EILEEN
TOWN
UNWRAPPED:
Redesigning the Gift Shop Experience
ROLE - PRODUCT DESIGNER
Carried out User Research, Information architecture, Interaction, Visual design, Prototyping & Testing
PROJECT DURATION
2 weeks (May 2023)
TOOLS
Figma, FigJam, Optimal Workshop, Photoshop, Procreate
OVERVIEW
In this UX project, the focus was on redesigning the Eileen Town gift shop website to enhance the user experience. The existing website was analyzed to identify pain points and areas for improvement. The redesigned website aimed to improve user engagement and create a seamless shopping experience.
1. THE PROBLEM
By conducting user research in the form of interviews, testing the current site with people and affinity mapping, I could identify 3 main problems that needed to be adressed. They were:
-
Users were unable to purchase their item from the website itself
-
Users could not filter out products by ratings, price etc.
-
Users struggled with navigating the site because of poor content structuring.
"I cannot add any item to cart on this website. I don't want to contact whatsapp seller to place my order."
-Neil
"I can't filter out any items on this site. I am on a tight budget right now. Lazada probably will have some deals or discounts"
-Angie
"I have been duped by online shopping sites before, how can I trust this website when I don't see helpful reviews? "
-Alexa
2. THE SOLUTION
Combining my user research with competitive/comparative analysis of sites like Etsy, Uncommon Goods, and Not on the High Street allowed me to derive some possible solutons for redesigning the website. They were:
-
Adding filter options
-
redesigining the product page
-
Designing a new checkout flow
FILTERING OPTION ADDED
Users can now filter products according to their specific preferences. The global navigation was redesigned after conducting due research.
PRODUCT PAGE REDESIGNED
The content was restructured so that dense text into easily digestible chunks of information that are organized using a visual hierarchy.
CHECK OUT FLOW DESIGNED
Users now have the option of seamlessly completing their purchase on the website itself without the need for external communication platforms.
3. THE ITERATION
The prototyped designed was tested with 5 users. The main goal here was to find out how the proposed design performed in terms of specific tasks completed by a user, error rate and usability issues with the proposed design.
I was able to get some good feedback about how the overall user experience of the redesigned website along with a number of issues that I tried to address in the second iteration.
I would like to conduct further testing on the prototype, evaluate the website's performance and efficiency. With the increasing use of mobile devices for online shopping, it's crucial to optimize the website for mobile responsiveness as well. I want to conduct an accessibility audit to identify any barriers that may hinder users with disabilities from accessing and using the website.
4. WHAT NEXT?
Strategic Focus on MVP:
-
Realized the importance of prioritizing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) approach.
-
Failure to recognize that revamping the entire site in just 2 weeks might have led to limited functionality and potential user confusion.
Efficient Tool Implementation:
-
Utilized the Optimal Workshop tool to streamline and enhance the site's information architecture.
Time-Resource Balance:
-
Acknowledged the challenge of achieving a comprehensive site overhaul within a tight 2-week timeframe.
-
Learned the importance of aligning project scope with available resources and time constraints.