Artinfo - Web development case study

About

About Artinfo

Artinfo is an art-center portal, operating since 2000. From the start, it has been the main source of information for collectors, art dealers, investors and art lovers. It has a vast archive containing all the necessary data about past auctions and their results. The artworks base exceeds 400,000 pieces.

More than just an information page, Artinfo is also a broker between auction houses and art lovers who wanted to take part in the auction. Bidding orders were received by phone, which generated a lot of work for the entire team.

Goal

The goal

We have always wanted to be an innovative company, stay the market leader and provide our clients with services at the highest level.

Observing what is happening on world markets, we decided to create an application that will bring a new quality to the world of art auctions.

Rafal Kamecki

Artinfo founder

Challenge

The challenge

Artinfo was a home for over thousands of data, much of it 10 years old, and the database was in MySQL.

We needed that data to create Artinfo Live, so we decided to migrate it all to more performant PostgreSQL database, rich with features.

Simultaneously, we also started the new web application development process. The requirements were clear, we had to create an easy-to-use platform for handling online real-time bidding during auctions. Consequently, the main challenges were stability and fast data processing.

MySQL

PostgreSQL

Solution

Some of the new Artinfo’s features

take part in real-time bidding and buy the artwork online
get instant access to the offers of many auction houses

check which artworks of your favorite artists are available
look through many online catalogues from different auction houses

create a list of your favorite artists (the Wishlist) and receive e-mail notifications when their artworks appear in auctions
select and observe interesting art pieces
check archived auction results

Ruby on Rails
(backend)

This mature framework allowed us to develop the core structure of the application.
Vue.js
(frontend)

We used this progressive javascript framework to develop the CMS, as well as employee, user and helper panels.
Elastic
(search engine)

We needed a fast and easy-to-configure search engine that will show real-time search results (artists, artworks or auction houses).

1

Ruby on Rails Developers
2

Vue.js Developers
3

UX/UI Designer
4

QA Engineer
5

Project Manager

Results

Other effects are:

The number of visitors on Artinfo website has increased.
More and more art enthusiasts are interested in buying art online.
The process of auction storing has been significantly optimized.
Artinfo can now easily monetize the archives and acquire new customers.
More and more artworks are sold for record prices.

Thanks to online bidding, participation in auctions has become much simpler, more convenient and attractive. Our clients do not have to come to Warsaw or any other Polish city to take part in the auction. What's more, they have permanent, unlimited access to all information from the world of art.

300
Over 300 auctions with online bidding a year

These are all auctions organized in Poland by 50 entities, including auction houses, galleries, associations, and foundations.
30%
Over 30% of all bidding orders are made via the application

Thanks to this, the Artinfo team receives significantly fewer calls during each auction.
100+
More than 100 people take part in each auction

For charity auctions, the number is even higher.
50%
Over 50% of traffic comes from mobile devices

Artinfo live has changed participation in auctions - now it can be done from home, the office, and even on commute.
75k
Over 75,000 unique users a month

Artinfo is an art-oriented website that attracts the largest number of people interested in the art market.
16k
Over 16,000 registered users

Customers actively take part in auctions, make wishlists with their favorite artists, and browse through all the news from the art world.
30k
Almost 30,000 registered artists

Artinfo is the biggest and most up-to-date artist database in Poland. It is the primary source of information for collectors and anyone interested in the art market.
25k €
The online bids amount exceed 25,000 €

Bidders trust this form of bidding, even at such high price levels.

Testimonial

Artinfo is a market leader and a trusted institution, so we work only with the best

Rafal Kamecki

Artinfo founder

I was looking for a reputable company at a high level of technological advancement. The project was demanding, and I need to be sure that my partner has enough resources, knowledge, and experience to deal with something of this magnitude. I chose Naturaily because they are professionals, and I am satisfied with this cooperation.

Opinions of Artinfo users are very positive, which is why I can safely say that we have succeeded.