Crafting Trust Through UX: Designing the Luxury Collectible Assets Management Application
As the Product Designer for Vault, I led the end-to-end design of a secure digital platform that enables collectors to catalog, track, and protect their most valuable assets — including fine art, watches, jewelry, rare wines, and classic cars.
My role covered the full product design lifecycle: user research, persona development, user flow mapping, wireframing, high-fidelity prototyping, and microcopy design. I also established the visual identity, style guide, and brand voice, ensuring the product communicated the discretion and exclusivity expected by private clients.
Challenge
UHNW collectors face a fragmented ecosystem when it comes to managing their assets.
Collectors with significant assets face an increasingly complex and fragmented ecosystem for managing their valuables. Documentation and records are scattered across galleries, insurers, storage facilities, spreadsheets, and personal assistants.
Existing digital tools fail to meet their expectations — they are generic, visually cluttered, and designed for mass-market users, offering little sense of discretion or exclusivity. In addition, security and privacy are under-communicated, leaving collectors hesitant to entrust sensitive data to digital platforms.
The challenge was to design Vault as a complete digital product that addresses these pain points by providing:
A secure, biometric-first environment for managing sensitive information.
Clarity and structure for organizing diverse collectibles across categories and locations.
A luxury-grade experience that instills trust and matches the expectations of private clients.
Methodology
Research & Definition
Key Competitors
Collectr is a mobile-first app designed for collectors of trading cards and modern collectibles. It emphasizes portfolio management, valuation trends, and a vibrant marketplace for peer-to-peer sales. Its appeal lies in the community-driven features and ease of cataloging cards with real-time pricing data.
Artlogic is a long-standing platform tailored to galleries, museums, and serious art collectors. It offers professional-grade collection management tools including cataloging, CRM integration, invoicing, and inventory tracking. Artlogic is seen as a business solution for art institutions, less so for individual luxury collectors.
Koillection is an open-source, flexible cataloging software that allows users to manage any type of collection — from stamps and coins to wine or art. It appeals to advanced hobbyists and small collectors who value customization and control, but lacks the polish and luxury branding that affluent users typically expect.
Comparison Summary Table
Insights
Collectr
Strong in valuation tracking and community engagement but feels too mass-market for UHNW collectors.
Artlogic
Provides institutional-grade tools but can overwhelm private individuals seeking elegance and simplicity.
Koillection
Offers flexibility and breadth but lacks polish, exclusivity, and the sense of luxury branding.
Opportunity for Vault
Position as the exclusive, security-first, luxury-grade alternative — combining Artlogic’s provenance rigor with Collectr’s valuation insights, wrapped in the elegant, concierge-style UX that Koillection lacks.
Market Size & Segmentation
Global collectible assets market: ~$1.5T (art, wine, watches, cars, jewelry).
Digital collectible management apps projected to grow at 15–20% CAGR.
User Interviews
Semi-Structured Protocol
8 interviews with collectors, advisors, and family office staff.
Goals: trust, onboarding efficiency, data visibility.
Research Questions
How do you currently track collectibles?
What frustrates you about existing tools?
What role does privacy play?
"My advisor and personal assistant handle that. They use a a mix of spreadsheets, gallery reports, and insurance files, but nothing is really centralized."
"They’re either too clunky and corporate, or too casual. Nothing feels tailored - I just want one secure place where everything is organized for me."
"Privacy is non-negotiable. My assets are part of my family legacy. If I don’t fully trust the platform’s discretion, I won’t use it."
User Insight Synthesis
Thematic Clusters
Insight Summary Table
Key Takeaway
Collectors don’t want to manage their assets - they want to feel in control. A secure, elegant app gives them instant awareness of what they own, where it is, and what it’s worth - while staff handle the administration behind the scenes.Collectors don’t want to manage their assets. They want to feel in control. A secure, elegant app gives them instant awareness of what they own, where it is, and what it’s worth, while staff handle the administration behind the scenes.
Ideation & Strategy
Personas
"As a private collector, I want a secure and elegant way to view all of my assets in one place so that I can feel confident and in control without needing to ask my advisor or assistant for updates."
Persona:
The Precision Collector
Lifestyle: Travels constantly between New York, London, and Dubai. Collects watches, rare wines, and contemporary art.
Behavior: His family office staff enter data, but he wants quick mobile access to see valuation trends and storage locations.
Goals
Clear snapshot of asset categories and total value.
Alerts when valuations shift or insurance renewals are due.
Pain Points
Current systems are fragmented and require asking staff for reports.
Market updates arrive late, often via PDFs.
Needs from Vault
Mobile dashboard with daily asset overview.
Real-time valuation and discreet alerts.
