The brand is a Black-owned responsive e-commerce website that sells hair, beauty, and personal care products. Launched in 2019, 4th Ave Market curates items and products to resolve the unique needs of people of color and the professionals that serve them.
Revisit/ reorganize Information Architecture
Mobile-friendly design solutions
Deliver increased value and engagement
My responsibility in a multidisciplinary four-person team ranged from research, analyzing and testing the information architecture, to preliminary design, UI Design, usability testing, and prepare spec-docs for the client.
User interviews, heuristic evaluation, competitive and comparative analysis, usability testing on the current website, persona, journey map, information architecture, card sorting, open, closed and hybrid, tree testing, site map, sketching, wireframes, rapid prototyping, usability testing mid-fi and hi-fi, building specification document.
To better understand how the current website was working and to better understand the problem areas, we did Usability Testing on the existing site with five target users. We also conducted a Heuristic Analysis and a Competitive Analysis.
Products need organization and fewer categories. With the current navigation and 130+ categories, it is difficult to find products.
Lack of filter options forces users to go through the entire product list.5/5 users wanted a more natural way to find products.
To be able to create an account, the user is required to go to the footer and click “My Account” This is against the standard convention where a user would easily be able to register/login in the top navigation or the utility navigation.
3/5 users were unable to complete the sign-up/register process.
I would use this website because there are many products
- User 2
I would use this website again and would recommend it
- User 4
Simplify the top-level navigation and create appropriate sub-categories.
Include a filter and ways to find product faster, and display the available products featured first.
Work on providing relevant and dynamic content on the home page that represents better 4th Avenue Market.
We organized and categorized the existing content of the website, We created the existing site map to understand the current state, then we did three rounds of Card Sorting (open, hybrid and closed), and a round of tree testing. With the results of the analyses, we created arevised site map.
Add some of the products on multiple categories, so the user can find them easier. (e.g., Hair Irons were accessed under Hair Tools & Accessories)
Some items it was hard to categorize, we recommend creating one main category with multi-purpose products and locate this item there and under the locations users usually try to look for them.
The category had some issues, and users tested were not entirely sure that this was only for male products, we recommend to check "the Men Barbershop" as a category.
Taking into consideration all of our previous research, we created a mobile prototype that we could later translate into a desktop. We started by doing User interviews, gathered insights, created a persona, and journey mapped. Then started developing the new concepts and created Lo, Mid, and Hi-Fi wireframe prototypes. Next, we ran some Usability tests on each state and created Spec Docs of the final solution.
To create a better experience while using the website and to implement new features we talked to 7 target users, 3, consumers and 4 professionals, to understand their goals, behaviors, pain points and needs in their existing experience.
I do online research before buying products.
I am loyal to brands
I am loyal to not only product brands, but also stores/e-commerce websites
Research into new products is difficult
Research into new products is difficult
32 years | NYC | Marketing
When Krish needs to buy hair and beauty products, they are loyal to brands because product information is scattered and local availability is limited.
Users like sampling new personal care products, but they struggle to find the right products for them.
How might we provide users a fast and convenient way to procure the products that they love as well as discover new ones?
Using the previous research and the existing website as a starting point, we created a mobile-friendly version. We also developed clear design guidelines and criteria for the client to follow for the future.
We did several rounds of the design studio, and then iterated our designs and tested with potential users in every stage of the process. Here are some findings for the home page.
I would use this website because there are many product
- User2
During all the stages we tested the home screen, the corresponding comments were not great. The initial home screen did not have any engaging information about the brand. For the next iterations, there were still mixed comments. Users mentioned that the homepage did not gain their trust - they wanted to see more product reviews.
Change the home feed to more engaging content. Take out the categories and add more photos that feature brands, products, and an Instagram feed. Also, create a new experience when you are signed in to your account and are able to see the content curated for you.
We created an e-commerce service where the content could be curated for each user. Our research showed that it is hard for customers to find the right products for their needs. To further address the issue, we gave customers recommendations based on their setting, video content, and other information like reviews from users. The changes helped users find better products that fit their needs.
Using our design standards, I was in charge of creating a Specification Document for the client so that he could provide a framework for the developers to implement. Here are some of the pages we delivered:
