Overview: Can a wholesale boot company make the jump to retail? Frye may be the oldest continuously operated American shoe brand, however most of its business was tied to wholesale. A recent acquisition gave Frye the capital to invest in stand alone retail locations and invite the user into the buying experience online and offline.
Overview: A bridal designer seeks to grow brand recognition among engaged women in the US. Who are her customers? How do they find her dresses? A hybrid study that included remote interviews as well as observing customer behavior in retail stores lead to a product page redesign.
Problem: The #1 concern for brides is how does the dress fit their body.
Solution: Most brides went to the main website to research the brand after discovering the dress through an influencer campaign, press article or bridal shop. The average number of visits before a bride choosing a dress is 2-3. While some brides have taken up to 10 visits as they make sure their purchase will look good on social media. To facilitate confidence in the brand, we incorporated a variety of body shapes in our photos. I included videos to highlight the gown’s movement. To give a sense of proportion for customers used to researching all major purchases online before making a purchase, the model’s height and dress size was included. Customers were delighted to learn about affordable dress customizations to add coverage or reduce volume. This allowed the customer to get a custom dress within their budget.
Mobile Product Page
87% of customers were using mobile so we optimized for easy navigation, product discovery and clearer CTA. The new design increased time on page and reduced bounce rates.
Overview: While conducting research (contextual inquiry and user interviews) on New York's Citibikes, my team found that the number #1 pain point was not finding an open space to dock your bike post-ride (27% as of July 2013).
Top Pain Points
Not Enough Docking Stations
Heavy Bikes
Poor maintenance of bikes
Safety Concerns/ No Helmets
Wait time for switching between bikes (3-5 minutes)
Depending on commuting patterns, parking in popular neighborhoods (West Village, Union Square, transit hubs) require bikes to be redistributed daily to increase chances of returning a bike at a destination. Although Motivate has rolled out valet parking to ease the congestion in popular areas such the Flatiron district, we found that bikers usually use the Citibikes' app. The app provides a real time look of available parking spaces near you, but during our research by the time we biked the 3 blocks to the next docking station all 17 spaces were gone. Also looking at your phone while riding a bike in NYC is a safety issue and not the best user experience.
Solution: I proposed that we borrow a signifier from the MTA's subway. Green globes highlight subway entrances that are open at night. While looking at the Citibikes' docking station, I noticed the solar pole provides an opportunity to be seen from the saddle of a bike while scanning a busy street. A green light would indicate to riders that there were empty parking spots. While a red light would let users know to keep riding to another station. In addition, my team recommended that the Citibikes app auto refreshes with open docking station capacities and uses data to share times a rider will most likely to find a parking spot.
