PRODUCT: Skiffy handbags retail app ROLE: Research, Design, Interaction DURATION: 3 months
Project Vision
Skiffy Handbags needed an app to sell bags. For this project, I used a goal-directed design method developed around user personas and their needs. The result is a shopping app that allows users to purchase their favorite bags from Skiffy.
Challenges
Design a journey that allows users to easily select items and make a purchase
Make it easy to view all of the products on one page
Create a customer review section for users to reference
RESEARCH
The randomly generated project brief provided my user base. I targeted women in their early 20s who are single, high school educated, and have no children.
I began by asking myself the following questions:
"What does my user base look for in a shopping app?"
"What makes a good shopping experience?"
"What visual preferences do my users have?"
"Who do I see as my biggest competitors?"
Meet the Users
Franny
20
Waitress
USER 1:
Franny's always on her phone and wants to buy a new purse. She doesn't like computers so the app should be easy to use.
Kasha
24
Influencer
USER 2:
Kasha is always looking for cute accessories to show on stream. The app needs to be visually appealing to entice her followers.
Megan
22
CNA
USER 3:
Megan is very into hand bags and is always wearing something new. She wants to quickly browse products and pick her favorites.
Competitive Analysis
I analyzed three direct competitors and one indirect competitor. My largest focus was on the purchase journey. I also took note of visual and information architecture similarities. After conducting the audit, I identified areas that Skiffy Handbags could improve upon:
There were too many images with not enough space between them
The purchase journey was difficult; navigating subcategories was the hardest part
Certain apps had 1-3 promos during launch
Successful takeaways from the audit were:
Image carousels grouped similar items nicely
Header and footer menus made navigating between pages easy
Gentle color palettes gave a fun and feminine touch
Sukoshi Mart | Direct Competitor
Cider | Direct Competitor
Temu | Direct Competitor
Moodpress | Indirect Competitor
Moodboard
Once my user base was established I had to define the Skiffy brand. I researched successful brands that are popular with my target demographic. I decided to model the brand around a simplistically cute mascot. I drew inspiration from kawaii-style illustrations, rich pastels, and simplistic boutiques.
DESIGN
Preparing the journey
I constructed a user flow that maps out the purchase journey from start to finish.
Wireframing
After determining the preliminary flow, I moved onto wireframing the user journey. This stage of development allowed me to determine which pages and features were crucial for the app's function.
USABILITY STUDIES
User testing
Once the wireframes were complete, I conducted the first round of user testing. I gave participants tasks to complete during their experience. The three paint points encountered were:
Users did not understand the hamburger menu
There was no quantity indication on the Your Bag screen
Users thought there was too much empty space on the product feature card
Pain point 1 | Confusing hamburger menu
The test users found the hamburger menu confusing. I replaced it with a bottom navigation bar.
Pain point 2 | No quantity indicator
Users noticed that items placed in their checkout bag did not have an item amount. I added a widget to increase or decrease the product amount.
Pain point 3 | Product card layout issues
One pain point was the layout of the product cards. Users stated there was too much empty space. I went back and consolidated the extra space and populated the product text.
STYLE GUIDE
I used research from the competitive audit and visual studies to create the Skiffy Handbags brand. The Skiffy Handbags brand has a sweet aesthetic with a bright, feminine palette. The bags feature illustrations of cat toys called Bobos. These Bobos appear on the products.
Despite the Skiffy logo drawing inspiration from a black cat, the color black never appears in its identity.
Takeaways
Creating the Skiffy Handbags app was very enjoyable. I had fun modeling the brand after a friend's cat and having creative control. My biggest takeaway from this project is the importance of the journey. I was frustrated during the competitive audit when trying to find and purchase a product. User flow was my highest priority for this app.
I also enjoyed developing the logo, illustrations, and product photography. I added the Bobo pattern to every bag, including the model photo.
In the future I would like to include more product categories. Since this was a solo effort it was not possible to develop numerous products of different types. I am happy with the results even if the inventory is limited.