A System Derived From the Paintings, Not Imposed on Them
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| 🏷️ Status | Complete |
| 📅 Project | Hwang Yoo-Yup · Digital Legacy Platform |
| 🚩 Phase | Design |
| 🧩 Input | 3 user flows · validated IA · personas & project goals |
| 📦 Output | Design system (palette · type · components) · lo→mid→hi-fi wireframes · two thematic systems · interaction spec · accessibility approach |
Design took the validated flows and information architecture and resolved them into screens through a lo-fi → mid-fi → hi-fi progression. The governing constraint was set early: every visual decision had to signal archival authority, not gallery commerce.
The visual language was derived from the work, not imposed on it. Hwang painted in deep earth tones and thick tojŏng surfaces, so the system was built from the same register — a deep burgundy ground, warm off-white text instead of clinical white, restrained type, and minimal motion. A site that wrapped his paintings in bright accents would have contradicted the work before a visitor read a word.
Two distinct thematic systems were built, and keeping them separate is what makes the platform legible:
The system. The palette is drawn from the artist's technique — deep burgundy #390609 ground, warm off-white #F0EBE0 text, and a zone color gradient that darkens Formation → Ritual to map the exhibition's emotional arc spatially. Typography pairs an inscription-like italic serif wordmark with restrained all-caps navigation (active state underline-only, no color shift). Korean and English appear at equal weight throughout — the artist's cultural context is not subordinated. Components include the Journey timeline cards, Exhibition zone cards, the tojŏng radar, image-first work cards, the progressive-disclosure accordion, and the two-column artwork-detail layout that "opens visually but reads as a complete scholarly record."
The two-system synthesis. Research surfaced recurring imagery; the deeper interpretive distillation (five recurring motifs → three thematic pillars) became the Exhibition Plan's curatorial spine, while the Motifs section catalogs the recurring subjects and the tojŏng technique directly. The Section↔Zone relationship diagram cross-maps pillars to zones bidirectionally — the strongest single demonstration of systems thinking in the case study.
Accessibility — designed toward WCAG 2.1 AA, audit pending. Real, defensible choices are already in place: warm off-white text rather than pure white for comfortable (non-harsh) contrast; progressive disclosure to reduce cognitive load; equal-weight bilingual text; restrained, low-motion interactions; and always-visible filter and selection state. Named next steps — not yet claimed as met — are formal contrast verification across the mid-tone surfaces (Earth Red, Terracotta, Dusty Mauve, Taupe), descriptive alt text for every artwork, visible keyboard focus indicators on dark backgrounds, prefers-reduced-motion support, and a full accessibility audit. No conformance is claimed until that audit is complete.
[PLACEHOLDER — design system showcase + two-system diagram (Exhibition Plan pillars↔zones · Motifs subjects + radar)]
Hwang Yoo-Yup · Digital Legacy Platform · UX Case Study · 2025