UI/UX DESIGN | WEB DESIGN
SOUNDS TRUE
The current Sounds True e-commerce site suffers from a dated design and a plethora of usability issues. I champion and art direct the redesign project. The new interface is clean, search-engine optimized, and conformant with Level AA of WCAG 2.0.
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Creative direction
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Website content strategy
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Content architecture
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Responsive website design
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Iconography design
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Wireframing
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Graphic design
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Launch implementation
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Collaboration with developers
The Problem
The Sounds True website was designed four years ago during the migration of the entire ecomm platform to Magento. I came on board too late to have any input on the design, UX, or functionality. But from the first day, I made it my mission to convince the leadership that a redesign needs to happen because so many pieces of the puzzle were just not considered fully. Because the new website was just released, I needed to build a solid case to get the project started. We started with testing in order to show solid, data-backed reasons to show usability problems. After a year of testing, the data was conclusive enough to put us in a position to definitively argue that the user experience was painful. The major problem was the homepage: Sounds True has many great products to offer from world-renown authors and teachers, but upon arriving at the homepage, the user has no idea where to start looking. The homepage, with its many sliders, does not curate any of the content in order to guide a user in search of a product suited for him.
SOUNDS TRUE
UI/UX DESIGN | WEB DESIGN
The Sounds True e-commerce site suffered from a dated design and a plethora of usability issues. I championed the redesign project utilizing best UX practices. The new interface is clean, search-engine optimized, and conformant with Level AA of WCAG 2.0.
-
Creative direction
-
Website content strategy
-
Content architecture
-
Responsive website design
-
Iconography design
-
Wireframing
-
UX/UI design
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Testing/ Surveys
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Launch implementation
-
Collaboration with developers
The Problem
The Sounds True website was designed four years ago during the migration of the entire ecomm platform to Magento. I came on board too late to have any input on the design, UX, or functionality. But from the first day, I made it my mission to convince the leadership that a redesign needs to happen because so many pieces of the puzzle were just not considered fully. Because the new website was just released, I needed to build a solid case to get the project started. We started with testing in order to show solid, data-backed reasons to show usability problems. After a year of testing, the data was conclusive enough to put us in a position to definitively argue that the user experience was painful. The major problem was the homepage: Sounds True has many great products to offer from world-renown authors and teachers, but upon arriving at the homepage, the user has no idea where to start looking. The homepage, with its many sliders, does not curate any of the content in order to guide a user in search of a product suited for him. Other major issues were outdated design, problems with functionality, lack of top navigation, inconsistent navigation, lack of a comprehensive footer, accessibility, to name a few.
The Solution
The redesign of the homepage was necessary in order to present the Sounds True products in a user-friendly way. That meant curating the content and creating useful entry points, where the user could explore the topic she may be interested in. In order to help guide the user, we needed to add a tool that would guide the user through the process and to display the content she wants to see based on her preferences and browsing history. But that required creating sophisticated logic that with the need for a facelift, usability problems, and accessibility would have become an enormous undertaking. We decided to phase out the project: the first phase would focus on a facelift, homepage, fixing known issues, and accessibility. Phase II would address automated curation of content and re-categorization of all products. As an interim solution we chose to add merchandising sections to the homepage that would neatly compartmentalize some of our products and present them to the user on a need basis.
