Please interact with my prototype to see the full design.

Prototype

Organizing the Solution

I started with generating a sitemap that helps me organize all the information contained in Radbird’s shop. I reference this map when I need to decipher what categories to emphasize and how they relate to one another.

I revised a user checkout flow created during the research phase to better visualize how I wanted users to navigate through the new design.

I then began blocking out the layout via sketches and wireframes. The wireframes were then tested for efficient navigation and overall usability. Testing also provided vital feedback pointing out where I needed to reiterate certain functions, placements of icons and verbiage.

Once I made changes to the the mid-fidelity wireframes, I developed them into a higher fidelity, creating my prototype: the solution to our problem.

I broadened the categories in the main navigation menu and placed the search icon in close proximity, centralizing user search methods to the top of the page.

For the checkout process, it was important to reflect the ability to pay with various methods and not just PayPal.

Habitual Shopping Behaviors

My research methods consisted of a survey, (9) interviews and a Competitive and Comparative Analysis.

• I also made an in-person visit to both the Berkeley and Oakland locations and spoke a little with the employees.

• I continued my understanding of users online shopping behaviors and habits via interviews. How do they search for specific items? Does this method apply to casual browsing? What are other steps they take and why?

Everyone had their own equation for producing what they thought were the best results.

Even though users had some varying methodologies they all had a similar set of criteria they adhered to, especially when it came to leisurely shopping online :

Alongside conducting interviews, I researched direct market competitors to Radbird and analyzed features across them all. I also took note of where each retailer excelled and where they might need improvement to their e-commerce experience .

For comparators, I focused on three different areas: checkout, navigation and searching. I found amazing examples of each feature from three different companies and took note of them for future reference.

Focusing on the Problem

I made sense of all this information by filtering it into our Shrewd Shopper. This allowed me to empathize with the users and discover the true problem our design needed to solve.

Further Iteration

Reflection

I learned so much about designing and about myself with this project. Being my first project within UX design I was very excited and nervous going into it alone. I really leaned into the research phase and aimed to break out of my comfort zone when it came to interviewing individuals. I learned that preparation is always key and that it’s okay to take the time and space to really compose one’s thoughts. With my first couple interviews, I felt that pressure for time and worried too much about how i was coming off as an interviewer. The following interviews, were much better and I was able to improvise a bit more and concentrate on the asking the questions I needed to be asking.

Overall, the research and design process is very similar to designing for apparel (minus the interviews). Both require many types of testing and iterations before the final product is settled on, and both require extensive market research and user data. Applying my apparel design approach to UX was such a fun challenge and I believed it helped improve my creative thinking and problem solving skills. The change of perspective really helped me grow as a designer.