Role: User Experience Researcher & Designer / Product Designer
Duration: 8 weeks
Deliverables: User research, User flows, Wireframes and Prototype including on-boarding and checkout.
Duration: 8 weeks
Deliverables: User research, User flows, Wireframes and Prototype including on-boarding and checkout.
Developed in conjunction with the IVEY Executive MBA Candidates.
About the Project
CareCraftery was created in collaboration Executives from IVEYS MBA program. As an e-commerce platform, the aim was to provide hand crafted, ethically sourced furniture from local communities in Egypt and Mexico to customers, while enabling them to support sustainable charities of their choice.
Due to the nature of this project, I can only provide details on my process leading to the creation of the prototype.
Research & Competitive Analysis
In order to get a good idea of how an e-commerce app successfully operates, I explored various apps and websites that sold clothing and house hold items, such as H&M, Forever 21 and Ikea. As a user of apps for online shopping, I’m fairly familiar with the overall process, however I needed to ensure new users would also be able to successfully complete the checkout process.
As this venture was mainly focused on sustainability practices and donations to charities, I also explored various charitable institutions for their practices such as WeCharity and MightyCause.
The team provided me with user insights and research metrics in order to continue with the prototyping phase. The target users were anyone who would like to purchase furniture, with the added value of giving back to the community through a charity of their choice.
Branding
We wanted the app to exhibit earthy, caring, community based, handmade and artsy vibes. As the products are sourced from Egypt and Mexico with very culturally specific designs, we felt bright colours and soft edges in typography and imagery would provide a welcoming feel without compromising on quality or looking juvenile. This works well with the community feel that users would experience through their charitable contributions from purchases. Not only do we want a smooth experience but a pleasurable one, which is why the design was kept simple, to let the products speak for themselves with their rich art and cultural influence.
User Flows & Wireframes
Medium Fidelity Wireframes
As I was I was mainly in charge of product design, we went through user-flows and low fidelity wireframes. In order to meet the users needs of being able to check out simply and effectively, the design was kept simple with only necessary information. All other features that we wanted to put in could possibly be created with future updates. After going through various feedback sessions, I moved to medium and hi-fidelity mockups.
High Fidelity Wireframes
Home Page
Product Menu
Item Listing
Item Description
Charity Options in Checkout
Possible Signup after Ordering
Tracking Donations
These screens display an added part to the checkout screens, where users are able to select a charity of their choice, where 15% of their purchase is automatically calculated and visible to the user, allowing them to make a clear, informed decision.
During the beginning of the checkout process, the user has an option to sign in / sign up or proceed as a guest. Research showed that users tend to drop off and not complete a purchase if they must sign up beforehand. In order to minimize a step for the user, guest checkout is an option, and was used in this prototype sequence.
After checkout, if the user selected guest checkout, they have the option of creating an account with the added incentive to view and keep track of all monetary transactions, along with any tax receipts needed. This was also created to incentivize users to create an account.
Future Update notes
There are many features that can be added to such an app, however in order to keep with our minimum viable product as a furniture e-commerce app, the main added feature is the charity option, which is linked to the users ability to view and manage their profiles. In the future, users may be able to add charities they wish to contribute to vs. set charities in the app.
