i made this thing for school. now i don’t need it for that. how do i use it for normal? halp.
User Tests: First Wave
Subject 1
Subject One’s first impressions were of “beauty”, “indie”, and “hawaiian” themes. He judged it to be an apparel store based on word “apparel” in nav: “probably clothing”, he said. He judged that it was welcoming, but that the pinstripe led him to think more of art sites (or “asian” things?). He found the nav to be un-confusing, would brows for clothing in the apparel sections, would brows for accessories (including shoes) in the accessory section. Felt that the 2 in the logo was disconnected from the S, and was slightly confused. Clicked around a lot, including on the central image.
Subject 2
Subject Two judged the site to be for clothing based solely on “apparel” link in nav- got no impression otherwise of the intended purpose. Got a “comforting”, “cohesive”, “relaxed” vibe from the homepage. Nav was clear, but he would also have looked for shoes under accessories. Placed help and returns under contact link. Had no trouble finding the cart icon. Clicked repeatedly on the central image, as if to try to scroll through the slideshow.
Subject 3
Subject Three judged the site to be for clothing “because she’s wearing clothes” and “it’s the only thing going on”. Found the design to be calming and “cool”, also “trendy” and the nav to be clear (liked blue bars). Shoes under accessories. Wants a relatively quick slideshow turnover to indicate variability in image.
Maps and Things
^ A Sitemap to map the Site ^
^ Wire frames, to tell you what it might look like. Just imagine it. How glorious. ^
Lackadaisical Logos
^ Logo sketches, advancing towards the final designs ^
^ Final Logo Designs ^ two image-based, and several variants on a typographic version.
Some further exploration of all that is blue and slug-like.
Competitive Analysis!
V for Vintage reflects the general aesthetic theme proposed for BS2 in that it uses a feminine color palette and hand-drawn elements to create a warm, fun atmosphere which customers will find reflective of the products offered. The homepage is clear and presents new items (good way to get the shopping started). The top nav is clear except for the “gallery” button, which might be mistaken at first glance for a link to all products. The entire top nav is also a bit small. The side nav is user friendly, but a little plain. Also, the “luxe” link is slightly confusing, as it links to a gallery presenting several different types of products (apparently all designer items, hence “luxe”, meaning “luxury”).
Product gallery page looks good- nav stays consistent, category header is cute and informative, products are presented clearly with an image, name, and price. Same-pose mannequin is a bit boring.
Product page presents item from multiple angles and distances, giving a clear view. Description of item, available size, price, condition, etc, is easily located and nav stays consistent. Again, mannequin is dull and makes the product look static and slightly uninteresting. Uneven number of photos make for a half-finished look in this configuration- consider large front image and linked varying-angle gallery (like threadless.com)
home page is simple
about page is ..doing its job
product page is simple and clean
really like the zoom feature
cool pop up transparentish announcement
really nice hover over heart thing
straight forward product view.
Audience Personas
Here We Go:
Tricia LeGlace:
Gender: Female
Age: 23
Occupation: Waitress/barrista
City: Chicago
Marital Status: Unmarried
Education: Bachelors Degree in Women’s Studies
Personal Info & Web Use: Tricia lives in a studio apartment with her boyfriend and cats. She collects vintage stuffed toys and art made from trash. Her weekends are spent reading poetry to dock workers and collecting discarded cans and bottles to return for money to buy cool clothes and Fancy Feast.
Tricia is a frequent blogger. She uses the web daily to google-map hip new coffee houses and collect images for her online scrapbook.
Goals/Tasks/Motivation: Tricia is here to troll for affordable additions to her wardrobe- she puts fashion relatively high on her priority list, but also needs to eat. She is so skinny already.
Brianna Billington:
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Occupation: High School Student
City: Portland
Education: Limited
Personal Info & Web Use: Brianna “Bri” Billington is a High School junior who spends her life on the internet talking to friends, at school talking to friends,and at local hang-outs showing off for friends. She listens to house music and never wears the same outfit twice.
Last year, when Christina Manlethorp started biting her style, she switched to shopping only in indie and vintage stores.
Goals/Tasks/Motivation: Bri is here to find something like what Christina came to school in last week, but cooler and more indie so she can feel more original. She gets a considerable allowance, but is too busy to work, and has to allot her funds wisely.
Jenny Krug, 21, student Demographics: About Laura: She has her own sense of fashion. Very unique and different. She enjoys going out to movies with her friends and she loves eating ice cream on hot sunny days in Florida. Fashion style: Jenny was always an odd ball when it came to fashion. She has a bold and really unique way of dressing. Something no one had, or it was one of a kind. She loves when someone comes up to her and complements her on her necklace or skirt.
Gender: Female
Age: 21
Birthdate: June 15th
City: Orlando, Florida
Martial Status: none
Kids: none
Education: Currently in college
Occupation: student
AND THERE WAS STORE
We began by brainstorming names. Some ideas included:
Glitter Rig, OctoFrock, Feral Apparel, Unicorn Pie, Bitchass, etc.
We would up going with BlueSeaSlug (BS2) so we could use one as our logo (a blue sea slug, that is). Some sketches of that are included below~
So BS2 is a nautical themed womens’ clothing and accessory store with an indie flavor.
As for our competition/peers- i researched heavily. Some of the major contenders included:
AND EVERYTHING WILL BE BLUE
