Edward EG

Artful Home

How might we simplify our product discovery and modernize our digital transaction experience?
E-commerce

Overview

Artful Home is an online and print retailer that brings exceptional works of fine art, craft, apparel, and design to your home.

Artful Home helps artists get exposure by curating and selling their work to ship directly from their studios to your home.

Problem
Product discovery 20,000+ products is overwhelming for customers to explore outside of marketing efforts
Unclear product descriptions Increased call volumes for prospect customers inquiring on artist specific details not captured in product pages.
Outcome
Enhanced filter taxonomy Updated categories to reflect latest art into more culrated, categorized collections.
Artist portal enhancements A new initiative to improve how artist provide product details for e-commerce website.
Role Graphic Designer (UI & Print)
Duration 2-months
Contributions user research, user design
Platform Web

Approach

I partnered with our Marketing Director to conduct ten unmoderated user interviews with 5 participants for our apparel and decor segments. We conducted surveys to understand our customers' interests in apparel and decor to narrow down known competitor brands based on customer interests.

Methodology

Our screening criteria focused on women over 35 years, living in a household income greater than $150K, who have experience ordering online, and are interested in artist-made products. We focused on discovering customer insights regarding product discovery, descriptions, images, reviews, themes of shipping, and basket checkout with usertesting.

    Key findings
  • Themes: size, style, type, sleeve length, fabric & care, fit, return policy
  • 3 of 5 users clicked on primary navigation apparel & shoes - dresses.
  • 2 of 5 users refined their search by sleeve length, collection, size.
  • "It gives you different views, so that's good, color swatches, fabric, which was my concern, care instructions, fit & sizing."
  • "Shipping is a little on the high side. I’ve never understood shipping rates by what you order (the amount). Do free shipping at this price."
    Recommendations
  • Redesign existing filters to be more dynamic based on category type rather than showing all filters expanded.
  • Create sub-categories for filtering that distincts apparel from decor.
  • Consider creating more curated landing pages per categories.
  • Revisit slider design for price range.
  • Redesign basket checkout to summarize selections.
User Flow
User persona

Catherine Rose

"I like clothes that are not only stylish but relaxed and extremely comfortable."

60 years old

California

Art Dealer

Catherine is a mature, experienced woman who lives an ordered but not ordinary life. She is full of information and sometimes surprises you. She is dependable and makes an effort to express herself through art.
  • To find new products that catch her attention and are handcrafted and unique.
  • To be able to review fabric and care instructions before purchasing clothes.
  • To be able to find clothing that is easy to pack and travel.
  • Browse for decor and apparel artwork with both images and navigation.
  • Reads reviews and return policies to determine purchase.
  • Return clothes that didn't match color or fit wasn't flattering.
  • Not enough images and details on models to imagine what a dress would look like on her physique.
  • Shipping cost should be part of pricing since she does not understand the fixed price with the product’s weight.
  • The colors in person don't match what she thought she ordered.

Constraint

As a graphic designer, I was navigating my first introduction to accessibility with digital experiences. It was a learning curve to dive into learning more about the Accessibility for Disabled People Act and applying what I was learning to design recommendations.

Critical Business support and operations are the priority over supporting experience enhancements When design capacity became available to support enhancements, technology partners were unavailable as their focus was primarily on the platform stability of our e-commerce site and content management system.

Ideation

Our visual language needed a cohesive look and feel by revisiting our styling for Bootstrap.

Unified Visual Language Color tokens, inputs, buttons, typography, and other reusable components

Features

Majority of our enhanced featured focused on accessibility, improving our filtering experience, and transaction experience.
Redesign our search filters Enhanced ability to truncate inactive filter options.
Made interactive components consistent Upgraded version of the design system and applied new styles.
Enhanced our email automation Leveraging our transaction platform, we automated updates for customers and artists.

Key screens

Homepage Latest curated artwork collections.
Category landing page Secondary tier for artwork category.
View all artwork Enhanced label groups by category.
Refine search Add/remove filter criteria.
Category landing page Secondary tier for artwork category.
View all artwork Enhanced label groups by category.
Refine search Add/remove filter criteria.
Basket checkout Artwork transaction overview.
Shipping information Delivery range, special instructions, and gift messages.
Refine search Add/remove filter criteria.
Basket checkout Artwork transaction overview.
Shipping information Delivery range, special instructions, and gift messages.
Billing information Select forms of payment.
Order confirmation Triggered event for transaction emails.

Takeaway

This role opened my eyes and interest to the world of user experience and not just user interface. I'm eternally grateful to this experience as I developed an interest in learning more and genuinely enjoyed learning with practice.
Lessons learned
  • Working closely with front-end and engine developers was educational in terms of finding value in wireframes to help communicate requirements.
  • I learned the importance of the Americans with Disability Act and our role in producing a digital experience.
  • I conducted my first user interviews, which allowed me to see how actual users perceive your work through their experiences.
Some potential next steps
  • Request as much existing usage data as possible to guide discovery and analysis for new scope on unmet user needs.
  • Maintain an active competitor analysis to propose A/B tests for ongoing enhancements for competitive advantages.
  • Documentation is critical to maintaining alignment between customer needs and business goals, especially with competing priorities.

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