Overview and Objectives

The overall goals for the Currant design project is to showcase the brand in a positive and influential light, gaining product awareness and encouraging the brand’s growth through a cohesive website design. My objective throughout this study was to explore the process of designing a user-friendly website for Currant by undertaking many roles in the process, developing a final product that could continue to be improved with additional user testing and feedback.

Design Process

To first begin the design process for Currant, I first identified the company’s history, background and culture. Based on the brand’s identity as a trendy clothing brand focused on environmentalism, I was able to look at existing brands to establish what their user base may look like. In this case, I identified the brand’s target demographic as women and feminine-presenting adults, roughly aged 20-40 with moderate income levels, who can afford a slightly higher price point for higher quality pieces. They are likely working in a creative field and see their clothing style as a creative outlet.

I began designing the logo with these aspects in mind. My final logo design (including primary and secondary logos) was created using Adobe Illustrator. The Brand Guide was created using Adobe InDesign.

User Flow

Before beginning the wireframe, I mapped out a simple user flow to illustrate a typical experience a customer would expect while using the website.

Wireframe

With style guides in mind, I began working on a wireframe to start mapping out the final website design.
I took wireframe feedback into consideration and improved it into a medium-fidelity prototype, incorporating copy, promotional photos, and product listing information. After feeling confident that the medium-fidelity prototype was up to brand and quality standards, I incorporated final copy and added interactive elements to bring the website to life.

Interactive Prototype and User Testing

An interactive prototype was further developed from the wireframe. This first prototype was then subject to user testing.

For an initial user test, I recruited five participants within the target demographic to run through a sample shopping experience using the prototype. Because this project is being completed during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, testing was conducted through using Zoom, enabling me to speak to the user directly and view their screen as they navigate their way through the prototype.

From the data gathered via user testing, the prototype was largely successful, highlighting a few problem areas that needed improvement. These problem areas were found in the website’s homepage and checkout process.

Goals for the first round of user testing included:

1. Refine currant’s e-commerce website to be as seamless and user-friendly as possible, optimizing the customer’s experience.
2. Ensure website language and aesthetics are consistent with company branding and style guide standards.

 Test Results and Problem Solving

From these user test results, I implemented changes to the existing prototype to improve user experience. My first change took place within the site’s homepage.

Feedback from the user test showed that while the homepage was successful at relaying the culture and vibe of the brand, it was lacking actual product photos and emphasis on the clothing sold there. To solve this, I added a link to view the fall collection, along with a section highlighting the site’s “best-selling” items (best sellers had shown to be a topic of importance from test participant feedback).

I then tackled the website’s checkout system, first with creating an emphasis and clarity on user login procedures. User feedback had shown that at the beginning of the checkout process, it was not clear whether or not the user was logged in, or if guest checkout was possible. This was solved by adding another page to the beginning of the process, prompting users to decide whether they would like to log into their account or continue as a guest. Since the user tests also showed participants did not feel the most secure with inputting personal information (rating their feelings of security as a 4.4 out of 5), I also implemented well-known trust seals to help them feel more at ease. In an actual working website, this means the website would have to be Norton certified as well.

Click here to view a pdf delving further into my user testing process.

Final Prototype

 Reflections

In an ideal scenario (in which I were able to develop this project further), I would like to run another round of user testing with the implemented design changes, exploring ways to further improve the overall experience. However, I do believe that the project in its current state is successful and would lead to a pleasant user experience.

Through this project, I discovered an enjoyment for brand identity creation. I very much enjoyed working on the Currant. project, and would love to take on similar projects in the future.