Goddess Isis Website & App
Research & Design
Goddess Isis Background
Goddess Isis is a shop that specializes in metaphysical items. While it has a wide range of attractive products, custom goods and a unique storefront, the design and architecture of the current website frequently deterred users. My goal for this project was to create a user-friendly website that reflected the target audience’s culture, and later translate this research into an app prototype.
Role
UX Research & UX Design
Branding & Logo
Photoshop Collages & Illustration
Project Type
Individual project
2 week sprint
Tools
Sketch, InVision, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, OptimalSort
Research
User Interviews
The first step in my research was to conduct user interviews on the original website in order to discover what was currently working, and what wasn’t. From this exercise, I learned that users were able to find what they were looking for, but not quickly. Another big takeaway was that users generally didn’t like the design of the website, and didn’t trust it. Since the products they would purchase on Goddess Isis were esoteric and personal in nature, users expressed a need for greater connection to the people behind the business. In other words, a redesign that embodied trust and reflected the space more accurately. They lacked confidence in the checkout process, and would frequently hesitate and express concern at this point in the task flow.
Affinity Map
Taking all of this feedback, I then created an affinity map. This showed me that a redesign was one of the biggest complaints from users, even though this wasn’t what I was originally testing for. Users were also frequently confused by the categories’ structure, as well as the overall lack of trust and empathy that they had for the website.
Competitive/Comparative Analysis
In order to achieve my goal of creating a seamless buying experience combined with an elevated metaphysical website, I compared Goddess Isis to both e-commerce and other esoteric shops. By comparing the checkout experience to stores like Apple and Etsy because of their highly usable e-commerce strategies, I was able to discover critical elements for buying small batch goods as well as MVP commerce elements such as wishlists, shipping information and contact options. By then comparing Goddess Isis to other similar shops, I discovered critical features that I later incorporated into the redesign. One of these was the addition of a well-functioning and updated events page, as it connected users to the website’s community, a concern users vocalized frequently during testing. I also added in Covid-19 updates, blog elements for further connection, and social media sharing options.
Define
Based on the insights that I gained from my user interviews, card sorting exercises and affinity map, I defined the primary problem that Goddess Isis was experiencing. I then formulated a solution statement, and began coming up with creative strategies.
Problem Statement:
Users need an easier way to navigate through the complex website because they want to find what they’re looking for with ease and speed.
Solution Statement:
The Goddess Isis website redesign allows users to search for metaphysical goods quickly and intuitively, while delighting them with a visual redesign.
Identifying the User
Based on the insights that I gained from my user interviews and card sorting exercises, I developed 3 user personas. These personas reflected the needs of my primary user groups. Future design and development were centered around the needs of these personas, and were always at the forefront of the development process.
Good Friend Grace
“I want guidance choosing the right products for the people I care about”
Millennial Stella
“I need to feel a human connection with the people behind the shop.”
Lifelong Luna
“I want to purchase high-quality goods for my energetic lifestyle”
Synthesis
User Flow & Task Flows
By developing accurate personas drawn from the Goddess Isis community, I was then able to create user and task flows. These were based on the needs of the individual personas, showing the quickest path to completing their goals.
*click image to enlarge
Information Architecture
The biggest issue that I discovered during interviews was that while the categories themselves actually made sense to the users, there were so many of them (28) that users were completely overwhelmed and frequently gave up on their task. My strategy for this was to divide the categories into 6 primary groups, which created a simplified and user-friendly navigation experience.
Card Sorting
In order to assess whether the website’s original navigation and categories made sense, I conducted a card sorting exercise with 15 users using Optimal Workshop. As previously mentioned, about half of the website’s categories made sense for the products they contained. This card sorting exercise showed me how real users would sort items in the shop, which helped me break down the other half of the categories into intuitive groups. Each time that I conducted prototype testing, I focused on refining the sitemap’s structure to confirm that the naming structure was intuitive. As always, I discovered that some of the best ideas and solutions come from the users themselves.
3D Cluster View
Similarity Matrix
The 3D cluster view organized category results into the largest overarching groups, and was the base for my redesign of the site’s information architecture. User interpretations were also incredibly helpful, and showed me what categories users would sort items into. Finally, the similarity matrix allowed me to see how users intuitively connected items based on their interpreted similarity. This was helpful for placing products within navigation groups, and to generate “recommended items” on individual product pages.
Design & Test
Sketches & Wireframes
Moving into the design phase, I created a simple navigation structure and overall cleaner layout. The refined structure and naming conventions decreased the content on the new pages by 80%, and made the site more intuitive to navigate as evidenced by further user testing. My goal for the redesign was to combine the ease of shopping that users are used to, while allowing products to shine by highlighting them with a minimal and clean design structure.
User Testing
After completing my first round of wireframes, I tested the prototype with my users using InVision. After each user interview, I tweaked my wireframes for the next round. This significantly improved my results, and by the 5th test my user was able to navigate the site effectively and with minimal moments of hesitation. Something unexpected that I discovered about my users is that a large section of them are over the age of 50. Therefore, I added 3 user tests with ages ranging from 55-70.
Mood Board
I created a mood board based off metaphysical design trends, and visual sources that my users had mentioned in interviews. This was the base for the brand’s redesign.
Original Website
Brand Development & High-Fidelity
The first step of rebranding Goddess Isis was to design a new logo that elevated the brand, and that was more reflective and respectful of the user base. I conducted design research during my user interviews, and used this feedback to create a new visual identity for Goddess Isis that captured a metaphysical feel, while embodying the balance of dark and light, and the spiritual moodiness that users preferred.
Users were drawn to a modern, creative and “witchy” design style, but they also needed it to feel culturally familiar. One of the phrases that I frequently heard is that they weren’t interested in shopping at the “Apple store”. They wanted to feel a genuine connection to their community through the website, and get a sense of the “energy” behind the store through its design aesthetic. By highlighting symbols of the community in the design and creating a palette of colors that reflected nature, I brought an earthy and celestial feeling into the design. Herbs, incense and medicinal flowers dance along the pages while clean product shots give items a natural feel.
The App
Goddess Isis doesn’t currently have an app or mobile website, but that didn’t stop me from dreaming one up! I wanted screens that contained engaging content and tools that would delight the user group. Educational extensions to the app would also allow for greater social engagement between the shop and users, such as celestial tutorial videos and ceremonial calendars.
Final Conclusions & Next Steps
From my user research, the most significant insight that I gained was that a complete rebrand and revision of the business model is still needed. My users thought that the current website does not reflect their belief systems authentically and that it monetizes cultural symbols. Users needed a complete visual rebrand, that included getting a sense for the people who run the shop.
With regards to developing the information architecture, further user testing is needed. Primarily, this next phase should aim to test users of a wide variety of belief systems and interests (Wicca, shaman, energy workers, yogis, casually spiritual, etc.) During my testing, I also discovered that users sorted items into groups based on their unique belief systems. In addition, less knowledgeable users sorted items differently from those with more spiritual experience. A navigation organization that is inclusive to all knowledge levels would require more testing.
NEXT
Visual Identity Exploration