Artful Home

E-commerce shopping experience

How might we simplify our product discovery and modernize our digital transaction experience?
Role Graphic Designer
Channel Web, Email
Timeframe 2 months
Overview Artful Home's modernization effort was motivated by the need for ADA compliance, ensuring accessibility while preserving visual consistency with its print catalog. Enhancements focused on improving product discovery, optimizing product descriptions, streamlining the checkout process to reduce drop-offs, and enhancing email marketing to increase sales and deliver a seamless shopping experience.
Contribution Developed user flows for 22K+ products, optimized checkout UX to reduce drop-offs, and enhanced result pages—boosting engagement by 20%.
Problem Customers struggle to navigate 20,000+ products beyond marketing efforts, while unclear product descriptions drive high inquiry volumes, creating friction in discovery and increasing support costs.
Hypothesis Improved dynamic filters, added subcategories, curated landing pages, optimized price sliders, and redesigned checkout for better usability and conversion.
 

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

Customers struggle to navigate 20,000+ products beyond marketing efforts, while unclear product descriptions drive high inquiry volumes, creating friction in discovery and increasing support costs.
  • 01
    Product discovery

    20,000+ products is overwhelming for customers to explore outside of marketing efforts.

  • 02
    Unclear product descriptions

    Increased call volumes for prospect customers inquiring on artist specific details not captured in product pages.

Homepage
Homepage
Create an account
Create an account
Basket checkout
Basket checkout
Payment
Payment

Solution

Conducted user interviews and surveys to refine product discovery. Improved dynamic filters, added subcategories, curated landing pages, optimized price sliders, and redesigned checkout for better usability and conversion.
  • 01
    Enhanced filter taxonomy

    Updated categories to reflect latest art into more culrated, categorized collections.

  • 02
    Artist portal enhancements

    A new initiative to improve how artist provide product details for e-commerce website.

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.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.
Insights
  • Themessize, 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.
Experience flows
Experience flows
Catherine Rose"I like clothes that are not only stylish but relaxed and extremely comfortable."
60 yearsCaliforniaArt 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.
  • Read 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.

Ideation

Our visual language needed a cohesive look and feel by revisiting our styling for Bootstrap.
Color, inputs, buttons, typography, and other reusable components
Unified Visual Language Color, inputs, buttons, typography, and other reusable components
Redesign our search filters Enhanced ability to truncate inactive filter options.
Enhanced ability to truncate inactive filter options.
Made interactive components consistent Upgraded version of the design system and applied new styles.
Upgraded version of the design system and applied new styles.
Enhanced our email automation Automated updates for customers and artists.
Automated updates for customers and artists.

Wireframes

Key screens
HomepageLatest curated artwork collections.
Latest curated artwork collections.
Latest curated artwork collections.
Category landing pageSecondary tier for artwork category.
Secondary tier for artwork category.
Secondary tier for artwork category.
View all artworkEnhanced label groups by category.
Enhanced label groups by category.
Enhanced label groups by category.
Refine searchAdd/remove filter criteria.
Add/remove filter criteria.
Add/remove filter criteria.
Basket checkoutArtwork transaction overview.
Artwork transaction overview.
Artwork transaction overview.
Shipping informationDelivery range, special instructions, and gift messages.
Delivery range, special instructions, and gift messages.
Delivery range, special instructions, and gift messages.
Billing informationSelect forms of payment.
Select forms of payment.
Select forms of payment.
Order confirmationTriggered event for transaction emails.
Triggered event for transaction emails.
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.
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.
Artful Home E-commerce Redesign Modernizing product discovery and checkout experience for 20,000+ fine art and craft products

CDO Priority Set expectations for brevity (15 min), establish credibility, preview your direct leadership impact. Say Your title, company context, the business problem scale. Emphasize "I led" statements, quantifiable scope (users, teams, timeline). Avoid Generic team language—focus on YOUR role/decisions.

Context The Challenge
  • Organization Artful Home connects artists with buyers, offering curated, handcrafted art, jewelry, and home décor. It champions North American creators, providing unique, high-quality pieces beyond mass production.
  • Problem Customers struggled to navigate 20,000+ products beyond marketing efforts, while unclear product descriptions drove high inquiry volumes
  • Scope E-commerce platform serving fine art, craft, apparel, and design products with ADA compliance requirements
  • Timeline 2 months
  • Role Graphic Designer

CDO Priority Demonstrate strategic context awareness—why this mattered to the business. Say Root cause (acquisitions, tech debt, org structure), business cost/impact, constraints that made it hard. Emphasize Why YOU were brought in, executive stakes, urgency. Keep under 60 seconds.

Context My Role & Impact
  • User Research Conducted user interviews and surveys to understand discovery pain points and checkout friction
  • Information Architecture Developed user flows for 22K+ products, optimized filter taxonomy, and redesigned navigation
  • UX Design Redesigned result pages, product detail pages, and checkout flow to reduce drop-offs
  • Artist Portal Enhanced artist portal to improve product detail submissions and reduce support calls
  • Measurable Impact Boosted engagement by 20%, improved filter usability, and streamlined checkout experience

CDO Priority Prove you led hands-on AND strategically. Say Specific actions YOU took (audited, designed, trained), tactical deliverables with YOUR fingerprints. Emphasize Leadership evolution—IC work that built credibility → process/systems you established. Connect metrics to your decisions. CDOs want to see agency, not task completion.

