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P Collection
UX DESIGN l UI DESIGN l RESEARCH
INTRODUCTION
Pcollection is an e-commerce shopping platform that helps petite women to find the perfect size clothes for their bodies. It allows petite women to browse for petite size clothing from different brands in one place and offers multiple useful tools to help them enjoy online shopping. Pcollection aims to inspire petite women to love their bodies and believes they should be able to be fashionable.
MY ROLE
Responsible for the entire design process which included the research, user interviews, personas, sketches, wireframes, prototype, usability tests and more.
TOOLS
Figma, InVision, Miro
TIMELINE
Jun 2021 - Jul 2021
The Problem
Petite women experience sizing issues very frequently when they order clothes from online and it happens regardless of the type of the clothes. Pants are always too long and maxi dresses always seems to end up dragging on the floor. Also, mini-skirts are never mini but just regular skirts on them. However, going through the return or alteration process can also be a struggle. Many petite women experience these struggles when they shop online and it is an unsolved problem. Petite women are stressed and depressed whenever they experience these issues and something needs to be done to help them.
The Solution
It’s impossible to change our bodies so something needs to be changed to make their shopping experience better. Pcollection is an e-commerce shopping application that allows browsing for petite size clothing from different brands in one place. Users are able to get personal sizes to shop efficiently and even alter the clothes before receiving them.
Research
I interviewed 5 petite women who are under 5.4ft and who enjoy online shopping. I recruited them via social media. This allowed me to learn about users’ pain points and understand them better.
Insights
Consistent Problems
Sizing issues happens frequent enough for users to be aware of the issues and expect this to happen whenever they order from online.
Inaccurate Size Chart
Most of the size charts online shopping malls are inaccurate, so it’s hard for users to find correct size clothes.
Time Wasting
When they face sizing issues, they have to return or alter the clothes which is wasting time. This also consumes lots of energy because it’s adding to their ever growing to-do list.
Lose Confidence
When issues keep happening, people tend to blame themselves, which leads to a loss in confidence.
“This problem makes me add another item to my ever growing to-do list”
Goal
Reduce Frequency
Create ways to reduce the frequency of sizing problems by providing useful tools that make users shop easier and smarter, which will lead them to have a better shopping experience and make them return to the app.
Accurate Size Chart
Provide an accurate size chart to help users to make better decisions.
Time Efficiency
Provide smart and easy shopping methods, which will allow them to build trust with the app and use it conveniently.
Gain Confidence
Inspire petite women to love their bodies and have confidence in daily life by looking at themselves wearing fitted clothes. One nice outfit can make a person’s day better.
User Persona
I think it was important to have 2 personas because all petite women have different body types, so I decided to create one persona with regular size and one with plus size. User personas allowed me to understand users’ thoughts and see problems from users’ perspective.
Empathy Map
I realized what users say and think is different. They say sizing issues are expected and it’s ok, but they actually worry about sizing issues and feel annoyed. Therefore, I decided to focus on what they think and how they feel.
User Stories
I created user stories based on personas and an empathy map which allowed me to decide priority features of my app. The MVPs I came up with were finding the correct size clothes, shopping different brands, filter & sort, alteration, indirect help to make decisions and convenience.
Information Architecture
Then, I created an information architecture to organize the essential contents that I received from user stories.
Sketches
Based on the user stories and information architecture, I sketched my initial ideas.
1. Get Personal Size
2. Browsing Features
3. Shop and Alteration
Wireframes
For the next step, I transformed the solution concept into wireframes.
Usability Test
I conducted 10 usability tests after making prototypes. These are the feedback I received. I had five tasks such as getting a personal size, browsing products in different features, checking the size, getting a quote and editing the color from the shopping cart for participants to complete. I received a lot of positive feedback, yet there were some minor things users commented. I made an adjustment after all tests. Talking to potential users and getting feedback from them was very helpful and I enjoyed learning about the different perspectives of the users.
1. Some users wanted to know what brand the clothes were from, so I added the brand name on the top of the clothes name.
2. Some users mentioned the size chart button was tiny, so they didn’t realize it was there. To lead users to that button, I made the button bigger and more outstanding.
3. I received feedback that it would be nice to have some guidance on how the clothes would fit on their body, so I decided to show the fit information based on their personal size, such as “This style might be big for you.”
1. Most users did not understand the progress bar at the top. They were confused about what to do with the bar and how to move to the next step. Therefore, I made the page more straightforward by writing down all the information on one page. I made blank forms for the users to fill in the part of the body that users can request to alter.
2. Some users wondered if they could use their personal size to alter their clothes. This makes sense because users already got their personal size at the beginning of the shopping process, so I added an auto-fill function based on the users' size.
Hi-Fi Designs
Get Personal Size
After creating an account, users have an option to get a personal size for each type of clothes to shop efficiently. The app will guide users to watch the measurement tutorial and enter the measurement of body part.
Browsing Features
The home screen is simple and well organized, so users can find what they are looking for easily by using browsing features.
Shopping Features
Many items make easy to shop. Filters, highlight tabs like popular, recent and recommended give users the ability to shop smart and quick.
Will this fit?
By clicking reviews, users can check the fit of the clothes from other users who purchased the clothes earlier. Also, users can see their personal sizes in the size chart. These functions will help users to make the right decision before purchasing.
Alteration Service
When clicking the alteration button, users will have an option to add an alteration service offered by the app. Customers will enter the size they want to alter or select auto-fill based on the personal size they got earlier to get a quote. They can decide whether to add the alteration service to the cart, or not use it. When they choose to use the service, the clothes will be altered before shipping.
Shopping Cart
The shopping cart page should be user friendly. Users can edit color or size of clothes by clicking size/color indicator button without leaving the page.
Reflection
Designing an app has been challenging but a very rewarding process. Especially while working as a solo designer. I sometimes lost confidence and doubted my project. However, seeing the apps progression was gratifying and it motivated me.
From research, interviews and prototype testing, I've learnt to emphasize users thoughts and understand pain points from a users' perspective. Talking to users, understanding their motivation or belief, and getting feedback from them was such a precious experience, and allowed me to improve my app to help users and myself as a designer. In turn this growth will help me create meaningful products with a deeper understanding toward users.
Next Step
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I would like to see how many items or brands people saved in their favorites.
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I want to check how many people are getting the personal sizes prior to shopping, so that I know if providing the personal size function is useful.
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I would like to know how many people use the alteration service. If not many people are using it, I would like to try to find the reason and make it a better feature.
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I am curious of other unique ways people could use the tools.
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I would be interested in tracking the common tools people use while shopping to better understand the end users.
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