A UX case study | DressForm

Not just another shopping app

The brief

The goal for this project was to create an app for Ben. He likes to wear streetwear and skateboard clothing that’s associated with his musical taste. He has an interest in small independent brands. Also, he likes to buy and wear clothing from designer start-ups.

Important to know:

The app was created to solve the needs of users who are not interested in just shopping because they like to browse through clothing, but rather to reduce this action as much as possible and still find those items you love. The case study below will take you through my design process in defining and developing a solution to the user’s problem for this concept.

My role

This project was a solo concept project of one week during the 12-week UX Immersive Design Bootcamp from General Assembly to explore the design process of creating a mobile application.

Key deliverables

Research interviews | Experience Map | Problem Statement | Ideation | Outcome statement | User flow | User Testing | Prototype Iteration |Low Fidelity prototype in Marvel

Results

This app would need to:

• make it easy for Ben to find clothing items he likes without endless browsing online.
• encourage Ben to wear more clothing from independent brands and designer start-ups.
• avoid the unwanted ads and other unnecessary information Ben encounters on his search.

Discover

User Interviews

By conducting interviews, it helps me to understand the user’s needs, motivations and behaviours. I performed three rounds of interviews with Ben asking him about his shopping experiences, to ensure I was designing for him and not myself. The outcomes combined with an experience map will help me focus and solve the right problems.

Key Findings:

• Ben has an interest in small independent brands.
• He does not want to spend much time and effort searching for it.
• He doesn’t like social media to find clothing because of too much-unwanted information.
• It frustrates Ben when clothing is out of stock or not in his size.

Experience Map

To get a better idea of Ben’s frustration in this process I mapped out his journey based on one of his previous difficult shopping experiences.

After mapping Ben’s journey I realized that his frustration builds up through the entire process. He does not have a clear goal where to search online, so he goes on random searches trying to find items of clothing that fit his style. After a series of disappointments, due to different reasons, for example — out of stock, too expensive or an unwanted celebrity brand — his incentive fades.

How can we help Ben easily find the clothing brands he likes?

Problem Statement

Ben needs an efficient way to find affordable streetwear from new design brands because it takes too much time and effort.

Define

Creating the concept | Initial ideas | Possible solutions

With a clear problem in mind, I started to brainstorm ideas to try to solve them. The concepts varied from a personalized style search engine or style blog to an online shop that exclusively sells young designer streetwear.

I considered all these ideas and decided to take forward a combination of two concepts:

• A Marketplace where independent brands and start-up designers would showcase and sell their items of clothing.
• A Fashion wheel inspired cover flow where Ben can swipe through outfits specially selected for him.

Ben would now be able to have an efficient way of shopping, without the frustration of spending lots of time and effort searching it online. The app called — DressForm — will offer a selection of clothing items curated to his preferences.

Storyboard | Outcome Statement

I created a storyboard to represent how this app could improve Ben’s search.

1. Ben wants cool new apparel that matches with his style and his wardrobe.
2. He is trying to find new designer streetwear online but gets frustrated after a long search without results.
3. A notification comes up on his phone. The app Dressform has some amazing new items suggested to him that are customised to his style and preferences.
4. The suggestions on the app hit his sweet spot. He purchases the looks knowing they will look good on him and compliments the rest of his wardrobe. All without any effort at all.

Develop

User flow

To get an idea of Ben’s journey through the app, I created a user flow to visualise what his — happy path — would be.

The main functionalities of the app are:

• the Homepage with recommendations of items of clothing.
• a Product detail page with the option to add the item to the basket.
• a Checkout page allows the user to fill in the payment details and make the purchase.

Prototype | User Testing

Based on my concept sketches and the user flow, I created a wireframe sketch of the happy path. It allows me to test my ideas quickly on the user, regarding the functionality of the screens and the features.

I conducted user tests with Ben and 2 other participants to help me understand which parts confused users and needed improvement, making the app experience as intuitive as possible.

The following areas required adjusting:

• It was not clear on the homepage that it’s a shopping app.
• The direction markers to swipe between outfits are not visible enough.
• Price tags are missing when browsing.
• It was unclear how to go to the previous page.
• The sticky footer doesn’t feel intuitive.
• No menu button or overview page.

Deliver

Iterations

Thanks to the insights gained from user testing, I implemented several changes to the next iterations.

Some iterations include:

• Including price tags when hovering over the clothing item.
• Adding in clear navigation icons.
• Redesigning the footer on the Product details page.

Final prototype | Marvel App

Click to see our high fidelity prototype: Here

Next steps

• Iteration to mid-fidelity.
• Refining the checkout flow with different paying methods.
• Adding in confirmation messages after purchases.
• Invest more time into research to update navigation, making it more intuitive.

Key Findings

This was the first project I finished for the UXDI course and I enjoyed the process. I especially loved how you’re trying to think up solutions for another person’s problem and without trying to design for yourself. Sketching rough ideas and testing straight is a perfect way to eliminate potential assumptions.

Getting to know the user was my top priority, and I did by conducting interviews and tests, this part of the process attracted my interest from the start and would love to refine my skills on it.