My Role
User research, concept development, product strategy, aligning stakeholders with product goals, information architecture, designing user flows, visual design, interaction design, prototyping, user testing, and iterative design.
What is the Problem
TriMax Windows has a limited online presence. The company website is going to be the ‘virtual’ handshake. Primary objective will be to provide basic company information and showcase their products and services to the client. Secondly, the opportunity to establish contact.
What Are the Goals
To design a TriMax Windows website I needed to find out a few key aspects.
Who is TriMax Windows?
To properly represent the company and their values I had to get to know them. I conducted stakeholder interviews to develop a clear picture of who TriMax Windows is.
What does their closest competition look like?
Competitive Research helped shine light on what other businesses are doing right. It also revealed their shortcomings, providing TriMax Windows with an opportunity to have an edge over over their competitors.
Who is their target clientele?
Speaking directly to customers during User Research helped me recognize important patterns. These in turn were used to formulate Personas and refined the company Branding.
How do we fulfill their needs?
As the different elements revealed themselves I applied Information Architecture to create all the sections necessary for a positive user journey. I created a high fidelity Prototype for User Testing to determine how effective my design was. To conclude, I made the necessary revisions during Design Iterations according to user feedback.
Who Are We Designing For
Interviewing the stakeholders helped me understand our target demographic, but even more importantly I was able to acquire a few of their customer’s contacts. I knew they would be the perfect subjects for my user research! In the interest of keeping the data unbiased I also interviewed subjects without any association with TriMax but that shared the same requirements. I conducted 1-on-1 user interviews to see how TriMax’s website could aid their customers in their quest for new windows and doors. The users would walk me through their typical process, and discuss their joys and struggles.
Summary of Competitive Analysis
“Custom Window Designs”
If including the pop-up intake form, improve by adding a clear and prominent close button. Center the text and utilize the screen space effectively. Use more modern and visually appealing style.
“Strassburger”
Ensure accessibility by increasing the font size for body and headers. Utilize the space more effectively by organizing content and aligning it properly. If implementing feature, fix the toggles for accessibility to ensure the font size changes adequately.
“KV Custom Windows”
Maintain a modern, simple, and bright style throughout all pages. Provide conveniently located contact CTAs on all pages. Ensure all buttons have clear labels and perform expected actions.
Requirements
Top concern having been voiced by both industry professionals as well as homeowners was the need for durable long-lasting products. Industry standards and certifications along with product warranties were enough evidence to help the customers feel confident about their potential purchase and installation of windows and doors. Product quality and features was the second highest concern. This would also need to be backed with appropriate technical documents. Third biggest need for a positive shopping experience was a visually appealing an easy to use website. Aesthetics play an important part in providing customers with trust and confidence as well as an inspiration to pursue their shopping plans with a supplier.
Frustrations
Users noted their primary frustrations or reasons for choosing a different company was inexperienced staff or lack of supporting documents. A poor selection of colour and hardware choices or inadequate technical documents showing how the products achieve some of the promised capabilities made the users weary of continuing business with the supplier. Another frustration – albeit more applicable to the industry demographic – was inexperienced installation crews or under-educated company representatives that couldn’t prove their thorough understanding of the products they were supplying. Oftentimes architects and builders will have to implement windows or doors that meet a higher level of thermal or sound insulation and finding products for such projects can prove challenging.
What Are We Creating
I knew my key users were looking for windows and doors but I needed to find out what made them choose one company over another. User research revealed some patterns shared by both the pros and the DIYs of windows shoppers. Buyers wanted three things; 1. Quality product 2. Trusted and knowledgeable supplier 3. Presented on a simple and concise website
How Do We Get There
After thorough analysis of competitor research and data from user interviews I created a list of elements that I wanted to incorporate in my design. By grouping some of the similar topics such as products, or installation warranties and certifications I was able to streamline the website while keeping the experience intuitive and informative. It is vital for users to easily reach out to our client. I’ve made convenient and strategically placed call-to-actions on every page allowing the visitors to contact TriMax Windows. CTA placement is consistent and easy to find on each page reducing user excise and thus creating a fluid experience. As part of the company branding I created, a style tile was necessary to provide visual consistency. I kept the overall design modern and minimal to allow the company’s portfolio and product to speak for itself. Selected colours provide a strong professional image that won’t fade with time. They also allow for an accessible design that is more inclusive and which can be adapted further regardless if user goes with a light or dark theme.
Refinement Through Iteration
I created a prototype and a testing script to take the users through a couple of key tasks. I appointed three users with two objectives during usability testing; 1. Gauge whether or not TriMax Windows is a good candidate to purchase products from, and 2. Get in touch with a representative to book an appointment. Overall the test went well with all users completing their tasks in a timely and efficient manner with zero confusion or getting lost. Feedback regarding design and user interface was positive with few minor tweaks needed.
Improvements
1. Header needed refinement to provide a more legible look so the user could glance at the options and make a selection without too much searching. 2. Product choices were reduced to 3 models of each line. If a custom or more specific design was needed this could be discussed with a company representative, as is the industry standard. 3. A comparison between different brands of suppliers would help shoppers make a more informed decision.