Persona:
The Legacy Curator
Lifestyle: Owns fine art, jewelry, and heritage antiques, with assets spread across multiple residences and storage facilities.
Behavior: Delegates cataloging to a trusted personal assistant, but personally checks Vault on his iPad to know where each piece is stored.
Goals
Peace of mind knowing every item is accounted for.
Ability to grant limited access to heirs, advisors, or insurers.
Pain Points
Spreadsheets and galleries don’t integrate.
Feels dependent on staff for basic answers
(“Where is this piece right now?”).
Needs from Vault
Location-first view of the collection.
Role-based permissions for family and advisors.
Persona:
The Global Enthusiast
Lifestyle: Splits time between Miami, Geneva, and Singapore. Collection includes supercars, rare watches, and digital NFTs.
Behavior: Her advisor tracks insurance and valuations, but she checks the app herself daily for a sense of control and identity.
Goals
One consolidated space for both physical and digital collectibles.
Elegant, mobile-first design that feels as premium as the assets he owns.
Pain Points
Current apps are either too “enterprise” or too “hobbyist.”
NFT platforms and art databases aren’t connected.
Needs from Vault
Cross-category view spanning art, cars, watches, and NFTs.
Sleek, editorial UI with luxury tone.
User Journeys
Happy Paths & Edge Cases
Happy Path 1:
Owner Onboarding
Collector downloads app → sees splash screen.
Creates account with minimal details.
Verifies identity via email → sets up Face ID.
Selects categories (Art, Watches, Cars, NFTs).
Adds or skips storage locations.
Success screen → vault ready → summary dashboard displayed.
Happy Path 1:
Assistant Cataloging
Assistant logs in with delegated access.
Adds artwork + provenance docs.
Assigns storage location + insurance policy.
Collector later opens app → sees asset listed in read-only dashboard.
Edge Case 1:
Collector refuses to share personal data
Risk: Drop-off at onboarding.
Solution: “Skip for now” options and reassurance microcopy (“All data stays encrypted and under your control.”).
Edge Case 2:
Assistant enters incomplete data
Risk: Dashboard feels inaccurate.
Solution: Progressive disclosure (placeholder tags: “Pending valuation,” “Storage not assigned”).
Edge Case 3:
Multiple advisors with conflicting edits
Risk: Overwrites / confusion.
Solution: Role-based permissions + activity log.
User Journey Maps
Journey Map 1: Collector (Owner Oversight)
User Journey Maps
Journey Map 2: Assistant (Delegated Manager)
Execution & Testing
Brand Voice & Visual Identity
Tone: Sophisticated, discreet, editorial.
The logo was crafted to mirror the collectibles world itself — combining architecture, automotive design, horology, and materials engineering into a single visual identity that communicates trust, exclusivity, and permanence.
The Vault palette combines timeless neutrals with regal violet accents to balance discretion, trust, and luxury. The grayscale range reflects strength and clarity, evoking the permanence of steel and the calm precision of a vault, while the purple and violet tones signal exclusivity, prestige, and refinement — historically associated with royalty. Used sparingly as highlights, these accents elevate key interactions without overwhelming the interface, ensuring the overall design feels both secure and sophisticated, perfectly aligned with the world of rare and valuable collections.
Microcopy Exploration
Onboarding & Security
“Exclusivity begins with security.”
“Your privacy, safeguarded.”
“Only you hold the key.”
“Face ID ensures instant, private access.”
Category & Collection Setup
“Choose the treasures you wish to catalog.”
“Every collection is unique — tailor your vault to yours.”
“You can refine or expand categories at any time.”
“From art to automobiles, all your assets belong here.”
Storage & Location Setup
“Where are your pieces safeguarded?”
“Track assets across homes, vaults, and exhibitions.”
“Location unassigned — update when ready.”
“Your vault adapts as your collection moves.”
Dashboard / Read-Only States
“Pending valuation — update in progress.”
“Storage not assigned — collector verification required.”
“Provenance uploaded — awaiting review.”
“This item is visible, details remain in progress.”
User Flows
Happy paths.
Edge case.
Wireframing
Design Summary
With strategy and wireframes in place, the next step was to bring the experience to life through high-fidelity design and iterative testing. This stage focused on translating concepts into tangible prototypes, validating flows with users, and refining the product to align with collectors’ expectations of security, elegance, and ease of use.
Prototypes
Onboarding Flow
Client Dashboard
NEXT STEPS
Workflow Integration & Launch
Finalize MVP → lock onboarding flow, dashboards, and security features.
Partnerships → connect with insurers, galleries, and storage providers.
Integrate with Advisors → enable delegated access for family offices and assistants.
Go-to-Market → launch premium subscription model with concierge add-ons.
Beta Testing → private release with select collectors for feedback.