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FASHION MARKETPLACE APP PRODUCT DESIGN RESEARCH
IDEATION PHASE
UIUX DESIGNER - TAN FANG HUI
29 APR 2022 - 17 MAY 2022
IMOGEN NUIT
08
CONTEXT
Ideation of novel fashion marketplace app
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Imogen Nuit is a startup looking to break into the saturated fashion industry with a marketplace app providing personalised shopping based on recommendations by AI. They envision partnerships with various notable fashion brands and an interactive shopping experience for their registered customers.
PROBLEM
The CEO of Imogen Nuit desired to replicate a physical interactive shopping experience virtually via:
- Virtual world: 2D graphical representation of a shopping mall with lounge and warehouse, avatars,
- Social: ability to chat, share fashion styles and purchase for friends features.
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They did not conduct any foundational research and competitor analysis for the creation of their new app.
THE CHALLENGE
"How do you design a fashion marketplace app that enhances users' online shopping experience?"
RESEARCH
I conducted foundational user interviews to understand the users I'm designing for and their needs.
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User groups identified through research were:
- Busy adults with no time to visit physical shopping malls who want to easily view and purchase suitable fashion styles for themselves or for others
- Fashionistas who want to interact and identify with others on fashion styles
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Users also shared that they were not keen on a homepage of a 2d graphical representation of a shopping mall because it would be cumbersome to navigate their avatars into each of the virtual storefronts to browse respective available products.
USER QUOTE
"When I'm online shopping, it's not efficient if I have to navigate an avatar. I want to view styles at a glance."
I conducted a competitive audit of marketplace shopping apps.
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Some competitors struggled with decluttering their home and preview pages. At first glance, attention-grabbing banners were devoted to promotional ads, and icons to categorise and allow for ease of navigation were small.
Competitors however ensured the accessibility of the search bar with it being at the top of their app screens. ​
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Other fashion marketplace competitors had clear buttons and filters that categorised their products and made navigation easier.
IDEATION
With my iPad, I did quick iterations of the homepage design and the various app pages.
I showed the wireframes and conveyed the user research findings to the CEO of Imogen Nuit.
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I proposed that they should consider having alternative navigation paths and menus should they still desire to go ahead with their 2D shopping mall homepage idea, so that users would not be frustrated.
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I also raised data sensitivity concerns as Imogen Nuit envisioned an app feature where users could share each other's body measurements to purchase fitting styles for each other.
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Imogen Nuit took these into consideration for their app and funding pitching.
LEARNINGS
Foundational user research is important in designing an app that meets users needs. A unique, unconventional design needs to be usable, enjoyable and useful for users and getting user feedback is crucial for design iteration.
NEXT STEPS
To conduct usability testing on a prototype to validate whether user needs have been effectively addressed