Velvet Leopard design
Overview
Velvet Leopard is a desktop and mobile-friendly website designed to showcase handmade earrings.
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This was created as part of a university assessment where we were given a fictional brief for a business and tasked to come up with an idea that represents the brand.
Role
UX Designer
User research, Internet Architecture, Design, Personas, Wireframing, Prototyping, Testing.
"Life's too short to wear boring clothes." -
Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs.
Background
For as long as I can remember, we have always been told not to "dress up too much". In other words, tone it down! But I say no! I firmly believe in dressing for feeling your best, and if that includes wearing bright colours and clashing patterns, then you do! As part of this assignment, I was tasked to bring Velvet Leopard's bright, maximalist style to life. I wanted to do this by using bold patterns, neon and colour combined with accessibility and an effortless user experience.
Because I was the sole designer for this project, it was important for me to seek feedback and utilise testing at every stage of the design process. Below I have listed some of the highlights for this project.
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Designed and implemented a "virtual try-on" feature. While it did not allow the user to upload their image, it did allow them to choose from two different models, which they could then select a style to try.
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Designed from end to end. Due to being the only designer working on the project, all stages of the agile design process were entirely on me.
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User Research. To create the most effective experience for both the brand and the user, research was required to determine what users want most in their experience shipping for earrings. Surveys were completed, and an analysis of competitors' websites was utilised to create the list of requirements going forward.
Understanding the problem
I conducted a brainstorming session to uncover the pain points that users experience when shopping online. It was here that I discovered that:
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Users are more interested in the price of the products than how interactive or "fun" the website is.
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The most accessible fonts are Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman.
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Users want a personal, intimate experience that makes them feel like part of the community of the brand.
Product vision and solution
From these findings, I decided to focus on the below requirements:
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I wanted users to have a market stall-like experience.
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I want users to feel comfortable to try before they buy.
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I wanted to encourage customers to be bold and brave with their choices.
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As a starting point, I did some crazy 8's sketches of potential layout options to get the creative juices flowing. No layout idea was too bold!
Defining the prime choice
From the sketching session, I discovered these commonalities:
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Maximalist design represented the brand best.
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Try before you buy feature. Users can select from two models to see what the earrings look like when worn before making the decision to purchase.
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Favourites. Give users a place to store and view their favourite designs.
It was at this time that disaster stuck and I inexplicably lost all of my work progress. So please enjoy this one UI kit from week 1 that I salvaged.
Designs
After having XD somehow lose all of the work I had done, the clock was ticking. I moved to Figma to start again I had to create wireframes and designs in a short time frame as the deadline was looming.
Landing/Home
I wanted the landing page to broadcast the brand's maximalist, bold style with a focus on the products and features.
Shop
I didn't want to break the mould too much here and make it difficult for users to shop/find what they were looking for.
About
I feel this page showcases the owner's vibe and brand perfectly.
Virtual Try-On
This section took the most time in terms of research, design, and implementation. Onboarding was a necessity and considering the very short time frame I was working in I am proud of this achievement.
Results & Takeaways
I received a credit mark of 70% for this final part of the assignment, which, given the time constraints, I was pleased with.
Some key takeaways from this process are:
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Challenge yourself. Are there design elements to this that I would change? There are. But with the disaster of losing all my work and pushing myself to design something that is nowhere near my style, it was fun, and I truly learned a lot.
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Feedback is vital. Throughout every stage of the design process seek out feedback. Because this was a solo design project, it was difficult at times to trust that the right decisions were being made. This is where feedback was everything. It helped me clarify design ideas and make changes where possible.
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User Experience First. I learned not to get too swept up in the project's fun, shallow design aspect. A website can look a million bucks, but if it's not easy for users, no one will bother.