Research What We Discovered
  • User Interviews & Surveys Customers felt overwhelmed by 20,000+ products and struggled to discover relevant items outside of marketing campaigns
  • Support Call Analysis High volume of inquiries about product details indicated gaps in product pages
  • Checkout Analysis Checkout process had friction points causing abandonment—needed simplification
  • Filter Usability Existing filters and price sliders were not intuitive or aligned with customer browsing patterns
  • Key Insight Improved taxonomy, curated landing pages, and clearer product information would reduce friction and increase conversion

CDO Priority Show research rigor led to strategic insights, not just findings. Say Methods YOU used (interviews, audits, synthesis), key insight that changed the approach, how you reframed problems to leadership. Emphasize User empathy, business risk/opportunity, influencing up. 1 memorable story > 5 data points.

Exploration Approach
Curated Collections

Organize products into themed collections to reduce cognitive load

Enhanced Filtering (Selected)

Refine filter taxonomy with dynamic filters, subcategories, and optimized price sliders

Personalized Recommendations

Deferred due to technical constraints

CDO Priority Demonstrate design thinking—explored multiple paths, made informed trade-offs. Say Why each approach failed/succeeded, YOUR criteria for selection, what you personally built/designed. Emphasize Strategic architecture decisions (tokens, systems thinking), balancing user needs vs. business constraints. Show prototyping rigor, not perfection.

Process Critical Design Decisions
Filter Taxonomy Overhaul

Updated categories to reflect latest art collections and align with customer mental models

Curated Landing Pages

Created themed entry points to reduce overwhelming product volume

Checkout Simplification

Streamlined checkout flow to reduce friction and abandonment

Artist Portal Enhancements

Improved artist-facing tools for submitting product details to reduce errors

Why these mattered Prioritized high-impact changes within technical and timeline constraints

CDO Priority Prove you make principled decisions under ambiguity. Say Each decision's rationale, what you traded off, how decisions connected to research insights. Emphasize YOUR convictions (why you fought for X), where you adapted based on feedback. Focus on 2-3 decisions that show strategic maturity. CDOs value judgment over process.

Outcomes What Worked
  • User-Centered Design User interviews and surveys directly informed filter and navigation improvements
  • Iterative Testing Tested prototypes with users to validate improvements before launch
  • Artist Collaboration Partnered with artists to understand product submission pain points
  • ADA Compliance Ensured redesign met accessibility standards while maintaining visual consistency
  • Result 20% increase in engagement, improved product discovery, and reduced support inquiries

CDO Priority Show execution + change management skills. Say Specific tactics YOU ran (workshops, partnerships, pilots), how you drove adoption without authority. Emphasize Building coalitions, creating internal champions, adapting when initial plans failed. Mention systems/frameworks you created that others could replicate. CDOs hire multipliers, not doers.

Learnings What Didn't Work
  • Price Slider Complexity First version had too many options—simplified based on user feedback
  • Artist Portal Priority Should have prioritized artist portal improvements earlier to prevent downstream issues
  • Key Learning Product quality at the source (artist submissions) directly impacts customer experience

CDO Priority Demonstrate self-awareness and learning agility—critical for senior roles. Say 2-3 failures YOU owned, what you learned, how you pivoted quickly. Emphasize Personal accountability ("I pushed too hard," "I bottlenecked"), data-informed corrections, humility. CDOs respect vulnerability + action. Never blame team/stakeholders—show ownership.

Reflection Key Lessons
  • Lesson 1 Discovery problems often stem from taxonomy—invest in IA research before visual design
  • Lesson 2 Reducing gaps at the source prevents downstream customer frustration
  • Lesson 3 Accessibility and visual consistency can coexist
  • Lesson 4 Curated experiences reduce cognitive overload in large catalogs

CDO Priority Synthesize insights into transferable principles—show you build repeatable systems. Say 3-5 lessons that transcend this project, how they'd apply to new contexts. Emphasize Strategic maturity ("systems > heroes"), process innovations you'd bring to their org. Connect lessons to CDO concerns scaling design, org transformation, cross-functional influence.

Results Impact
20%

Increase in user engagement on result and product pages

22K+

Product user flows developed to optimize navigation

Qualitative Impact Improved filter taxonomy enabled better product discovery, while artist portal enhancements reduced support calls

CDO Priority Quantify business value in their language—this is THE slide that matters. Say How metrics were measured (methodology = credibility), before/after comparison, financial impact. Emphasize Metrics tied to YOUR decisions/work, exceeded goals (show ambition), qualitative transformation. Spend 90 seconds here. CDOs fund impact, not activity. Always tie to revenue/cost/risk.

Future What's Next
  • Continued Optimization Filter improvements continue to inform e-commerce best practices
  • What I Learned Importance of end-to-end user flows from artist submission to customer purchase
  • What I Bring Ability to identify systemic issues and design holistic solutions

CDO Priority Connect past success to future value for THEIR org. Say Proof of sustainability (what happened after you ), transferable capabilities you demonstrated. Emphasize Leadership philosophy, comfort with ambiguity, what you'd bring to their specific challenges. Close with confidence "This taught me to [capability], which aligns with your [need]."

Discussion Questions & Deep Dives

I'm happy to discuss filter taxonomy design, artist portal UX, or checkout optimization strategies.

What aspects of e-commerce UX would you like to explore further?

CDO Priority Invite engagement, show depth without overwhelming. Say "Happy to elaborate on [their concern]—design process, stakeholder dynamics, technical decisions." Emphasize You have more depth than shown, you're collaborative and open. Read the room If early (13 min), offer areas to expand. If late (16 min), offer Q&A only. Demonstrate executive presence.

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