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To solve critical problems, I utilized the design thinking process. To implement an effective strategy, I established the design process and timeline.
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Survey
User research
Competitive analysis
SWOT
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Problem & Goal
Personas
Empathy Map
Journey Map
How Might We
Brainstorming
User Flow
Low-Fi Wireframes
Visual Design
High-Fi Wireframes
Prototype
UX & UI Designer
UX Researcher
8 weeks
Next, I identified the company’s closest competitors and conducted a competitive analysis utilizing a feature comparison matrix. Our direct competitors did not have gifting flows; they only offered Gift Bundles that we already provided that required knowing the recipient’s ring size.
I further analyzed indirect competitors to understand better what gift features users might expect based on their experience with other brands.
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Next we identified the company’s closest competitors and carried out a competitive analysis in form of a feature comparison matrix. Our direct competitors did not have gifting flows; they only had Gift Bundles that we already offered that requires knowing receiver’s ring size.
We further analyzed indirect competitors to get a better sense of what gift features users might expect based on their experience with other brands.
• Wide range of high-quality products assortment with unique product design, themes, and collectible ring collections
• Beautiful high-quality photography, including lifestyle
• Charity-partnered products
• Clear product benefits: vegan, cruelty-free, phthalate-free, gluten-free, paraben-free, and handmade in the USA
• Loyalty and rewards program
• Outdated website UI/UX, product perceived as less desirable and lower quality
• Current gift bundles require knowing the receiver’s ring size, preference of scent, and theme
.• No enticing collaborations aside from charity
• High shipping and products costs for the target customer
• Slow shipping speed
• Poor explanations on how the product works and is used
• Receiver choice of size, scents, and themes
• Custom card with a note and customizable gift wrapping options
• Customizable send options including email, SMS, and print card at home/office
• Create a user-friendly, trustful UI and experience that the website lacks
• Attract higher-income customers
• Custom send date
• Gift cards and subscription gift options
• No gift card options
• High-quality product and jewelry collaborations with major trademarks like Disney, Harry Potter, etc.
• Superior website UI and user experience
• No subscription gift option
• Faster shipping times
• Lower cost shipping
• Worldwide shipping
• Exclusively sterling silver jewelry
• Live chat customer support
Before deciding on the strategy, I completed a SWOT analysis to identify our brand’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats; this analysis allowed us to address what we’re lacking, seize new openings and minimize risk.
• Wide range of high-quality products assortment with unique product design, themes, and collectible ring collections
• Beautiful high-quality photography, including lifestyle
• Charity-partnered products
• Clear product benefits: vegan, cruelty-free, phthalate-free, gluten-free, paraben-free, and handmade in the USA
• Loyalty and rewards program
• Outdated website UI/UX, product perceived as less desirable and lower quality
• Current gift bundles require knowing the receiver’s ring size, preference of scent, and theme
.• No enticing collaborations aside from charity
• High shipping and products costs for the target customer
• Slow shipping speed
• Poor explanations on how the product works and is used
• Receiver choice of size, scents, and themes
• Custom card with a note and customizable gift wrapping options
• Customizable send options including email, SMS, and print card at home/office
• Create a user-friendly, trustful UI and experience that the website lacks
• Attract higher-income customers
• Custom send date
• Gift cards and subscription gift options
• No gift card options
• High-quality product and jewelry collaborations with major trademarks like Disney, Harry Potter, etc.
• Superior website UI and user experience
• No subscription gift option
• Faster shipping times
• Lower cost shipping
• Worldwide shipping
• Exclusively sterling silver jewelry
• Live chat customer support
For our research, we decided to interview and survey users to understand their challenges, motivations, and needs.
Interview and survey objectives:
• Decide the type of gifting program to offer
• Understand user pain points and how to resolve them
• Determine what features to include and exclude
• Uncover user gifting behaviors
• What special occasions do users gift for
of responders said they would choose not to gift FJ products because they “don’t know the ring size of the recipient.”
of users said they would not gift FJ products because they “don’t know which themes or rings styles the person I want to gift might like”
of users said they would “Not Very Likely/Not all Likely” gift a subscription
of users said they have never gifted a monthly subscription from a brand.
responders said they spend between $25-50 on gifts. 27% spend $25 and under.
of responders said they would gift standard bath bomb. 59% standard candle. 38% sterling silver bath bomb.
of users responded as “Very Important/ Somewhat important” that recipient chooses their ring size
of users responded as “Very Important/ Somewhat important” to choose when recipient receives gift
of users responded as “Very Important/ Somewhat important” to include personalized note
of users responded as “Very Important/ Somewhat important” print e-gift redemption
of users responded as “Very Important/ Somewhat important” for gift box or wrapping for a fee
of users responded as “Very Important/ Somewhat important” for recipient to fill mailing address
If we choose options for cards and wrapping then don't just say this is what you pay for I would like to choose which I get.
Simplify the process because people get overwhelmed especially if they are not familiar with the products or brand.
Not everyone knows what someone likes scent wise, ring size or if a color is going to make them breakout in bumps
Shipping during the holidays is atrocious and there's no guarantee it would arrive on time, mostly.
It's very important to have something printable that I can physically give.
I don’t have time to sit and try to figure out what type of product someone would want.
I created problem and goal statements to guide the design process and to define problems our gifting flow will solve, why it matters, and the results we seek to produce.
