Sustain-a-Look
Role
UX Design, Information Architecture, UX Research
Sustain-A-Look is a sustainable fashion brand based in Boulder, Colorado, that focuses on reducing environmental waste and combatting unethical labor practices by providing customers with eco-friendly, fair-trade, high-quality clothing at a reasonable price. The company is expanding their business beyond their local community to serve a nationwide audience. They would like a website redesign for Sustain-A-Look that effectively communicates the brand's mission, highlights the new donation and recycled clothing programs, and provides a seamless and accessible purchasing experience.
Brief
Conducted a comprehensive content audit of the existing site and analyzed user feedback to identify key problem areas. Researched competitor websites to gather best practices specific to sustainable fashion brands. Created a new site map that incorporates two additional pages while addressing navigation issues and refined the information architecture by structuring product categories (e.g., tops, bottoms, dresses) to support the brand’s gender-neutral mission. Validated the revised information architecture and site map with potential users through card sorting and tree testing. Prototyped an improved design, focusing on critical pain points such as checkout trustworthiness, navigation clarity, and accessibility. Ensured visual consistency by enhancing typography legibility, color contrast, and visual differentiation for new programs.
Areas of Focus
Problem
Sustain-a-Look requires the addition of two new web pages, making it essential to optimize the navigation to integrate these seamlessly. Accessibility improvements are also necessary, particularly enhancing color contrast to boost readability and legibility. Additionally, users are unable to review their cart after putting an item in the “cart” function that that needed to be resolved to ensure a smooth and efficient purchasing experience for users.
Goals
Develop a new site map incorporating the two new pages (Recycle Program, Donation Program) and improve navigation. Ensure clear categorization of shop items to reduce user overwhelm.
Conduct card sorting and tree testing to validate the navigation improvements with potential users.
Ensure a consistent visual design across the entire website, including typography, color contrast, and layout. Differentiate key programs visually (Recycle Program, Donation Program).
Create wireframes and prototypes for the redesigned website, focusing on improving checkout, navigation, and overall usability.
Address accessibility issues by improving legibility (removing illegible fonts) and refining color contrast for better readability.
Redesign the checkout experience to improve user trust and allow seamless navigation back to the shopping area.
Key Takeaways
Improved trust and checkout process: Users are now able to review their order before payment, greatly enhancing trust in the platform and reducing order errors.
Seamless user navigation: The new site map and information architecture made it easier for users to find products and navigate between shopping, recycling, and donation pages.
Increased accessibility: By addressing issues like poor color contrast and illegible fonts, the site became more inclusive, catering to every audience.
Brand consistency and credibility: A consistent visual design across all pages, including the checkout, aligned with Sustain-a-Look's eco-conscious and professional brand image.
Outcomes & Impact
Trust is paramount: The checkout experience was a major pain point, and solving this issue was crucial to the brand's success as it scales nationally.
Improvements in the information architecture directly impact user satisfaction: By reorganizing the navigation and product categories, we reduce friction in the shopping process, making the site more intuitive and user-friendly.
User research guides successful design: Validating my design choices through early user research (personas, card sorting, tree testing) ensured that the final product truly met user needs and expectations.