HOUSE2HOME
Immediate Interior Designer recommendations & tangible decor by an E-Commerce Website
PROBLEM
How might we provide a perceptible way for users to shop for decor within a budget yet provide guidance for purchases that will look great within their homes?
INSIGHTS
A joy of moving into a new space is individualization by physically showing your personality within your new pad's look & feel.
However, based on previous research, renters & homeowners struggle with pulling all the decorative elements together to create the vibe they want. This means that ensuring products look good within their specific space and achievable within their budget is yet to be discovered!
CONTEXT & ROLE
This project was created under a modified Google Ventures Design Sprint process, as an individual, conceptual undertaking with refinement & decisions conducted and led by myself.
As a UX/UI, Visual Designer & UX Writer, my role was to help HOUSE2HOME find a solution to their problem.
Many renters & homeowners struggle with decor — their business.
I assisted the client with an idea in a time frame of 5 days creating a journey map, comparable research, ideation, solution sketch, storyboarding & high-fidelity mockups with prototyping. Usability tests with 5 participants provided valuable feedback for the next steps — another round of iteration.
DAY ONE
DECIPHERING RECENT AUDIO RESEARCH
END-TO-END USER EXPERIENCE
This refined map is the flow of how customers interact with the end goal of purchasing decor within their budget, curated stylistically to complement their residence.
DAY TWO
LIGHTENING DEMO
Finding parallel industries for sources of inspiration was fun. Relevant companies offered content strategy on how to use their website, item categories, sorting, and filtering options, budget factors, package deals and the use of high-quality imagery were key in ideation.
CRAZY 8'S
This was a thrilling design sketch exercise –– 8 minutes, 8 frames, 8 ideas of the most critical screen. The step at which the user selects decor items to visualize, based on what has been recommended by the website as essential decor and/or nice-to-have decor, is the most critical screen. This is because the user sees tiered product recommendations for the first time and can visualize them within a lifestyle photo, representing what the decor would look like within their home. Visualization is a crucial step for the user to confirm their product purchases and ensure it is the look & feel they are trying to achieve.
DAY THREE
SOLUTION SKETCH REFLECTION
Why proceed with this solution? I think this approach solves the struggle of the renters & homeowners. By clustering curated product recommendations into essentials, desirable & nice-to-have bundles, there is an ease of selection. The renters & homeowners can then visualize decor within a representational lifestyle photo, seeing their own home (think lighting, wall & floor colors) by adding product groupings. By representing what the decor would look like within their home, there is a higher comfort level in making decor purchases.
This solution would eliminate the need to upload a photo of their space with dimensions for scale.
“Our Curators are finding the decor for you” is the screen that comes before the critical screen.
The critical screen identifies the product bundles for selection & visualization.
The shopping cart identifies the added product packages to the user’s basket for review & checkout.
STORYBOARD
This storyboard reflects the journey of the vibe the user is trying to create with pre-defined decor bundles to buy — categorized as essential, premium, and premium pro packages — with visualization of items in a replicated room of their actual spatial characteristics. The intention is to reassure confidence & move the user to purchase the decor.
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
DAY FOUR
PROTOTYPING
The prototype will test if curated collections help renters & homeowners achieve the look they are going for, particularly where they struggle in knowing which products to buy. With form inputs about the space they are seeking decor for, the website will help them visualize what products will look like within a space that resembles their own. This feature should improve conversion rates. Prototype: House2Home
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
DAY FIVE
VALIDATE
5 of 5 participants were female
3 of 5 participants had recently moved out of state/cross-country
5 of 5 participants were experienced with shopping for home decor
2 of 5 participants were commercial interior designers
The ‘Five Act’ interviewing process was beneficial to pace me & place the interviewees at ease. Starting with this friendly welcome & asking them to share their decor shopping methods & pitfalls both before & during the COVID pandemic were great for conversation-starting. Showing them the prototype was next. Before selecting anything, I asked how they understood the page, the questions, etc. Their feedback is vital in knowing what is working and what is posing confusion. Once they went through the flow, I asked for more input and critique.
