. The detailed preliminary work ultimately yielded a novel concept, artCircles, a new app that offers an intuitive way of exploring and engaging Art.com’s vast catalogue. Kickoff: April 2011 Launch: February 2012