My UX Space

Second year participating in the Condé Nast Digital Hackathon! Won first place last year, but just behind in second this year. It’s amazing to work for a company that pushes us out of the day to day to think outside the box. It’s inspiring to see the products coming out of it. 

Over the past 5-6 months I launched two mobile web interfaces for two eCommerce companies. With this came a ton of research, a lot of comparative/competitive analysis, testing and more research. I’ve learned so much and eCommerce in the mobile space has become fascinating to me. It’s extremely dangerous to simply translate what exists on desktop eCommerce platforms to mobile counterparts. Many companies still do this. With a lot of user research I’ve learned that mobile context is extremely important. The mindset, physical location, attention span and demographic are all elements to consider when thinking about mobile eCommerce. Though traffic on mobile devices have begun to surpass desktop traffic in terms of eCommerce, conversion rates are still low? Why? This is something the world is still trying to figure out. Well, I think we know why - but the perfect solution has yet to be discovered. Below are some key points that I’ve learned and some highlights I’ve encountered during this journey. 

1. Users aren’t unwilling, most times they’re unable 

Conversion rates are low and user drop-off at the checkout systems are high usually because users are unable to complete their task. They want to, but they can’t. There are so many obstacles that exist on mobile devices that either deter or prevent users from making a purchase. These obstacles include: unavailable or slow connection, friction leading to frustration when inputing information into fields, slow sites and the inability to quickly find what they’re looking for. As designers, most of these things are in our control. 

2. Stripping away the features 

As mentioned it’s inefficient and dangerous to simply carry over everything from the web to mobile. After speaking to users, it’s true that many of them rarely go to eCommerce sites on mobile devices to read “About” sections, look at press and awards, log into accounts, redeem coupons and sign up for e-newsletters. Their sole purpose is to make a purchase and most times they know what they want. By stripping away unnecessary features in a mobile context we can provide the user a more efficient and less cluttered path to their goal - and a lot of the time it will make the site run faster. Below, loads of filtering tools are stripped away and I created a simple filtering interface - much different from the desktop site. 

3. Quicker path to the user’s destination

Usually users just need to make a purchase and they know exactly what they want. By putting categories directly at the forefront upon landing - with bold imagery the user can get where they’re going quicker and enjoyably. Of course this will vary among companies - depending on what’s being sold, user paths may be different. For a recent design for Shoplet, this proved to be efficient.

4. Playing around with UI

It’s a different device, it’s a different context and it’s touch. I had a lot of fun playing around with different interface design and functionality when adding items and quantity to cart.

5. Analytics is powerful 

It may not be fun - especially not for me, but analytics and data can be a designers’ best friend. Quickly learn your users path and cater to them. Find out immediately if what you’ve implemented is working, and if it’s not - then change it. This may be a no-brainer to many, but for me it was very exciting to be able to successfully measure and quantify results of my design implementation. With the new mobile design for Shoplet, mobile conversion rates more than tripled. 

6. We’re still not there

Through all of this - the mobile space for eCommerce still seems hazy. I feel there is still some huge code to be cracked, some new way that will really change the mobile eCommerce space for good, something that makes complete sense and something that provides the user the most efficient and easy experience. We’re getting closer, but still not there yet. 

3 months ago I began a giant project and finally, tomorrow it will launch and go live!

The project: A redesign for the mobile e-commerce platform for Caudalie USA, a global skincare co. This would entail all UX research, ideation, wireframing, prototyping, user testing, visual design, constant iteration, front end development, QA, project management and deployment. The design would need to work globally (14 different countries) across all mobile devices.

I teamed up with the best work partner (and friend) ever, Justin Tanacredi. It amazes me that in less than 4 months, just the two of us (and only working on this part-time) were able to complete such a massive project. I am really proud of the work that we've accomplished.

