The redesign of a Belgian footwear brand for its U.S. launch.
Project Type: End-to-end responsive desktop design
Role: Product Designer
Industry: E-commerce
Tools: Figma & FigJam
Duration: Q3 2024
The Problem
The main challenge is the cultural difference between European and U.S. consumers. European consumers tend to appreciate a brand’s story and its heritage, with the product often taking a secondary role in the narrative. In contrast, U.S. consumers prioritize the product itself, seeking clear visuals and detailed information upfront. It’s about helping Elegnano better connect with U.S. customers and establish a strong presence in the new market.
DISCOVER
Lining up the competitors
Jimmy Choo, Louboutin, Alexander McQueen, and Miu Miu lead the luxury fashion industry with visually striking websites. While they excel in intuitive navigation, clear product categorization, and high-quality imagery, they struggle with accessibility, cluttered layouts, and weak CTAs. Issues like hidden sizing details and excessive visuals hinder usability and professionalism.
Analyzing these sites before user interviews helps identify common pain points and strengths, guiding design decisions that better align with user needs in the luxury footwear market.
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• Jimmy Choo: Large and catchy images with multiple views of the product.
• Louboutin: Great use of white space, showcasing products clearly.
• Alexander McQueen: Strong images that span the page with minimalistic elegance.
• Miu Miu: Front-and-center display of shoes, emphasizing visual appeal.
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• Jimmy Choo: User-friendly interface with clear categories and sizing charts.
• Louboutin: Well-organized categories for easy product discovery.
• Alexander McQueen: Convenient category accessibility directly from the images.
• Miu Miu: Clear categories in the header for quick access.
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• Jimmy Choo: Clear descriptors, return info, and easily accessible contact details.
• Louboutin: “You may also like” section for related items.
• Alexander McQueen: Clear organization of categories that help users find products quickly.
• Miu Miu: Detailed product information, including price and available sizes, next to images.
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• Jimmy Choo: Difficulty accessing further information due to image-heavy layout.
• Louboutin: Size chart tucked away behind a dropdown menu, obstructing easy access to important information.
• Alexander McQueen: Poorly designed size chart and hard-to-read text, making it difficult for users to find necessary details.
• Miu Miu: Lack of breaks between shoe rows creates a cluttered, less user-friendly layout.
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• Jimmy Choo: Excessive scrolling to view content further down the page, disrupting the user experience.
• Louboutin: Clicking into a product causes awkward scrolling, affecting fluidity.
• Alexander McQueen: Poorly designed CTAs that are hard to notice and interact with; size chart difficult to navigate.
• Miu Miu: Regimented layout without breaks between shoe rows, contributing to a cluttered feel.
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“Visual Images, that’s number one. And I prefer to see it on a model. And I really liked it if they say how tall the model is and how much approximately the model weighs.”
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“An easy-to-navigate website is essential. One of the most frustrating experiences is when, after selecting a product or answering a question, you’re forced to scroll all the way to the bottom just to click ‘Accept.’”
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“My typical online shopping experience would really just be me Googling something trying to find the company or what I specifically saw that I want. And then navigating through the website buying through it, I prefer buying on the website of the actual brand. Versus on platforms that have like all these different brands combined.”
User Interviews
I interviewed eight participants, ranging in age from 24 to 65. From these interviews I was trying to learn about consumers’ experiences with online shopping, specifically focusing on usability, navigation, and decision-making factors. The questions explore pain points, preferences, and behaviors when browsing and purchasing online, aiming to identify areas for improvement in online shopping platforms.
Define
Analyzing User Interviews
Optimization
An optimized shopping experience prioritizes high-quality images, easy filtering by price and relevance, and a clear order of information—images first, then price, then description. Free returns add confidence, ensuring a seamless and risk-free purchase.
