Work / The Drawing Arcade
Structure without pressure.
A station-based workshop that gives beginner artists a way in, building confidence and community without losing the free-form spirit of the events it was designed for.
About The Project
Draw Around Vancouver (DAV) is a grassroots art collective that hosts inclusive weekly drawing events, open to people of all skill levels. The sessions are deliberately open-ended, and that freedom is exactly what makes some beginners hesitant. With no structure to follow, it is easy to feel self-conscious and hard to tell whether you are improving.
Over three months, our team of six worked with DAV to find where that friction sits and what to do about it. We ran field observations, interviews, and participatory workshops, then designed a solution that makes creative expression more welcoming without flattening the free-form character of the events. The project was completed for a senior-level Interaction Design course at Simon Fraser University.
My role: I shaped the research direction, synthesized the user insights the team designed against, co-developed the workshop activities, and owned client communication with DAV throughout the project.
Research & Opportunities
We opened with a discovery phase built on four methods, each chosen to catch something the others would miss: competitive analysis, ethnographic observation, user interviews, and firsthand participation.
Ethnographic Observation
We attended DAV events and watched in context, tracking participant demographics, event flow, and behavioral patterns. Observing rather than asking surfaced what people do not think to report: where engagement quietly dropped off, how social groups formed, and the small moments of friction that went on to shape our design direction.
User Interviews
We interviewed 13 participants, one volunteer, and one facilitator, covering the event from the attendee, helper, and organizer side. Consistent themes came back around what motivates people to show up, how they perceive DAV, and where accessibility and engagement break down.
Firsthand Participation
I took part in DAV activities myself rather than only documenting them. Sitting in as a participant made the emotional side of the journey concrete in a way observation alone did not, particularly the self-consciousness beginners carry into a shared creative space.
User Insights
We turned the research into personas and journey maps so the team could design against specific people instead of an average user. Three primary personas emerged:
Key Pain Points
- Lack of structure: beginners felt overwhelmed by the open-ended format, which made it difficult to build confidence or track progress.
- Limited community connection: the event format had no activities that actively foster belonging or peer support.
- Retention barriers: the first two problems compounded. With neither structure nor connection pulling people back, repeat attendance suffered and DAV's long-term growth was capped.
Concept Directions
We explored three ideas against those pain points:
- Beginner-friendly instruction handbook: a guide to help first-timers navigate events with confidence.
- Community art platform: an online space for sharing work and staying connected between sessions.
- Icebreaker pamphlet: a facilitator toolkit for structured, low-pressure social activities.
View Storyboard Visualizations
We created storyboards illustrating how each persona would interact with our proposed solutions during a typical DAV session.
Design & Testing
We ran participatory workshops with people from a range of drawing backgrounds to pressure-test how feasible the three concepts actually were. Four themes came back consistently:
- Sessions ran short: participants wanted longer drawing time to settle into the work.
- No guidance on hand: people wanted references and direction available during the session, not afterwards.
- Technique went unexplained: participants wanted the how and why behind a technique, explained in more depth.
- Fear of judgment: a shared worry about being seen, sitting underneath all three of the themes above.
Those findings, set alongside the competitive analysis and stakeholder alignment, settled the design direction. We prioritized structured, low-pressure activities that matched DAV's inclusive philosophy rather than replacing it.
Project Outcomes
Qualitative feedback from stakeholders and participants was strongly positive. DAV adopted The Drawing Arcade's station structure into their beginner-focused classes.
The Drawing Arcade
The final design is a station-based workshop that changes how participants enter a session. Four stations cover the drawing fundamentals the research pointed to, and people move between them at their own pace, which keeps DAV's free-form spirit intact while giving beginners something to hold onto.
View Final Activity Stations
Station 1: Shape Detective (shape learning)
Participants deconstruct everyday objects into basic shapes through a Mystery Box Challenge and simplified sketching with translucent dividers.
Alternate: Shape the Body Part
Breaking down human body parts into basic shapes using cutouts and carbon transfer sheets.
Station 2: Light Explorer (shading)
Observing how light interacts with still-life objects, experimenting with hatching, cross-hatching, and smudging techniques.
Alternate: Light Explorer (Figure)
Exploring lighting on a mannequin's face to prepare for life drawing sessions.
Station 3: Square It Up (proportion and perspective)
Using transparent grid overlays to break down complex compositions into manageable sections.
Alternate: Perspective Drawing
Carbon sheets with perspective guides for creating original scenes.
Station 4: Coffee Corner (socialization)
A relaxed space for sharing artwork, giving feedback via sticky notes, and collaborative Exquisite Corpse activities.
Concept Renders
3D renders visualizing the spatial flow and atmosphere of The Drawing Arcade in DAV's typical setting.
Reflection
The most useful thing I took from this project is that UX is not always about handing people step-by-step instructions. Sometimes the job is to create the conditions where people can explore and build confidence at their own pace.
The Drawing Arcade taught me how to balance structure with freedom, which matters most when you are designing for people who already doubt their own ability. It deepened my interest in creative tools and environments that leave people feeling supported, curious, and capable.
Key Takeaways
- Communicate early and often: designing in a silo limits perspective. Keeping stakeholders, users, and the team aligned throughout was what kept the work honest.
- Stay user-centered: grounding every decision in research is what made the outcome resonate with real people rather than with our assumptions.
- Respect constraints: designing inside the client's operational realities is the difference between a concept and something DAV can actually run.