The Red Pearl
The Red Pearl is a Brooklyn based store located in the trendy neighborhood of Williamsburg. They sell an assortment of home decor, beauty supplies, books, and fun trinkets.
speculative project
About the Project
The Red Pearl is a small boutique located in the heart of the charming neighborhood of Williamsburg Brooklyn. Specializing in unique home decor, books, greeting cards, candles and gifts, they have something for everyone. The Red Pearl has been a neighborhood staple for over a decade. However, in today’s digital age, a strong online presence is crucial and the store owners have been hesitant to launch a website. The owner of the shop has decided it’s time to embark on the UX project to create a site that will effectively capture the essence of their store and provide a seamless shopping experience for their new and current customers.
Challenge
The primary challenge of this UX project was to design a website that would reflect the charm and personality of The Red Pearl, while ensuring a user-friendly experience. The target audience for the website ranges from local residents to online shoppers nationwide. The website needed to be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and optimized for both desktop and mobile devices.
My Approach
RESEARCH > IDEATE > DESIGN > TEST > REITERATE
Timeline
A timeline was created to give the client a better understanding of my process, and to set expectations. This allowed us to align on the client’s needs, and to prepare for any roadblocks before the website’s launch.
Research and Persona
Wireframes
Sitemap
To gain a deeper understanding of the target audience and their needs, a comprehensive user research process was conducted. This included interviewing potential and existing customers, analyzing online reviews of similar stores, and identifying industry trends in e-commerce website design. Other methods included were card sorting and survey’s in order to determine and understand how users find products when purchasing items online. Findings from this research revealed that users were looking for a website that was:
Easy to naviagate
Offered a seamless checkout process
Visually appealing and consistent with the store's brand identity
Multiple payment options (Apple Pay, Klarna, Afterpay, Card)
Ability to filter and find sales
C&C Analysis
It was important to look at stores and companies that shoppers who shop at The Red Peal are also customers of. I wanted to see what about these customers re-creates a reoccurring customer. How Might we implement these traits into our own designs?
Maya
Age: 29
Location: Williamsburg, NY
Occupation: Social Media Manager
About: Maya and her husband live in Brooklyn and enjoy a relaxing night at home with a glass of wine. Maya enjoys work out classes, traveling and cooking.
Pain Point: Maya works long hours and finds it difficult to find the time afterwork and on weekends to find time to shop or do errands in her neighborhood. She often finds herself ordering online to save time.
Wants: Maya wants a good deal, and a fast and easy way to check out of a store using Apple pay.
Design
Userflow
Creative
Prototype Testing and Design Iterations
After conducting prototype testing we were able to identify problems and confusion that our users came across when given the task of selecting an item and purchasing it. We also found opportunities to more incorporate our brand colors, as well as add “stickers” that would make sale items more obvious.
Curated Splash Pages
Splash imagery was added to the homepage to lead to curated items. These made it easy to show shoppers products that normally wouldn’t be grouped together. Splash pages included staff picks, sale items, and shop home. It provided an opportunity for the website to feel as much as the brick and mortar as possible.
The Final Product
Key Take Aways and Learnings
This UX project demonstrates the power of user-centered design in creating a successful e-commerce website. By understanding the needs of the target audience and designing a website that met those needs, The Red Pearl was able to expand its reach, increase its sales, and enhance its reputation as a beloved local store. This project allowed me to apply and grow my time management, research, prototyping, testing, ideation, presentation, and brand development skills.
-
-