The Art of Commerce: Scaling Loha, Qatar’s First Digital Art Marketplace

In Qatar’s rapidly growing digital marketplace, access to curated artwork through local mobile platforms was virtually non-existent. Loha set out to change that by providing an intuitive e-commerce mobile app that enables users to explore, preview, and purchase digital art, photography, and oil paintings. Simultaneously, it empowers operational stakeholders through a dynamic web dashboard to streamline end-to-end order and content management.

Loha – E-Commerce Artwork Platform (Commissioned by a Private Client)
Loha is a Qatar-based platform designed to make purchasing art as effortless and experiential as buying fashion online. With a focus on user immersion, artist exposure, and logistical precision, Loha integrates a full-stack solution that includes a consumer-facing mobile app and a multi-role administrative dashboard

• Immersive Art Preview
  Users can visualize any artwork on a selection of room backgrounds, with adjustable frame sizes and colors for a near-realistic shopping experience.
• Full E-Commerce Functionality
  Seamless user account management, multi-address support, advanced filtering, cart operations, online payments (credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay), and order status tracking — all built with mobile-first convenience in mind.
• Role-Based Web Dashboard
  Supports three user roles: Loha staff (full administrative control), printing vendors, and logistics vendors. Each role has tailored access to manage, track, or fulfill orders within clearly defined permissions.
• Content Management System
  Admins can manage artwork, artists, app content (e.g., Terms, Privacy, FAQs), artwork categories, frames, and sizes using built-in WYSIWYG editors in both English and Arabic.
• Finance & Artist Payouts
  Financial visibility into transactions, payment statuses, artist dues, and offline settlement tracking ensures transparency and accountability across business operations.
• Smart Notifications & Integrations
  Integrated with Skipcash (payments), Twilio (OTP/SMS), Microsoft 365 (emails), Branch.io (deep links), and Google Maps (location services), the system ensures real-time updates and fluid user experience across devices and platforms.

• Order Status Synchronization
  A custom-built logic system was developed to handle the complexity of order status transitions across multiple user types. Role-specific permissions were enforced to prevent conflicts and maintain process integrity.
• Artwork Preview Engine
  To achieve realistic previews, a custom dimension-conversion system was implemented, mapping artwork sizes to background images using scalable formulas and positional coordinates.
• Tight Timelines & Limited Resources
  Through transparent communication, adaptive planning, and hands-on task leadership, the team was able to deliver a robust MVP while maintaining development quality and managing client expectations effectively.
• Scope Change Management
  The project required critical decision-making when clients introduced mid-phase changes. Non-core enhancements were deferred with clear justifications, while key business-aligned adjustments (like onboarding flow redesign and email infrastructure change) were integrated with minimal disruption.

The Loha mobile app and dashboard have been successfully deployed to production. While usage metrics are pending post-launch, the project has laid a solid foundation for scalability, vendor onboarding, and marketplace growth — positioning Loha as a pioneering digital art commerce platform in the region.