I went to the Affordable Art Fair in Midtown over the weekend, and talked with a number of galleries about how they are using the iPad to improve their business. Over this week I’ll be writing about what I learned from each gallery about the pros and cons of the iPad in the gallery setting.
ArtStar showcases original works as well as limited-edition prints, and everything is sold through their website. I met and spoke with Creative Director Richard Hendricks about the gallery’s use of the iPad at the AAF. Their iPad was set up to browse their company website, so users could see their whole catalog–which allowed the gallery to showcase everything, not just what they could fit on the wall at the fair. They even had an Apple keyboard hooked up to the iPad, for extra ease of use.
Their use of the website to display the art, instead of using a photo gallery with images stored on the iPad, meant browsing could be a little slow depending on the strength of the cellphone signal. However it did allow ArtStart to control the interface and navigation in a way that’s not possible with the built-in photo gallery.
ArtStar was also using the iPad to collect credit card payments on the spot, using a Square.