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ARUDIO - E-learning for Ceramic Arts

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Organisation Transformation Grant Case Study

ARUDIO - E-learning for Ceramic Arts

Project Overview

ARUDIO is an art studio specialising in ceramic workshops. It has two locations offering beginner-friendly classes. During COVID-19, ARUDIO launched an e-learning platform to offer on-demand digital courses along with a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) ceramics kit sent to clients’ homes, expanding its revenue streams and learning options for its clients.

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Challenge

Like many arts organisations, ARUDIO experienced a decline in workshop attendance during COVID-19 due to safe management measures which impacted their revenues significantly. Before the pandemic, ARUDIO had already been seeing a demand for e-learning. It is popular because it can be accessed anytime by people on their mobile devices. People can learn at their own pace, and in their own environment.

The Vision

ARUDIO recognised that ceramic arts is a niche market, and hence made it its goal to  promote the art and associated skill sets to a wider audience. It set out to offer free digital courses to attract sign ups, with paid options made available to engaged users.

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Outcomes in a Nutshell

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21 online course videos and trailers created

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E-learning platform launched

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DIY ceramics kit created

Impact

With teaser video tutorials on its social media channels, ARUDIO’s online reach through its combined social media platforms increased ninefold. The studio sees its e-learning platform, which brings the art to the masses and creates job opportunities for local artists, as a way of supporting the local arts community. ARUDIO intends to bring more artists onto the e-learning platform. 

3-2-1 Learnings

“Break down the work into simpler steps. Try out different techniques.”

3 Must-Dos

Things you must absolutely get right

  • Plan project milestones meticulously. ARUDIO planned in detail, identifying everything from timelines to technical requirements of the e-learning platform, story-boarding for video shoots, platform stress-testing, and promotional campaigns.
  • Do regular progress checks to make sure deliverables are on track. When unforeseen circumstances arise, be ready to improvise and adapt.
  • Manage and meet user expectations. Respond and adjust according to user suggestions to create a better product that users can enjoy. ARUDIO took in user feedback and redesigned their e-learning pricing structure and subscription model according to their preferences.

2 Do-Next

Critical next steps to sustain the effort

  • Market to the right audience. ARUDIO is ramping up collaborations with e-magazine companies to promote the brand to niche groups of audience.
  • Look out for trends on social media and create new lessons according to trending or seasonal topics (durian bowl, sake cups, artisanal vase etc.). ARUDIO is looking at working with local TikTok content creators to reach new audiences.

1 Do-Differently

What they wished they had done differently from the start

  • Allocate more time for editing after the video shoots. ARUDIO would have done the shoot earlier to give more time for the post-production editing which requires a lot of attention to detail. The editing is just as important as the shoot. 

 

Challenge

ARUDIO is an art studio specialising in ceramic workshops. It has been offering accessible, beginner-friendly classes since 2014. It operates 2 studios offering in-person workshops for individuals and corporate clients. Like many arts organisations, ARUDIO saw a decline in workshop attendance during COVID-19 due to safe management measures, which impacted their revenues significantly. It was then that some of ARUDIO’s clients suggested to the studio to run online workshops. 

Before the pandemic, ARUDIO had already been seeing a demand for e-learning. It is popular because it can be accessed anytime by people on their mobile devices. People can learn at their own pace, and in their own environment. However, there was no such platform for ceramic arts.

 

The Vision

ARUDIO recognises that ceramic arts is a niche market, and hence made it its goal to promote ceramic arts to a wider audience and to grow the community. To achieve this goal, it created an e-learning platform. It offered free digital courses to attract sign ups, with paid options made available to engaged users. ARUDIO aimed to bring new skill sets and the passion for ceramics to a varied audience, including children, working adults and retirees.

The e-learning platform was also ARUDIO’s way of supporting the local arts community. “It brings art to the masses and provides job opportunities for local artists,” said Poh Sin Yong, the founder of ARUDIO. ARUDIO intends to bring more artists to the e-learning platform. 

 

The Journey

Discovery. Learning-by-Doing. Overcoming Challenges.


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Product

ARUDIO aimed to release at least 20 online courses and add more progressively. The courses come with Do-It-Yourself (DIY) clay-making kits that are sent to clients’ homes.

ARUDIO worked with Unleash Production on video production, and with Pixelrice Digital on the Learning Management System (LMS) platform and marketing strategies. Poh oversaw the production of video content and the launch of the learning management platform. Dana Choo, ARUDIO’s marketing and content strategist, co-produced video content with a freelance videographer. 

 

Process

The team meticulously planned the project milestones. They started by doing an in-depth study of the mechanics and the set-up of the e-learning platform. They also had discussions to determine the frequency of in-house video productions, the learning materials required, and the visual presentation of the website. They produced the video content while waiting for the platforms to be ready. They stress-tested the e-learning platform with the complete set of video courses before soft-launching learn.arudioceramic.com with 21 digital courses, accompanied by promotional outreach on social media.

 

Reflections

By the time the e-learning platform was set up, the COVID-19 situation had improved and restrictions on workshops had eased. The ARUDIO team feels that the digital transformation is nevertheless a success as their clients have more options for class now. “We’ve managed to launch a new platform to give our audience a new experience,” said Poh. “Our users have the option to work on ceramic art from home or with us in the workshop.”

Although the pickup rate was slow at the start, there was demand. Clients said that they were interested in doing workshops from home. Existing clients also supported their online channel. With time, the community will grow. ARUDIO believes that offering online workshops alongside physical ones will reduce operational costs of space and labour in the long run. 

“We took great pride in transforming small video clips and sample tutorial videos into a full-fledged learning platform with 21 videos,” reflected Poh. “The video assets are great for showcasing our workshops to the community and the public.”

 

 

This project has been supported by NAC's Organisation Transformation Grant. For more information and resources on NAC's grant schemes, please visit: https://www.nac.gov.sg/ 

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