Overview
Catskill Art Supply is a local gem that’s been meeting artists’ needs since 1968. With knowledgeable staff and an inviting atmosphere, they’ve crafted the ideal in-person experience. Their website, however, could use a few improvements.
Confusing navigation, redundant filters, and broken buttons have created a frustrating user experience. This may lead to a high bounce rate and abandoned purchases, ultimately affecting sales and customer retention.
Role
Research and UI/UX
Tools
Figma, Figjam
Duration
3 Week Sprint
Some Key Insights:
Across the board, all interviewees agreed that online art stores are overwhelming.
Understanding the Target Audience
Preferences for online or in-store shopping vary based on the quantity and urgency of the supplies needed.
Rising cost of supplies is a major concern.
More seasoned artists seek out specific brands
Understanding the Target Audience
Rory is a frequent customer who regularly creates art and needs to restock supplies. While she prefers to shop locally, her responsibilities often prevent her from visiting the store immediately when she needs something.
Meet Our Primary User
The Competition
Here are some of the most common art stores users mentioned:
Amazon
Has the biggest variety of options at the best price points
Michael's
Proximity to physical stores coupled with the wide range of materials provide a quick buying experience.
Blick, formerly known as DickBlick
Specialized selection of high-quality art supplies, industry reputation, and more tailored offerings for professional artists and serious hobbyists.
Jerry's Artarama
Competitive pricing, a broad selection of discounted supplies, and friendly to both beginners and professionals.
Valuable Takeaways:
Usability Testing of Current Site
To identify the specific issues users encountered on Catskill Art Supply's website, I conducted four usability tests using the existing site.
Their Task:
Find three products you'd like to purchase, add them to the cart, and complete the checkout process.
Materials complimentary to specific mediums (ex: blending stumps for charcoal) were not in expected categories
Lacking product descriptions hindered beginners from finding the products right for them.
Three out of four users were unable to find at least one product through intuitive navigation alone
Understanding the Target Audience
In case you were wondering, here's what the current site looks like:
Note the eight distinct filtering options on this page.
Card Sort
To determine the appropriate categories for the main navigation bar, I had three participants sort 50 images of both popular and professional art supplies.
The card sort results helped identify eight main categories:
To determine the appropriate categories for the main navigation bar, I had three participants sort 50 images of both popular and professional art supplies.
The card sort results helped identify eight main categories:
Painting
Framing
Drawing
Specialty
Paper + Canvas
Kid’s Products
Studio + Organization
Sale
I analyzed the results of the card sorting exercise and compared the categorized structure I developed with the navigation menus of key competitors.
This allowed me to define the main navigation bar for Catskill Art Supply, establish relevant subcategories under each tab, and outline the overall site architecture.
Sitemap
With the new site's information architecture in mind, I developed a task flow that outlines how our persona, Rory, would navigate the site.
Here's a simplified version of this flow.
Task Flow
Low Fidelity Wireframes
My primary focus was on the Product Listing Page, as it was the source of most of the usability challenges identified during testing.
I streamlined the filters to keep them minimal and developed an expandable menu that prioritized the categories users indicated they would find most useful.
