Acceptance Apparel
Implementing user experience methods on the Etsy store Acceptance Apparel
A look at the final product
Problem Statement
Having your own website is better than solely having an Etsy store because it offers more freedom in marketing and design and can be more profitable. Common online shopping problems include sizing, delivery times, and returns, so I aim for these processes to be smooth. For my client, I focused on building a loyal customer base and boosting sales.
Quick Context
Role and responsibilities: User Experience Research and Design
Timeline: 3 months
Client Overview: My friend has an Etsy shop that sells apparel and their products consist of witty sayings and cute designs surrounding neurodivergency and uplifting messages encouraging acceptance
For this app, I wanted to highlight the strengths that their Etsy page already has, and add elements that I would find helpful to creating a client base and have repeat customers.
Research Plan
Having already established an Etsy and Instagram page, I wanted to focus on expanding the company through creating an unaffiliated website and a Shopify page. Specifically catering to customers who are neurodivergent, I wanted to grow the company’s customer base to support this niche group and increase sales.
Interviews
I needed to find a specific set of participants that would buy clothes that celebrate neurodiversity, which was a bit of a challenge. After narrowing down the participants, I asked two people a few interview questions to help me create personas, user stories, and user flow.
“What made the experience great was how the layout for the options were tiles, in rows of 6, which made navigating incredibly convenient.”
— Lucas
In analyzing the interview, I was able to narrow down the elements I should prioritize in the website and gained insight into what brings customers back to their favorite stores. For example, I decided I needed to have a seamless shipping and returns page to avoid frustrations for users. Another element I found important to have was a wishlist page, so that there would be no pressure for users to purchase items immediately, and they could come back to the website.
“The worst online shopping experience was getting specific album merchandise and the items got delayed where I forgot I had ordered it. Only for it to find out it was canceled.”
— Jessy
Two questions that were particularly helpful were:
1. Tell me about your worst online shopping experience
2. Tell me about your best shopping experience
I asked these questions because I wanted to get as much information as possible regarding negative and positive experiences in order to determine what users require.
Personas
After the interviews, I was able to create two personas that showcase potential buyers. Both personas highlight distinct motivations and behaviors that inform how I should design the website.
Journey Map
After creating the personas, I chose one to explore for the purpose of discovering possible pain points and their progression through the website.
User Flow
I designed a user flow based on the journey map to illustrate a typical shopping experience.
Early Sketches
I began sketching ideas for wireframes based on the user flow.
Early Wireframes
I designed low-fidelity wireframes using Figma.
Medium-Fidelity Wireframes
High-Fidelity Wireframes
Outcome
What I learned:
I really like prototyping and designing wireframes.
I spent way too much time playing with the prototyping tools on Figma, and realized I needed to focus on the most vital parts of the website instead of making everything interactive.
I needed to consistently look back to my research because it would have saved me time during the wireframing process.
What worked, what didn't:
Researching the pain points and goals of users was helpful for me because I could prioritize what to design first and gave me a good starting point. However, I noticed that I focused on little details that weren't necessary in the prototyping process. I spent much time prototyping scrolling and interactive elements but could have saved time focusing on the elements that users are most likely to use in order to start user testing earlier.
Outcome of using UX:
Using user experience techniques on a website or app save designers a lot of time and money, and helps you understand your users better. Overall, UX creates a more appealing and convenient app.