App Showcase: Smartist

What it does

Smartist is a powerful tool designed for artists, gallerists, and interior designers to create high-quality, realistic mockups of artwork in various settings. Users can upload their art, place it in a wide variety of pre-designed rooms, or even upload their own photos to create custom interiors. The app leverages AI to automatically generate titles, descriptions, and tags for artwork, aiming to streamline the entire process of showcasing and cataloging creative work.

Where it shines

Smartist excels in its ability to combine powerful features with a simple, intuitive interface. The AI-powered autofill for artwork details (01:51) is a standout feature, saving creators immense time by generating compelling titles and descriptions from an image alone. This makes the often tedious task of cataloging work feel effortless.

Another major strength is the custom interior feature (04:59). Instead of being limited to stock photos, users can upload an image of any room, define the wall plane, and set real-world dimensions. This allows for truly personalized mockups, helping artists and clients visualize art in a specific, real-life context. Finally, the level of customization for frames, mats, and layouts (06:08) provides granular control, ensuring the final mockup perfectly matches the artist's vision.

UX highlights

• AI as a time-saver: At 01:51, the app automatically populates title, description, and tag fields, turning a manual chore into a quick review process.
• Contextual tooltips: The app uses just-in-time animated tooltips (00:59, 01:34, 02:53) to teach key features within the user's workflow, avoiding disruptive upfront tutorials.
• Granular customization: Users have detailed control over mockups, including frame color, frame size, mat color, and mat size, all adjusted with simple sliders (06:08).
• Custom environments: The flow for creating an interior from a user's own photo is streamlined into three easy steps: select wall, set dimensions, and pick a shadow (05:08).
• Multi-artwork layouts: The app offers various grid layouts (06:35) to showcase multiple pieces in a single mockup, useful for displaying a series or collection.
• Flexible export options: The export screen (03:01) provides pre-sized formats for social media like Instagram Stories and posts (1:1, 4:5), simplifying the sharing process.

Monetization & growth

The app uses a hard paywall strategy. After a quick social login, the user is immediately presented with a subscription screen at 00:31. Access to the app's core functionality is entirely gated behind this paywall. The screen presents three recurring plans (Annual, Monthly, Weekly) and emphasizes the savings of the annual plan with a "Best Offer" tag and a price-per-week breakdown. A prominent toggle allows users to opt into a 7-day free trial, which reduces the initial barrier to commitment. The app also features a referral program (07:55) where both the referrer and the new user get 14 days of Pro access, encouraging viral growth.

Who it’s for

Smartist is clearly built for creative professionals. The primary audience includes visual artists who need to showcase their work online or to clients. Gallerists and curators can use it to plan exhibitions or create marketing materials. Interior designers and art advisors can also leverage the custom interior feature to show clients how specific pieces will look in their homes. Essentially, it's for anyone who needs to bridge the gap between a digital image of an artwork and its physical presence in a real-world space.

Notes & opportunities

The immediate, hard paywall could be a point of friction for users who want to test the app's functionality before committing, even to a free trial. Allowing a user to create one watermarked mockup before hitting the paywall could potentially increase conversion by providing a tangible 'aha!' moment first. Additionally, the process of editing artwork details after creation requires a few taps through a menu (03:48). A more direct 'edit' button on the main artwork view could streamline this common action.