Build a high-fidelity prototype
of the redesigned company website
Challenge
Redesign the company website through a UX process, focusing on users' needs to create a better experience and increase website's interactions.
My Role
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Research to understand other companies' conventions
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Test the current website with users to understand their behaviours, goals and pain points.
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Redesign the company website following the outcome of the tests.
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Building a high-fidelity prototype to show the company CEO.
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Test the new prototype with users.
Project Time
3 months
Background
PoBO is a young and promising fashion startup, striving to become a leading company in the sector.
My first meeting with CEO Dario was very inspiring and I was very impressed with the stylish design and amazing quality of their products.
My role in the process was to redesign the company website in order to build a better experience for the users, increase the website's interactions and therefore sales.
Challenges I encountered during the process
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Working for a startup meant a close collaboration with the CEO. This for sure gave me the chance to be an active voice in the process, but we also had to find different compromises to achieve the best result.
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The original website was created with Shopify and I had to build the prototype with this in mind.
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It was interesting to discuss the style and finally agree on a result that satisfied the company and of course the users.
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I had never worked for a fashion company and I loved researching and discovering this sector.
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My goal was to build a Hi-Fi prototype but I wouldn't have had the chance to closely work with developers. This would have been a further step in the process.
The process
PoBO website
Overview of the original website
Research
Learning conventions
It was the first time for me working with a fashion startup, so I wanted to learn the conventions that other companies use in their websites and compare them with PoBO.
I compared four websites. Three fashion-related, closer to PoBO's style. The fourth one is the website of a museum that was inspirational to create the style of our website.
Understanding the problem
In order to understand the problem, I ran different usability tests with users that could have been the right audience for PoBO. I observed them while browsing the website and took notes of every action, reaction and comment. I gave them a specific task to accomplish.
What is the problem?
After reviewing the usability tests notes I can understand there are mainly two problems:
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The users thought the website looked disorganised and they felt they couldn't trust it.
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Some important details related to a UX approach were missing and didn't allow users to have a good experience.
Design
Sketching out the solution
From the analysis of the user tests, I eventually understood the problems users encountered. Before working on the Hi-Fi prototype, I sketched out some ideas to reach the best design that would have made the website look clear and attractive. I kept in mind that users didn't trust the original confusing design and I tried to design a place that users want to easily discover.
During this step, the communication with the CEO was very active. I explained my idea to him and the reasons why I thought it might have helped users. After a few changes and trade-offs, I came up with a design that I believed would have pleased users and made my client happy.
Building a Hi-Fi prototype
After sketching out some ideas to make the website more clear and accessible to users, I started building
the Hi-Fi prototype on Figma. I kept a similar style from the original website without making any big changes.
This was part of the trade-offs we agreed with the CEO.
Making of the primary navigation - Figma time-lapse
Overview of the Hi-Fi prototype
OLD
NEW
OLD
NEW
Design Validation
This was the most exciting part for me and probably the scariest! The moment of truth, when I asked users to test my new design. After analysing the tests with the CEO, we agreed that a good quality design was achieved and were satisfied with the reactions of the users. They all found the website clear and easy to navigate. There were no hitches during the tests and this showed me the design job succeeded.
Conclusions and takeaways
I really enjoyed working for PoBO. The startup vibes gave me a lot of energy and enthusiasm.
I loved the communication with the CEO Dario, above all the decisional parts. It taught me a lot about the importance of trade-off and to be ready to be understanding and open-minded.
It was a very interesting project for various reasons:
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I had a fundamental role in improving PoBO's website, helping to attract more users.
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I was able to understand how users reacted to problems and how to solve them.
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I explored the field of fashion that I wasn't familiar to start of with. It gave me the opportunity to research and expand my knowledge in the field.
I would have loved to eventually collaborate with developers and build the final version of the website, but my role was to build an high-fidelity prototype and I really made the most out of it.
I really can't wait to work again with PoBO and to see them further achieving greater success.