App
Strategy
AI Concept
2025

Docent is the first mobile app powered by AI designed to help users discover and collect contemporary art in a personal and meaningful way. Initially focused on seasoned art collectors through a commission-based marketplace, the platform’s transactional model limited its scalability and broader appeal.

The Challenge

Reposition Docent around self-identity and personal discovery, and create something tangible to test whether this framing would resonate with users and investors before committing to full development.

The Approach

We designed an identity-led discovery flow that treated art exploration as a guided journey rather than a search task.

Users created an “Art ID” through AI, combining structured inputs with aspirational and emotional signals. Artist data and collections were then mapped to enable more meaningful matching, while personalised recommendations and feedback loops helped the system learn from both passive and active behaviour over time.

The experience was framed as a digital art advisor — encouraging return visits through insight, progression, and evolving taste profiles.

User Journey

4 Key Stages 

Concept Prototype

An AI-powered art discovery platform that helps people explore and collect art through personal identity, taste, and emotional connection — rather than price, popularity, or search.

The Output

We developed a proof of concept utilising a hybrid AI model that integrates LLMs, expert heuristics, and human intuition.

Results:

• 📈 +30% improvement in explanation quality
  
• 🎯 +7% uplift in recommendation relevance
  
• 💬 Early investor interest following prototype demos