SUMMARY OF CRITICAL FINDINGS: LEARNS & WINS
-
3 of 5 participants supported the brand to lean into getting “immediate results” from the in-house Interior Designers. Want an ‘about us’ on why different than any other website.
-
5 of 5 participants stated questions one through three should allow for multiple selections instead of only one. For example, if numerous design styles are selected — the algorithm should pull them together. Question 1 can incorporate visual images for context.
-
3 of 5 participants noted questions five through eight should clarify they pertain to their existing room.
-
5 of 5 participants want to see “similar items” so you can choose between a couple of product types for each category. And “next” after you’ve selected them.
-
4 of 5 participants asked if there is a way to upload their own photo? “I’d like to see my own furniture to simulate objects in my room — this is more relatable.”
-
3 of 5 participants like how the ‘search bar’ is front and center, straightforward to find, with all icons understandable.
-
4 of 5 participants like question 5 (size), question 6 (light), question 7/8 (color) as many users don’t think about those items when sourcing decor — and these are “what you should consider.”
-
5 of 5 participants admire how transparent the price is. Appreciate how both the total cost for the collection & each item is shown individually.
-
3 of 5 participants favor the ‘toggle button’ for item quantity, as one might want more than 1 piece.
-
5 of 5 participants praise the ‘favorites’ feature so you “have your own Pinterest board” to keep track of likes. “Can I save designs?” — what’s a resource today could in the future become a purchase list.
What I learned from a 5-day sprint
PROJECT TAKEAWAYS
-
Timebox — I love the feature of limiting ideas & refinement to specific time frames. Quickly creating is fun and energizing! I can only imagine how a more extensive group accentuates these feelings.
-
Prototype — I can design & create a 9-page user flow with assets & copywriting in Sketch & prototype in Marvel in just over 8-hours.
-
Ideation — by limiting this experimentation to the outlined day of the sprint, you energetically move forward to test an idea. This is the profound purpose of the GV Design Sprint process. Trying other ideas can come in the future while incorporating feedback from this first round of testing.
-
Niche market — identify what makes this brand unique from all other decor brands. Including the ‘Why?’ adds to the advantage of this brand over others with an immediate value statement to users.
-
Choice — users want a say. Providing options for their involvement in decisions gives them that feeling of being in control.
AS A UX, UI & VISUAL DESIGNER, I SAW...
-
The benefits a GV Design Sprint brings for testing new ideas with concrete feedback in a 5-day timeframe
-
How referring to your storyboard when nearing the completion of the prototype is necessary to ensure all components are reflected
-
That combining product selection screens & visualization into a single page may better serve decor validation
-
To ensure engagement of proposed decor items directly improves emotional behavior of selection & feedback
-
That transparency of pricing increases trust
-
How a ‘favorite’ feature stimulates users to spend more time on your website
-
How accomplished you feel after this 5-day exercise
CRITICAL FINDINGS ITERATION POST-SPRINT
Leaned into the brand getting “immediate results” from the in-house Interior Designers.
Modified questions one through three allowing for multiple selections instead of only one.
Copywriting clarified that questions five through eight pertain to their existing room.
Added a loading page status bar to indicate progress.
Finessed copywriting & iconography to add distinction to add-on packages or collection levels.
At visualization, added recognition elements of dot indicators of items within each collection, along with collection name.
Finessed copywriting & iconography to add distinction to add-on packages or collection levels.
At visualization, added recognition elements of dot indicators of items within each collection, along with collection name.
Prototype: House2Home
REFLECTION POST-SPRINT
An area requiring greater study is how users can implement their choice(s) of products?
5 of 5 participants want to see “similar items” so you can choose between items within a product category.
Ideation sketching would allow users to “see other suggestions” by product category.
Ideation sketching would allow users to “see other suggestions” by product category.
Granting users to select which items they want to see more choices on - through a lock/unlock feature.
Visualization would allow users to confirm stylistic selections, prior to adding them to their cart.
