UI/UX Designer - Individual Contributor
How Might We Assist Individuals in Selecting Furniture That Best Suits Their Needs?
Intro: Buying furniture online can be difficult because users need to consider the material and quality that cannot be shown with image or video. Since many people usually buy furniture for long-term use, there is a need for platform that can display not only picture and short description, but also other information that can help buyers to avoid buying unsuitable products.
Collaborating with a startup furniture company, this project tries to conceptualize an online shop that is specially made for buying upholstered furniture.
Duration: 3 months
My Roles: I conducted early-stage research activities, proposed new user flows, create wireframes, and built prototypes.
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DISCOVERY
Challenge of Selling Furniture Online
Unlike foods or clothes, people usually buy furniture for long term use (more than three years). Therefore, people usually put more consideration when selecting the right furniture. Meanwhile, there is still a high risk of buying the wrong furniture online, which can be caused by inaccurate pictures or lack of information.
Features/elements of furniture that cannot be seen online:
- Softness or hardness of materials
- Smooth/Rough Texture
- Comfort/Ergonomy
- Precise Color
Also, these features are usually not explained in many online stores:
- The area of use (Indoor or Outdoor)
- The type of space (Private or Public)
- Flammability (Fire Retardant or Not)
- Durability (How long it can be used)
- Water & Stain Resistance
Survey: The Considered Factors When Buying Furniture
According to a survey, comfort/ergonomic is the most considered factor (63,6%). Unfortunately, it is an element that can hardly be felt when buying things online. Meanwhile, aesthetic/visual was the second most considered factor (14,3%).
- Year of survey: 2016-2017
- Number of respondents: 77
- Area of respondent: United Kingdom & Indonesia (Online)
Why Upholstered Furniture?
After several discussions, we decided to focus on upholstered furniture, because the main material of upholstery (fabric/leather) can be cut for a sample and send to potential buyers. Therefore, while people still cannot feel the whole comfort of the product, at least they can feel and test the material before deciding to buy it
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DESIGN PROPOSITION
Our Goals
- Offer users the experience that can usually be gained when visiting offline store, such as receiving suggestion of products and touching the real materials.
- Help users minimize the risks of mispurchase due to color difference (screen vs real) or lack of information.
Hi-fi Mockups
Highlighted Features
- One of the main features of this app is a Step-by-Step Guide. User will be guided to select one or several options on each page. It will lead to a recommendation page that is based on their previous choices.
- Another feature in this app is Get Sample. The user can order a fabric sample so they can see, test, and analyze whether it is suitable for their use.
Desktop Version
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OUTCOME AND REFLECTION
This project served as an exercise for both myself and the startup to gain a better understanding of our customers and our future product. This was particularly valuable considering the difficulties in the home/furniture tech sector in the digital/tech industry.
Although this feature was never launched, it provided me with valuable insights into conducting real UI/UX projects, especially since it was one of my first experiences in the digital industry.
While the startup has since closed its operations during the tech winter period, it managed to make a positive impact during its tenure.