BA
INTERIOR SECRETS
UX UI Redesign and improvements
The company has made significant revisions over the years and is currently satisfied with its user interface (UI) and user experience (UX), it recognizes the need to stay competitive.
To ensure improvement, Interior Secrets has recruited my help to identify any UX and UI mistakes, propose fixes, and provide advice on future feature enhancements. Working closely with the developer, my role involves evaluating the existing design, suggesting improvements, and ensuring a seamless user experience on the website. Through this collaboration, Interior Secrets aims to enhance customer satisfaction and maintain its position in the competitive market.
ROLES:
I assumed the roles whilst developing this site:
- UX Designer
- UI Designer
- Graphic Designer
PROJECT SPECS
Tools:
- Figma
- Adobe
- Illustrator
- Adobe Photoshop
- Notion
DELIVERABLES
Interaction Design:High-fidelity prototype in line with chosen Shopify theme.
UX/UI DESIGN:
- Competitive analysis
- Personas
- User Research
- Low-Fidelity Wireframes
- High-Fidelity prototypes and mockups
SHOPIFY:
Pushing design and changes on to a live website.
RESEARCH:
Interior Secrets primarily targets an audience that predominantly originates from Instagram and Facebook, which are considered more "established" social media platforms with users who typically possess greater disposable income, allowing them to explore high-quality furniture options.
Insight gathered from the staff at the South Melbourne showroom indicates that the majority of customers fall within the age range of 25 to 60, primarily comprising adults and older adults. The customer base is predominantly female and consists of individuals seeking to enhance their homes or engage in interior design projects.
PROCESS
The online furniture industry has shown resilience during COVID and is projected to remain profitable. To secure a leading position, it's crucial for Interior Secrets to focus on improving user experience. However, the company faces challenges with low UX maturity, relying on assumptions and visual appeal rather than practical functionality.
Despite a website revamp in 2020, unresolved interface issues persist. For instance, the lack of a color picker on the product page is a significant oversight. Additionally, the preset theme running on Shopify 1.0 restricts design changes, hindering flexibility.
To enhance the user experience, Interior Secrets must address its low UX maturity, resolve interface issues, and creatively optimize design limitations imposed by Shopify 1.0.
THE SOLUTION
As conducting physical moderated user testing posed challenges for an online retailer, a quantitative approach was taken using the application 'Hotjar' to analyze user behavior through over 5000 recordings, revealing prolonged browsing times of over 45 minutes on average, leading to the decision to streamline the user experience of Interior Secrets by addressing issues such as the confusing mega menu and variant picker.
The first focus was on revamping the mega menu, which serves as the primary navigation tool, with design solutions derived from studying and adapting ideas from other competitive retailers.
This was followed by creating low fidelity wireframes to assess the feasibility of the proposed solutions, conducting moderated observation testing with staff members
After conducting non-designer testing with staff members and gathering valuable feedback, the selected design concepts were refined to high fidelity, incorporating finer details and interactive elements. These refined designs were then presented to stakeholders, including management and marketing teams for their approval.
Through iterative rounds of review and refinement based on stakeholder feedback, the high-fidelity designs were fine-tuned to align with the company's vision, brand identity, and user preferences.
However, a new hurdle arose when it came to implementing the design changes. Initially, I approached the developer to handle the implementation, but it turned out to be too challenging for them.
This meant that the custom design I had created might not be implemented unless a solution was found. That's when I discovered the Shopify app called 'Qikify'. I intergrated the app into the Shopify platform and made sure to align the design as closely as possible with the high-fidelity version.
As a result, the finalized design is now live on the Interior Secrets website.
Another challenge was the missing variant picker, a standard convention that had been overlooked. I advocated for its inclusion to streamline the website and improve user experience.
We also faced an issue with different URLs assigned to products with different colors. Implementing a solution within the Shopify theme would have taken too long.
To address this, I recommended linking to the main product page with the variant picker, creating a high-fidelity mockup for the developer to follow.
This solution was successfully implemented, providing a seamless shopping experience on the Interior Secrets website.
RESULT
The implementation of these minor changes has resulted in Interior Secrets experiencing its most successful year to date. Compared to the previous year, the company has witnessed a significant increase in total sales with a growth of 20%. Additionally, there has been a notable boost in the returning customer rate, which has risen by approximately 12%, and an improved conversion rate of 5%. These positive outcomes highlight the effectiveness of the implemented improvements and underline the positive impact they have had on Interior Secrets' overall business performance.
LEARNING
This is my first gig. After a few trials and tribulations with applying for jobs after university. Interior Secrets took me in as a rookie in terms of graphic design knowledge. So far, the changes implemented have been quite slow, but, they have been implemented, nonetheless. I have created a few more prototypes and mockups that will surely improve the company and its profits.
This job has taught me extensively on how to deal with client-designer relationships and how to navigate such things. Skills applicable to future roles I will undertake to ensure the betterment of design and pushing the envelope with how the company runs and deals with their userbase.