Simplifying the Home Design Process
This project involved creating a microsite for a mock client, Crate and Barrel. While Crate and Barrel has a loyal clientele, it seeks to expand its business even more. The objective was to design a microsite, separate from the C&B website, to help people with their design projects and as a result, get people to spend their decorating budget with C&B. The new site would need to offer value to its existing customers as well as prospective clients. I had two weeks to conceptualize the design and digitalize it into a working prototype.
My Role
This was an individual project.
Tools
Axure, Pen + Paper, Dry Erase Board
Targeting the Right Demographic
Who would DiscoverYou be designed for? With this question in mind, I conducted user interviews to understand more about consumer behavior around interior design needs. After the interviews, became apparent that people prioritize house decorating differently, which affected the way they shop for it. I distilled the general population seeking interior design services into three personas each representing a segment of consumers: decorating hobbyists, idealistic decorators, pragmatic decorators.
On one end of the spectrum, you have the decorating hobbyists who are well versed in interior design. They typically know the look they’re going after and are either going to hire contractors to help with their projects or they opt to do it themselves. Since are the most self-sufficient consumers, they wouldn’t be the intended users for DiscoverYou. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the pragmatic decorators. These folks are more about functionality than style when it comes to decorating. They don’t care too much about the aesthetics and are price sensitive. This set of consumers is not the target for DiscoverYou. But the idealistic decorators are. These people care about style and having their home reflects their personality, but they don’t have the time to come through on their projects. Expediency is important to them, which makes this group of consumers ideal for DiscoverYou.
Sizing Up Competitors
I was curious to know the tools and services people use for design projects. This led me to do a competitive analysis of the market. People usually start out with using discovery tools like Pinterest and Houzz. These sites are popular because they allow the users to find and save unlimited design inspirations. When they are ready to implement the design, people either go to a marketplace or branded retailers. Not surprisingly, people didn't like that branded retailers had limited choices and the high price tag (i.e. Crate and Barrel). A number of people said they would go to branded retailers to see the floor samples and get inspiration then go to marketplaces to find similar furniture pieces for lower prices (decorating hobbyists and pragmatic decorators). They liked the wide selections and the flexibility of mixing and matching that marketplaces offer. From this analysis, I knew that the DiscoverYou would need offer people opportunities to find and save various design looks and help them find what they need to execute their projects faster.
How Do People Design?
I interviewed people to get a sense of what people liked or didn’t like about the design process. It was evident that home decorating is overwhelming. It’s overwhelming because people don’t know where to begin compiling things they need to get the desired look. Most people have projects saved on Pinterest or Houzz but are never carried it out, because they don’t have the time required to bring their inspirations to life. The second step (logistics) of the process is where people struggle the most. Budgeting is a big concern and there is no tool to help people with cost estimates for the desired look. I found that budgeting is a primary reason why people delay pulling the trigger on projects. Another challenge is space planning and getting the right furniture arrangement.
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
Through my interviews and card sorting exercise, I realized something that inspired me to include a visual search feature for DiscoverYou. People typically have a “love at first sight” when it comes to furniture design. For example, while browsing online they see a chair that catches their eye, and they know they must have it. But how do they go about finding it in store if they don’t know interior design lingo to describe the chair. Average decorators with limited knowledge of interior design have a hard time identifying the style of a look they want. They like how the design makes them feel, but they don’t know where to begin recreating it. People don’t know what they want/need if they don’t know the words to describe it. This insight led me to think of another way to help people search for things online (think reverse Google image search).
Card sorting exercise I did with people
What is the Site Structure?
I created a sitemap to show what the new microsite has to offer. The focus of the website is to get users to start browsing either through visual feature if they have a specific look they’re going after or by entering in their requirements, such as the type of room, budget, and room size. Because this new site is part of the Crate and Barrel brand, people will be able to buy Crate and Barrel products directly through the site.
The Vision
A Convenient & Immersive Shopping Experience
There is nothing in the market that offers users an easy way to go from design planning to design execution. DiscoverYou would allow people to conveniently browse for styles that are fitting for their budget and space. It wouldn’t stop there - people would be able to then isolate and buy items they need from the look. They would be able to save and share design looks and products with others. People enjoy going to the furniture store because it’s a sensory experience - they can touch, feel, and even smell the design. I envisioned a website providing a similar immersive experience through the use of rich imagery that draws people in and has them imagining themselves in the space.
Testing and Iterating
In designing the layout for the site, I leveraged images to captivate the audience. It took a few tries to arrive at the final layout that tested well and in line with the C&B brand.
Prototype
The Outcome
Through this project, I learned how to connect design to the overall business strategy and staying in line with the brand. On a more personal level, I realized that I enjoyed doing research. I find that listening to people without interrupting them is the best way to gather data. It was a lot harder to do than I thought. I always felt the need to jump in the conversation to offer validation or my opinion. Lastly, I learned how to work with Axure. With my experience with Adobe Creative Suite, I was able to pick it up pretty quickly. I'm excited to explore all its capabilities and learn more UX tools.