Building the first digital home for sculpture.
I founded Ignia after identifying a category that existing art platforms had never designed around. I defined the business proposition, marketplace model, product roadmap, brand and market entry, taking the venture from its initial opportunity to an active beta with registered artists, completed user testing and growing organic interest.
Opportunity
Sculpture was online, but the experience was not designed around it.
General art platforms treat sculpture as one category among many. Flat images and standard product pages make it difficult to understand scale, volume, material and the relationship between a work and its surroundings.
Research with artists and collectors confirmed two connected needs: artists wanted greater control over presentation and commercial conditions, while collectors needed more context, understanding and confidence before considering a purchase.
Photography alone cannot communicate the complete physical presence of a sculpture.
Artists need stronger presentation, clearer attribution and fairer participation in the transaction.
Collectors need context, authenticity and a clearer understanding of the work before committing.
Strategy and product
I turned the category opportunity into a marketplace strategy and product model.
Ignia was designed as a curated marketplace in which the specific qualities of sculpture shape the complete experience. The model connects artists, collectors and galleries through specialised discovery, stronger presentation, purchasing, authenticity and educational context.
Defined how artists, collectors and galleries participate and receive value.
Prioritised the capabilities required to launch, test and develop the beta.
Connected business goals, artist needs and collector confidence within one coherent product.
Defined artist acquisition, onboarding, beta positioning and the initial communication strategy.
Product
A working product built around the needs of sculpture.
The active beta brings together a curated marketplace, artist profiles, onboarding, secure purchasing, 3D viewing, digital authenticity certificates and educational content.
Curated marketplace.
A focused environment where sculpture can be discovered as a category in its own right.
Artist participation.
A structured way for artists to present their practice, work and supporting information.
3D viewing.
A richer understanding of volume, form and material.
Secure purchasing.
A considered transaction experience for acquiring art.
Digital authenticity.
Clear documentation of authorship, provenance and ownership.
Educational content.
Accessible guidance that helps people approach sculpture with confidence.
Evidence and next stage
The venture has moved from concept to market evidence.
Functional beta with the core marketplace experience in place.
Usability testing completed and incorporated into product decisions.
Registered artists participating in the platform.
Direct feedback and growing organic interest through social channels.
Ignia is live in active beta, has completed user testing and already has registered artists. Direct feedback from artists and collectors is shaping the product, while its social presence is generating growing organic interest around the proposition.
The next stage is focused on strengthening artist activation, catalogue quality and collector purchase confidence.
Current priorities: Artist activation · Catalogue development · Collector confidence · Marketplace growth.
Next case
Defining a configurable platform to control the complete waste journey.
Bezeroo presented a different leadership challenge. Instead of creating a category from zero, the work required building one coherent product model across regulation, operations, finance and multiple professional roles.
Explore Bezeroo