Scope
Nov 2022-Dec 2022
Team
Jiayuan Li, Kevin Yang, Leif Zhang, Rachel Chen
Key Contribution
Stakeholder Interview, Survey, UI/UX Design, Prototyping
Advisor
Kojo Boateng, Theo El-Kattan(Stakeholder), Henry McNeill-Njoku(Stakeholder)
Context
Overview
Known Source is a platform for second-hand dealers and fashion lovers. Consumers can browse and purchase second-hand clothes from trusted ‘Dealers’. These dealers have been carefully selected, each offering products with their unique styles.
In my role, I led research and design within a team of four, focusing on enhancing the shopping experience through dealers.
Discovery
Stakeholders interview
Dealer definition
Stakeholders interview
Business Goal
Survey
Prioritize mobile design
An individual or store that curates second hand fashion products.
“We aim to differentiate Known Source from competitors by focusing on dealers' unique concept and features.”
—Theo El-Kattan(Stakeholder)
After conducting a survey to understand users' shopping habits, we discovered that over 80% prefer using smartphones. Consequently, we prioritized mobile design.
Challenge 1:
How might we help users identify and connect with a ‘dealer’s’ unique curation style?
User interviews
Can you walk me through your process of buying a product through your preferred dealer?
Synthesis
Key Insights
1# Difficulty in understanding the dealer's styles
2# Lack of awareness about the dealer's concept
Synthesis
Based on stakeholder requirements, we focused on the dealers’ features. We recruited 6 second-hand fashion lovers and tasked them with purchasing a product through a dealer they preferred. The research aimed to:
Assess user comprehension of the dealer's role and services
Understand the users' processes of buying a product through a dealer
Identify any pain points areas of friction encountered in user experience
3# Inefficiency in locating an ideal dealer based on preference
Brainstorm Solutions
User interviews
Understand current user flow
Design 1
A Banner that introduces the page and ‘dealer’ concept
Pain point: Lack of awareness about the dealer's concept
Solution: Display a dealer's introduction banner at the top of the page.
Design 2
Carousel instead of Image Layout
Pain point: Difficulty in understanding the dealer's styles
Solution: We provide a carousel to show dealers’ typical products and give users a glimpse of dealers’ styles.
Design 3
A User-friendly Tab Menu
Introduction banner for dealers ✅
Dealer’s cards consist of typical products ✅
Streamlined Navigation for an optimal user experience ✅
Provide a survey-based recommendation for dealers ❌ (Stakeholders’ feedback: Minimize additional development effort)
Design
Pain point：Inefficiency in locating an ideal dealer based on preference
Solution: Expose secondary menu to facilitate users shopping.
Challenge 2:
How might we help users discover and form relationships with ‘dealers’?
Stakeholders interview
Business Requirement
Research
Competitive study
Secondary Research
Understand dealers
Synthesis
Brainstorm solutions
Design 4
Human Touch Profile
Dealers are social media celebrities with a large fan base
They regularly repost well-matched photos from satisfied customers
They also use social media to promote upcoming product launches.
Conducted a competitive analysis on dealer-user-platform connections, identifying gaps in Known Source.
Proposed enhancements:
Enable user ratings and reviews on dealer pages to foster trust among website, dealers, and users.
Implement a "follow" feature for users to ensure sustained engagement with dealers.
Enhance dealer profiles with additional information like follower count, following count, items sold, and activity status.
Create user profiles with avatars, bios, and social media links ✅
Enable users to follow dealers and write reviews ✅
Display well-matched photos from social media and tag products ✅
Pain point: Lack of human touch. The user thinks dealers are different brands.
Solution: Implement user profiles with avatars, bios, and social media links and follow features to help engagement.
Design 5-New Feature
“Hard to connect between the website, dealers, and customers on known source and lack of human touch.”
—Henry McNeill-Njoku(Stakeholder)
Seamless shopping journey through dealer street-style photos
Curate social media cloth matching photos, seamlessly tag products, and elevate the shopping experience.
Design
Responsive Design Overview
Design system
Design Outcome and Metrics
42.2%
Based on our design solution the company saw an increase of user engagement with ‘dealer’ followed by 40%
4.3/5
Based on a user survey for the newly designed app experience, users rated their overall satisfaction of the experience 4 .3 out of 5 points
Next Project