Walking on a Dream
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Walking On A Dream is a custom rug tufting business specializing in creating unique rugs. The company was operating out of Instagram and wanted a website that matched their personal brand and met their customers’ needs.
I, alongside another designer, designed their website and am working with a development team to get it built.
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UI Designer (Crystal Huynh), UX Designer (Me), Front-End Developer (Kalen Luciano), Back-end Developer (Terry Luciano)
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UX Designer; Customer Interviews, Survey Research, Design Library Creation, Graphic Design, Prototyping, Wireframing
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May 2023 - Sept 2023 (Development ongoing)
Discover
In the first discovery call my team had with the client, we determined that there were three things that they were expecting out of this project:
A fun and quirky website that matched their company’s voice
An easier way for their customers to contact them and place orders for custom rugs
Attract new customers to their business through the website
Research
Getting to know the User-base
We knew that all e-commerce websites have a somewhat similar structure in terms of navigation and product display, but custom-designed product websites were a new area for us. I started by talking to a few of Walking on a Dream’s existing customers and simultaneously surveyed to recruit participants with experience ordering custom-made items.
This is what we discovered most users looked for in a website where they were ordering custom-made items.
Simple order placement process
Assurance of the quality of the product
Getting questions answered before and after placing an order
Easy way to visualize the product they will receive
Define
Meet Carlie
Problem
Carlie is a busy tech girl who has a hobby of buying custom-made items that match the Star Wars theme of her apartment.
Goal:
She wants to order a high-quality custom-made Star Wars rug for her bedroom.
Needs:
To check reviews before ordering
To know the material and sizing
Be able to order quickly from her phone
Concerns:
Feels hesitant to order when a company lacks reviews/testimonials
Carlie desires an engaging and enjoyable custom rug ordering process that keeps her informed and excited about her high-quality, unique rug until delivery.
How might we streamline the custom rug ordering process to make it a fun, informative, and efficient experience for Carlie?
Design
Branding
For the website's branding, we decided to keep true to the client’s existing style by choosing complementary colors and similar fonts to what they had already used for their Instagram, Facebook, and thank-you cards.
The image on the right shows Walking on a Dream’s existing brand colors and identity, while the one on the left is the final style guide we used for the website that the client quickly approved.
Wireframes
Concept
After a few conversations with the client, we narrowed the pages they required down to a homepage with a gallery of their work, an about page, an FAQ page, and a contact/order form.
We showed the client five different layout concepts for the homepage before going with the one below to develop further.
The key features we prioritized on the homepage were:
Header with brand voice and clear call-to-action button for users to place custom orders
2. Click-through gallery to showcase the rugs they’ve made in the past
3. A featured section to show users the pre-made rug(s) available for sale at certain times
4. A section for past customer testimonials
5. A dynamic social media plug-in so customers can see what they are working on and their rug-making process