Something like this would usually require a large team so it has been challenging; but it gave us the opportunity to really own it and run into things that we had to figure out on our own. I've learned a ton along the way from everything e-commerce to conducting research on foreign users to creating beautiful responsive design...

Thanks to Justin again, incredibly important to have the right work partner - also, all my UX peers who helped with advice and testing - and lastly, Caudalie for being such a great client - all of the people that work there are absolutely wonderful.

Some final designs below. 

My interest and passion has always been in storytelling which led me to such a long career in television and film. The broadcast production process has definitely evolved and I've been lucky enough to work on some amazing projects where media and technology converge. Being able to tell stories on different digital platforms has been fascinating to me - it's one of the things that led me to my UX path. User experience is all about storytelling!

Recently PBS FRONTLINE, ProPublica and The New York Times released an interactive project called Web of Terror. It's based off the documents leaked by former NSA employee, Edward Snowden. It exposes some of the errors in US and UK intelligence, which ultimately led to catastrophe. As the Production Manager on this project I helped figure out how to tell this incredible story in an interactive way, how to get users to engage -- much different from traditional broadcast or print. 

During my work breaks I've been really distracted and with Sketch3 began creating cute pictures of my friends.

As I enter week 3 of a very large mobile redesign and concurrently enter week 2 as a product designer & UX designer at a NYC start-up, I wanted to share my experience so far. 

There is a reoccurring theme at both of these jobs - and that is the importance of teamwork. A different type of teamwork than I’m used to. Not a group of UX designers working together with the same mindset, but a team of just developer(s) and designer (just me). 

Months ago I was at a speak with Amjad Masad (JavaScript dev for Facebook) and Jason Foral (designer). The dynamic between the two was amazing. They understood eachother and explained to always be on the same page - really empathizing with one another. This is how they are able to create such great work that stems from a successful collaboration. It was really inspiring and I could only hope to one day be a part of such great partnership.

Today, I find myself in situations where daily tasks and line of communication are critical to achieving that type of partnership. Especially in this particular start-up environment where the front-end developer is in Beijing. So many language barriers and obstacles exist to overcome each day, but with each I feel I’m building a deeper understanding and connection. Never before has it been so important to listen (with eyes and ears) and feel dumb (ask SO many questions and be OK with not understanding). 

Regarding my large mobile redesign project - the same communication skills are important, but something added. In this case, I got to choose my developer. Finding a person that you like spending time with, respect, tolerate, TRUST and can call a friend makes a whole world of a difference when working together. It makes things easier and super fun. Feeling comfortable walking through each step of design to make sure it can be implemented is critical - having the sense of freedom to bug someone all the time because ya know, you're friends creates less room for error. THIS type of importance isn’t something that can commonly be controlled especially in a traditional workplace, but it can be a great big leap towards that harmonious partnership. At least, that’s how it feels. 

Of course, these people must be talented and hard-working. The end product will surely reflect how well we communicated, and I hope it’s in our favor!

Week 1-2 in mobile redesign:

Affinity Mapping - 

Ideation - 

Team bonding — the MJ Dream Team :) (w/ Justin Tanacredi)

1. It’s all bollocks and none of it really matters. Yes really. That stress about the thing that went really wrong, your burning desire to make this your best design ever that in turn makes you miserable, the argument about the late print, graphic design, none of this is what really really matters in life. Release yourself from that stress. No one is dying. It’s pixels, type and colour. Work hard, but enjoy it and relax.

2. Be with the people you love. don’t work with dicks. Life is short, enjoy it, treat your colleagues well. Be part of and build a team, laugh a lot, have fun doing everything. You’re lucky, seriously.

3. Empathy and understanding should be in your every day. Put yourself in their shoes, stand where the junior stands, stand where the CD stands. If you are senior then stay at the coal face, put out the rubbish and load the dishwasher. Don’t sit in big ivory towers of status and pomp. Understand people and why they are who they are. 

Oh and smile you miserable trendy glasses wearing twats.