A floral design company focused on making arrangements & pieces that catch your eye without gauging your pockets. They are looking to grow their business by implementing an adaptable website which not only shows off their designs, but also makes placing an inquiry, order or subscription easy for the customer.
My Role:
UX Research/UX Design/UI Design
Timeline:
1/16/22-4/16/22
Stakeholder Interview
I had a rough idea of what the client was looking for prior to meeting with them, but I didn't want to dig too deep and create an unnecessary bias of what I thought would be best vs what the client was actually in need of. Upon meeting with the client I got a feel for their personality, needs, and what exactly they were looking to do with their website.
Often times when meeting with a client, especially one starting a new business, they aren't certain of what they need, but they know they need something. My client interviews start with some basic ice breaker questions to get a feel for their personality, so that moving forward I know the best approach to keep in touch, and keep the goal on track for both of us. I then ask a series of questions to get a feel for the business and the clients needs and goals. This often turns into a bit of a brain storm session between us until we can pinpoint exactly what we are trying to implement. The rest is up to me to design and create for the client. Before ending the interview, I make sure to find out best form of communication for the client, and a clear understanding of timeline, starting with our first progress meeting.
Scroll through the following pdf to get an idea my interaction with the client upon our first meeting.
Click here for the
Happy Hoe Floral Co. client orientation/interview.
After getting a clear vision of what the client was looking for. I then created a business requirements document which outlined the goals we were aiming to execute. How we were planning to execute them. Who we were executing them for. As well as an estimation of the timeline we were hoping to achieve everything by. I emailed this to the client for verification before moving forward. You can access the
Click here for the
Happy Hoe Floral Co. Business Requirements Doc.
Now that we had a clear path of where we were going and our overall end goal. I knew what I wanted to discover to successfully build a website for Happy Hoe Floral Co.
Research Goals:
To know what user's are looking for when exploring floral websites
To discover opportunities Happy Hoe Floral Co. can take advantage of.
To learn habits of users as they navigate through a floral design website.
Competitive Analysis
Overview:
Analyzing potential competitors in the Denver metro area whose focus is event floral design. Discovering their style and features which set them a part and seeking missed opportunities Happy Hoe Floral Co. can implement to win over the potential customer.
Key Objectives:
To grow their business by offering a WIDE variety of goods and more so their service/relationships with customers. They offer local delivery, and add on gifts, gift cards at check out.
Overall Strategy:
Attributes success to long standing clients/relationships quoting "cultivated relationships that last a lifetime" and they "honor their heritage by blending tradition with innovation." They are seeking opportunities to "forge new relationships".
Market Advantage:
They are located central Denver, where daily visual for many commuters is self promotion in itself. They stand out from the crowd, not in their floral design, but in their added goods and services.
Bottom Line:
-
Offer and promote variety but goods on site don't reflect that.
-
Website doesn't reflect personality of company.
-
They set themselves high on google search promoting their business.
-
Set themselves apart by focusing on their relationships.
Key Objectives:
To cater to the lifestyle of luxury and high end goods. Located at the base of the brown palace hotel (Denver iconic hotel). They offer bouquets and goods for romantic occasions to add to hotel rooms and events.
Overall Strategy:
To be seen and focused as a high end floral design company, and easily accessible for guests.
Market Advantage:
Being located in the Brown Palace Hotel, and directly associated with the name. The company has the advantage of being on site for floral delivery to rooms making it easy and convenient. As well, they have the advantage of being on site and a direct reference for events hosted at The Brown Palace Hotel.
Bottom Line:
-
Linked with high class goods/services
-
Too new to their location to actually hold up name associated with the goods and services provided.
-
Images on website, are not consistent with "Brand" aesthetic that is expected with the Brown Palace Hotel.
-
Have luxury and availability to have florals sent directly to rooms or in rooms upon arrival since directly connected to the Brown Palace Hotel.
Surveys
To gain insight into the thought process behind searching for an event floral designer; as well what the drive was behind choosing one designer over another, I conducted a survey via social media. I started with simple questions before asking others to participate in an anonymous survey.
Results and Insights Gained from Survey
Question 1- What was the first place you looked, when searching for a floral designer?
Result = 60.7% Google Search
Question 2- When using social media, what app would you use when looking for floral design ideas?
Result = 46.2% Pinterest
Question 3- When searching for florals what is your main priority?
Result = 62.1% Aesthetic
Question 4- What is your first concern once your flowers are chosen?