Pain Points
Pain points include oversized images, excessive pop-ups, lack of fee transparency, and unclear return policies. Users want better navigation, easier homepage access, fewer categories, and a cleaner layout, with key actions like purchasing placed prominently to avoid excessive scrolling.
Layout & Design
A visually rich and intuitive layout enhances the shopping experience. Clear product images on models, an easy-to-use search bar, well-placed buttons to minimize scrolling, and seamless delivery options create a smooth and efficient browsing journey, with videos as an optional supplement for clothing.
Functionality
Key functionalities include a clear sizing chart, well-organized categories, competitive pricing, and a strong return policy. Users value online shopping for its convenience but prefer a streamlined experience without reliance on reviews.
What I learned
I was focused on learning about user sentiment regarding the existing product experience, specifically their pain points, preferences, and expectations when shopping online. The feedback highlighted issues with layout, navigation, filtering, return policies, and overall usability. My goal was to understand how users feel about the current shopping experience, which will assist me when mapping detailed workflows or user journeys. However, some responses, like frustrations with navigation and the purchasing flow, could also inform potential workflow improvements.
User Personas
UX personas help me gain a deeper understanding of the goals, motivations, needs, and frustrations of our users in relation to the product we’re designing. For this particular project, the target users are individuals with disposable income who are willing to invest in high-end products, such as $600+ shoes. They value efficiency and convenience, seeking quick results without wasting time. By creating these personas, I can ensure that the design addresses the specific needs of the users, providing a seamless experience that aligns with their expectations.
Project Goals
Defining goals in a UX project is essential for guiding the design process and ensuring the final product aligns with both user needs and business objectives. The key overlap between these user and business goals is the focus on seamless, high-quality experiences that drive engagement and long-term success. Usability, innovation, and a frictionless experience benefit both users and business goals, reinforcing each other for mutual success.
POV and HMW questions
Formulating a POV (Point of View) and HMW (How Might We) questions helps me gain a clear understanding of the user’s challenges and identify ways to solve these problems with innovative solutions.
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How might we streamline the shoe search process to create a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience tailored to each customer’s needs and preferences?
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How might we provide users with sufficient information while shopping for shoes, without overwhelming them with irrelevant content or clutter?
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How might we optimize our website and mobile app interface to ensure accessibility and ease of navigation, allowing users of all demographics and technical backgrounds to effortlessly find and purchase their desired footwear?
Things that stand out to me are:
Information Overload vs. Relevance:
Balancing providing enough information without overwhelming the user with irrelevant content. Determining which details to prioritize (e.g., product specs, customer reviews, size guides) and how to present them without causing decision fatigue could be tricky.
Personalization vs. Standardization:
Tailoring the shopping experience for diverse users with varying preferences, without overcomplicating the interface.
User Experience vs. Conversion:
Making sure the site is easy to navigate, while also driving conversions (i.e., getting users to complete a purchase).
Feature Set
What stands out after completing this feature set is the need for a seamless, intuitive user experience. This will ultimately increase the conversion rate from cart to checkout by optimizing the overall shopping journey.
User flow
The user flow takes users from browsing products to completing a purchase, ensuring a smooth and intuitive experience with minimal friction.
Low-fidelity wireframe
Based on the user flow, I designed the landing page, product listing, product detail page, and a drawer checkout example. These were informed by insights gathered in user interviews, and the Define and Ideation Phase.
Develop
Usability Testing
Method:
Users interacted with a low-fidelity wireframe, observing interfaces and providing feedback. The tasks were as follows:
Navigate to Product Detail Page: Start at the landing page, browse the product listing, and proceed to a product’s detailed page.
Add Item to Cart and Checkout: Select a shoe, add it to the cart, and proceed through the checkout process until payment information entry.
Results:
All participants (5/5) easily navigated from the home screen to checkout, selecting a shoe, size, and adding it to their cart without issues.
Summary:
Users found the design “clean,” “intuitive,” and “easy to navigate,” confirming a seamless and user-friendly experience.
