ROLE UX Designer/Researcher/Writer
DURATION 2 months
PROJECT VISION
While online florist shops are a great way to give gifts for any occasion, it is very difficult to find a way to personalize the bouquets. Sometimes after a bouquet is sent, they will arrive wilted and sad-looking because of poor boxing/insulation in extreme weather and long distances. Likewise, if a bouquet is sent with special flowers that can be potted and grown as a plant after they root, sometimes the receiver will not know what soil to get or how to take care of the plant. This can create an even bigger burden of research, running to the store, and hoping that they have the correct things on hand to keep the plants alive.
This website will provide users with a place to customize flower bouquets, make sure their package arrives in great condition by adding extra insulation to their shipment, and providing the receiver with an aftercare kit and instructions.
AUDIENCE
This app will be designed for people who want to send their loved ones a unique gift that can be kept alive long after it is sent to them. The age range for people who will use this app is 18-75.
KICKOFF (RESEARCH + INSIGHTS)
Upon further researching what is needed for a customizable florist site to be successful, there are a few key takeaways from my research:
- There are not many options to customize floral arrangements for special occasions. This can be hard for people with allergies to common plants typically used in bouquets.
- Flowers often die or wilt during longer transits or in extreme weather conditions. There should be an option to add extra insulation to boxes when customers know about extreme weather or long transits to best prevent this from happening.
- Receivers of bouquets may not know that they can plant some of them in dirt and keep them forever. Adding a "plant me" kit in checkout will help those receivers have the correct soil, instructions, and conditions for their plants to thrive long after they receive the arrangement.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Through my research, I noticed that a lot of shops did not have a way to customize your floral arrangements. These differences are what will make my design stand out from competitors and offer an easy customizable solution for people with specific botanical needs.
FALLBACKS FROM COMPETITION
- Overwhelming amount of choices, but no choice to customize other than adding a teddy bear or personalized card.
- No recommendations for similar flowers or bouquets when on a selected bouquet's page
- No options to ensure the safe delivery of plants or to add extra insulation.
Screenshots of the 2 prototypes I created for this project in Adobe XD.
Complete set of mockup pages for the desktop website.
Complete set of mockups for the mobile site.
CHALLENGES
Finding a layout to simplify the choices that a user could make by customizing their own arrangement was a bit challenging. By looking at sites like Curology, Function of Beauty, and BetterHelp (which all use a similar customized questionnaire to get started on their site) I found a way to make it work.
TAKEAWAY
This website prototype helped me to understand the checkout process and how important it is for small startups. I also learned how to simplify choice menus into easy-to-read selections. A lot of this website's design was inspired by the simplicity of the brand Function of Beauty. They also have a selection quiz to help consumers customize their body and hair care products that makes the process simple, quick, and easy for everyone.