Result = 55% Visual Display in photos
Question 5- Would you prefer a venue, that provides a package deal (meaning florist, caterer & staff you have to use)?
Result = No- 67.3%
Aesthetic 62.1%
Other 2.4%
Budget 35.5%
User Interviews & Field Studies
I've never had the pleasure of shopping for event florals, so I wanted to meet with users who are currently in the process. I wanted a fresh perspective, and not a "pretend you were..." scenario.
I was able to meet with four users currently shopping for event florals. One was through the client Happy Hoe Floral Co. The other's I recruited were random through friends and colleagues.
I met with....
Anne
46yrs.-F-Event Planner
Coordinating a debutant ball for December 2022. Theme is Winter wonderland. Looking for florals as main focus of decoration but matching the theme, and as centerpieces. As well will need bouquets for each female.
Shelley
36yrs-F-Early Childhood Education
Getting married in August. In search of florals for bouquets, boutonnieres for wedding party and the family. As well, looking for decorative pieces such as centerpieces, aisle lining and overhead and trellis backdrop.
Claire
68yrs.-F-Volunteer
Organizing fundraiser for non profit she volunteers with. Received funds for florals/decoration. Wants a floral centerpiece at each table to match theme of event. Also needs floral display for podium and bouquet for event manager end of night ceremony.
Grant
28yrs.-M-Nurse Practitioner
Getting married in September. Looking for minimal floral to incorporate. Main focus will be the corsages and boutonnieres for wedding party and family. As well centerpieces for the food and dessert table.
At each interview. I asked a series of questions, and asked each user to perform a few tasks. I wanted to know what the user's thought process was as they navigated a floral design website. What exactly they wanted to see first, and what worked for them, or what seemed excessive and could be eliminated to prevent confusion and pain points.
Click here to view the script and questions prepared prior to meeting for the interview
Key Insights & Take Away from Interviews
User's aim for aesthetic with floral design first then check to see if it's within budget.
Choice of floral designer based more off energy & visual theme of overall website/social media than they do actual floral examples.
If the ordering page is not easily accessible, user's will instantly move on to another site which is easier to navigate when it comes to ordering.
Search Engine's such as google chrome is the main way user's search for a floral designer.
Being able to communicate via non verbal communication is important, since most users are planning their event on the side of a full time job.
Research Analysis
To discover the common needs and pain points of all interviews, I created a cluster map of each interview. Then found commonalities between them, and created a map to determine the focal points we would use for the website.
Hover over sticky notes to see quotes from the interviews.
Aesthetic
Click here to view each individual interviews cluster map.
Navigation
The Problem...
To discover the problem at hand, and get a clear idea of the client's need. I asked myself the following...
What is the product?
A digital product where users can view floral design and place an order/subscription/inquiry for utilization of floral design pieces.
Where will it be used?
Both in transit and home/office. Will be most useful with an adaptive website used between mobile (last minute floral orders) and desktop (browsing for wedding floral arrangements).
Why would somebody use this product?
The adaptive website will be designed to be easy to use, while matching the personality of the client. Catering to the fun loving professional behind the floral designs.
When will this product be used?
Anytime someone is looking for florals that don't gauge the user's pocket for events/special occasions.
How will this product be used?
Browsable floral portfolios, with easy access to purchasing and placing inquiries for events.
Once I had these questions answered, I implemented a "reverse brainstorm" and started with all possible problematic situations I could think of involved with a floral design website.
Possible Problems:
-
Orders placed when designer is not available to deliver.
-
Potential customers unable to view floral designers work & bypass them all together.
-
Monthly subscription members unable to change location of floral delivery.
-
Holiday florals unknown & designer gets skipped looked over. As well, customer misses out on awesome floral design.
-
Potential customers skip over client because their past work and pieces are not available to view.
Problem Statement
User's need a way to be able to place an order or inquiry for florals on the Happy Hoe Floral Co. website because being able to utilize a form for ordering will be more convenient for the customer and increase sales for the client.
We will know this to be true when we see an increase in sales for the client via the adaptable website created.
Potential Solution:
Build an adaptable website which is malleable for the client to implement changes moving forward, and is easy to use for the customer to place floral orders and floral design inquiries for large events and occasions.
User Stories
Feature: Focus and Display the Business Aesthetic
"As someone newly engaged, I want a florist whose ideas and inspirations match my own. So that I am not disappointed and don't have to worry that the florals aren't what I envisioned."
