Walking the streets of central Barcelona, the strength of the artisanal sector is immediately apparent, not only as a pillar of the local economy but as a cornerstone of the city's cultural identity. Barcelona's artisans produce truly distinctive, high-craftsmanship pieces that reflect centuries of tradition. Yet the sector faces mounting pressure: a growing supply of artisanal goods, waning consumer demand, and a flood of cheaper industrial imitations that threaten to undercut genuine craftsmanship.

For our final project, we set out to design and validate a digital product that addresses a real-world problem faced by Barcelona's artisanal sector, a field rich in cultural and economic significance yet increasingly squeezed by industrial competition and shifting consumer demand. The project required us to execute the full UX lifecycle: uncovering and understanding the core problem through user research, developing a viable business and product strategy, and ultimately delivering a fully designed digital product alongside a functional MVP validated with real users, all within a realistic business context.

Our approach leveraged Design Thinking and Lean UX methodologies throughout the project lifecycle. During the empathy phase, we conducted ethnographic fieldwork, directly observing and interviewing artisans in their working environments. By the conclusion of our research, we gathered insights from approximately 50 artisans across Barcelona. Our findings revealed a consistent profile: highly talented and creative individuals who nevertheless face significant business challenges and feel undervalued by both customers and the broader public. Two critical needs emerged from the interviews: 1. Increased visibility: a mechanism to amplify the reach and recognition of artisanal work. 2. Public education: a process to reconnect consumers with the inherent value of genuine craftsmanship. Conversely, customer interviews uncovered a revealing insight: while consumers perceive artisanal products as expensive, they demonstrated willingness to pay premium prices, provided they receive meaningful engagement with the maker's process and have opportunities for hands-on involvement in creating their purchase. These dual insights formed the foundation of our solution direction: a platform that bridges artisans and consumers through transparency, storytelling, and participatory experiences that justify premium pricing while restoring dignity and visibility to the craft profession.

After exploring multiple conceptual directions, we finalized our value proposition through iterative Lean Canvas analysis. The result is Sloyd: Learning with Your Hands, a web platform connecting consumers directly with local artisans for interactive craft education. Sloyd enables users to discover and enroll in artisanal courses offered by makers within their community. Sessions are conducted exclusively in live formats either in-person or online, to preserve authentic human connection between instructors and participants. Students gain hands-on mastery of the craft process while learning about the artisan behind the work. Instructors, meanwhile, share their expertise while receiving creative inspiration and fresh perspectives from their students. Beyond its educational mission, Sloyd delivers tangible commercial benefits: 1. Market Expansion: Artisans gain access to a broader customer base beyond traditional foot traffic. 2. Revenue Diversification: Courses represent a secondary, and potentially significant, income stream alongside product sales. 3. Lower Barrier to Entry: The platform simplifies course creation and marketing, removing technical and logistical friction for makers. By aligning economic incentives with cultural preservation, Sloyd creates a sustainable model that elevates artisanal crafts while addressing the sector's core challenges of visibility, valuation, and financial viability.

The Sloyd concept was fully designed, prototyped, and validated with real artisans from Barcelona, yielding strong positive reception from both makers and prospective users. The project was also formally presented to the Federation of Artisans and the Commerce Consortium of Barcelona, with whom we maintained ongoing collaboration and feedback loops throughout the development process. Acknowledgments This project would not have been possible without the contributions of our team: Oscar Preciado and Shirin Rahman, whose collaboration and dedication shaped every stage of the work. Special thanks also to our advisor Xavi Cardet for his guidance and mentorship throughout the project.