AI Latam Case Study – Pablo Espinosa

Responsive website - UX Research and Design case study

The Centre for Latin American AI Art, AI Latam, showcases the work of Latin American artists and their practices using AI in diverse and innovative ways. Artists, curators, and humanities scholars can find information about AI art made in Latin America or by Latin American artists, as well as tools to make AI-generated content, and academic resources focused on artmaking, creativity, and the ethics of AI.

The Problem

Latin American artists are underrepresented in the global AI art scene and there are no resources and platforms dedicated to showcasing their work. Spanish-language resources related to AI art are scarce, hindering accessibility and knowledge sharing for Spanish-speaking audiences.

The Solution

This led me to create a website that acts as a resource hub dedicated to showcasing and celebrating Latin American AI artists and their work as well as Spanish-language content and resources. The Centre aims to foster a community and facilitate knowledge exchange among artists and researcher

Research and discovery

I conducted a thorough analysis of existing AI art platforms and resources, identifying gaps in representation and accessibility for Latin American artists. This research confirmed the first supposition, namely that there are no Spanish-language resources and very little representation of Latin American AI artists online.

I researched the specific needs and challenges faced by Latin American AI artists and Spanish-speaking audiences by conducting in-depth interviews.

The interviews revealed two main pain points

Difficulties to find up-to-date, relevant and clear resources to learn and use the tools.

Limited opportunities for collaboration outside of local communities.

The design phase

The first step was to create the information architecture of the website. A three-part navigation flows and filtering options was included right from the start – An Artists section that showcases AI-generated art and artists, a Resources section for academic and other resources, and a Tools sections with AI art tools. While numerous online resources already discuss AI art tools, I recognized their integral role in the artistic process and the potential language barrier for Spanish-speaking users.A fourth section, Join, was created after receiving feedback from potential users. In this section, interested artists or researchers can more actively participate by sending their contact details and contribute to the website’s contents. This makes for a more interactive and co-curated site.

The next step was to create the wireframes for the main pages.

Mobile version wireframes

Desktop version wireframes

Testing and validation

I tested the website on multiple browsers and screen sizes and conducted an unmoderated usability test with three participants.

Three elements stood out:

Links

Some links in the Homepage were distracting and made the main user flows confusing.

Filtering

Filtering capabilities too limited.

Styling

The style of buttons and filtering labels confused some of the participants.

High fidelity mockups

Design elements

Each of the sections is clearly differentiated by the colour of its components, allowing the user to unambiguously and immediately identify where they’re at. This endows the colours with a semantic as well as an aesthetic dimension.
Active filter is highlighted using its negative colour, allowing the user to identify and change it easily.

Accessibility considerations

Semantically and hierarchically structured HTML pages.
High-contrast colours.
A big enough font size.

Outcomes and next steps

The project received positive feedback from users on the website’s design, content, and functionality.

Expanding the artist database, adding more interactive features, and developing the search functionality are possible future enhancements to the website.

Collaboration with artists, developers, and institutions to further develop the platform and foster a thriving Latin American AI art community is essential to continue growing the project.