Feature: Ease of usability for the Inquiries Page & Communication
"As an event planner, I want a clear way to explain what I have in mind before meeting with a floral designer so that they have a clear understanding of my needs, and can be as transparent as possible when we have our consultation in regard to the reality of my budget."
Feature: Disclosures
"As someone working in non profit fundraising, I want disclosures accessible so that I have a clear understanding of what the florist offers and I am prepared in case it does not fall in line with the budget I have to work with."
" As a man who often orders flowers for his wife, I want it to be obvious where I can go to order a bouquet so that it's quick and I don't have to waste time fumbling around the pages."
Feature: Ordering a Bouquet
User Persona
Based off my interviews & surveys, I've deducted the two main type of users using the site will be:
-
Those proactively ordering bouquets for day to day celebrations.
-
Those planning events & in need of a large quantity of florals.
While I absolutely will cater to both users; I am focusing my design based off the latter of the two. This is because this user is aligned with the client's overall business goals and five year plan to be primarily focused in event florals.
Let me introduce...
User Journey
I used a user journey map as a visual representation of the highs and lows Rosemary goes through when searching for the perfect floral aesthetic, and designer to go along with it.
Task Flow
I mapped out user flows to visually catch any hiccups in my site layout and determine design hierarchy for the proper flow of the site and best utilization of all features the site offers.
Feature: Focus & Consistently display brand aesthetic.
Entry Point: Open Happy Hoe Floral Website
Success Criteria: Brand is consistent across all pages and platforms when user is browsing site.
More user flows!
Feature: Clear use of inquiry form and communication.
Feature: Be able to change address for delivery of monthly floral subscription.
Site Mapping & Layout
Knowing how our user's are utilizing floral design websites, I started with a basic layout of how I thought user's would best utilize our website.
​
The key things I felt were important in the site:
Being able to view variety of floral designs.
The design of the site, matches brand and aesthetics.
A clear way to purchase and inquire about florals.
A way to know the floral designer is trustworthy.
Next, I will conduct a card sort to prioritize the users thought process when navigating a floral design website.
Card Sort
PARTICIPANTS:
12 People chosen at random
LOCATION:
Conference Room
TOPICS:
-
Home
-
About
-
Portfolio
-
Purchase
-
Review
PURPOSE:
To determine, if after conducting interviews, I had the right idea how users utilize a floral design site.
Results:
Listed below, and grouped by most common answers.
Common Outliers: Subscription, Communication, Parties, and Map.
WORDS:
Click through the pile below
 |
|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Reviews
Portfolio
Home
About
Purchase
Revised Site Map
Half way through conducting the card sort, I realized people weren't grouping the subscription word with the purchase topic because I did not list it as a paid subscription. People were listing it under home thinking it would be on a home page as an email subscription for updated content. Once I fixed this, it started being grouped with the purchased category.
Actionable Outcomes:
Grouping visuals of florals together vs separate pages.
The mission statement can be grouped with in 'about'.
One order page w/ multiple options vs. multiple pages.
Reduce a lot of content to one page vs multiple.
Low Fidelity Wireframes
I started sketching out our sites layout into wire frames based off the results of the card sort conducted, and the refocus and refinement of the site map.
Desk Top
Home Page
The overall goal for the wireframes, is a clear layout for each page of the site. It needs to be easy to navigate, but also easy for the client to manipulate and change visual images of seasonal florals on their own.
Here there is a clear menu, contact options are obvious as well as access to different social media pages for visuals. Last a simple welcome image of the brand logo and a brief message will display upon accessing the site.
Mobile
Low fidelity wireframes
Mid Fidelity Mock-Up
A series of mid fidelity wire frames were created and used to test how users navigate through our website. We still had a graphic designer working on the clients logo which we were waiting on to place final design into the site, but we had the final layout and design of the site we could work with.
Here is a visual representation of the mid fidelity mock up created and utilized during usability testing.
Describe your image
Describe your image
Preference Testing
Because the client is rebranding, I conducted preference testing via their social media accounts. I wanted to know a preference with color contrast, small logo icon, and font style that their audience engaged with, but also was most visually pleasing.
UI Kit
All images used for the site were assembled into a UI kit for the client. As well, were kept on file for under the website for any future changes the client may want to make. They have easy access to all hex codes for color matching, icons used, pictures organized by topic etc.
The main logo and color palette were created by
Hayley Designs of Denver.
Example of the UI kit