Gifters need a quick and painless way to send scheduled, memorable, and personalized e-gifts the recipient will love and appreciate without the stress of having to guess personal information like ring size, preferred scents, and themes.
Our gifting flow will empower users to effortlessly order personalized gifts by enabling users to customize product types, send date and method, card design and note, and gift wrapping. Furthermore, it will take the frustration out of guesswork by allowing the recipient to select their ring size, collection themes, scents, and jewelry and fill in their shipping information. We will measure effectiveness by analyzing the number of gift orders placed and observing reviews.
Survey and interview results validated the target audience; I developed three user personas that describe the needs of our target customer.
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It depends on each person, I feel it’s something the person using should have a say, then they can choose and get hooked like me?
Martha is a mother of three; as a homemaker, she likes her house to feel like a "home"; she is a giver in every sense of the word. She enjoys cooking, gardening, and arts and crafts. She likes to gift unforgettable experiences that create new memories; gifting arriving late is not an option.
• Gifts not arriving on time for occasion, needs confirmation of receipt and gift tracking for both parties. • Not sure of receivers preferences for themes, fragrance or jewelry style.
• Ability to personalize date and time gift is sent • Gift tracking and notifications • Gift personalization so it’s a memorable experience.
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It's a bit expensive. And I don't know people's ring size... Making sure all the costs are included so recipients do not incur any costs
Zoe is a sophomore in college; she is a social and animal justice advocate. She enjoys writing, comic conventions, and spending time in nature. Being a student means she is on a tight budget, but when she spends money, she spends it on experiences and cruelty-free or vegan brands.
• Gifts out of her price range • Surprise fees and incurred costs to recipient • Not sure of people’s allergies to ingredients or fragrances • Doesn’t know recipients ring size
• Affordable gifts within budget • Gift vegan and cruelty-free products • Gift charity products • Product ring size that fits • All inclusive pricing
I'm interested how easy it would be to gift...I don't know what scents she would prefer
Thomas is a married software developer; even though he spends most of his time on the computer, he has little focus when finding a gift for his wife online. He knows his wife loves Fragrant Jewel's brand and would love to indulge her with a gift from a brand she obsesses over.
• Thinks gifting might be a difficult process • Doesn’t know what the process is like or the outcome of it • Not sure which themes, fragrance or size his wife would prefer
• Finding a gift guaranteed his wife would enjoy • Simple, fast and easy gifting process • Ordering ring size, fragrance and products type size that his wife would love
After user research and analysis, user attitudes and behaviors were identified to gain insights into user needs.
• I'm interested how easy it would be to gift and then how the recipient can enjoy the process
• I don't know my loved ones ring sizes
• Not sure of the scent they would like... Maybe e-gift? then they can choose, and get hooked like me?
• I cannot guarantee my family or friends would receive their gift on time
• Price range to be able to fit more people's budgets.
• Something maybe printable to put in a card
• A return email from the company to see what the recipient chose and when they will get it.
• Simplify the process because generally people get overwhelmed especially if they are not familiar with the products or brand.
• You need to allow people to personalize a note
• I don't know many people's ring size and I scent is generally better picked out for oneself.
• Make it easily customizable. It would be great to receive an email that when it was sent
• Making sure all costs are included so recipients do not incur any costs on their end.
• Can it be through texts and emails?
• I like to gift piece of jewelry that can fit anyone - earrings, bracelets, necklaces
• I don’t have time to sit and try to figure out what type of product someone would want.
• I get physical gifts during the holidays so I'd like to return that favor. For Mother's Day or a birthday an e-gift would be perfect!
• I usually give them a gift card to buy what they want when they want.
• I only get one for my daughter. I live on a fixed income. So only for special occasions.
• E-gifts allow someone to pick out the exact items they want removes the stress of guesswork.
• It's very important to have something printable that I can physically give.
• More charity themed products. I like knowing the products I buy can go to helping animals or women's organizations.
• Shipping during the holidays is atrocious and there's no guarantee it would arrive on time.
• They don't show the price level you've chosen to the recipient which is wonderful
To understand how we can improve the user experience, we created a visual representation of the user journey as they interact with our products to achieve their goals.
After identifying design challenges through user research, I transformed these statements into aspirational “How Might We” questions to explore innovative ideas and solutions.
simplify the process, and reduce stress of gifting?
create a personalized gifting experience?
remove the guesswork of scent, theme or size preference?
create a memorable gift receipt experience?
increase average order value?
remove the possibility of gifts being late?
simplify the process, and reduce stress of gifting?
I developed gift sender and recipient user flow maps based on my research to visualize user interaction with the gifting process while addressing their pain points.
Using user research findings and insights, I sketched initial wireframes designs, iterating as many options quickly as possible. With low-fidelity wireframes, I could design critical features and primary user journeys.
After refining low fidelity iterations, I developed high fidelity wireframes, creating realistic prototypes with both custom animations in Figma.
The user journey begins with a quick how-it-works explainer screen after collecting the recipient's name and the sender's information.
Next, the sender chooses the product categories they want to gift - Bath Bombs, Candles, Gift Sets, or Scrubs. After selecting product categories, the sender gets to choose the product tier - standard (cheapest), satin (mid-tier), or premium (high quality and sterling silver) of each category they want to gift.
After selecting gift tier options, the sender personalizes the gift by choosing card design, send method - email, text or print at home/office, send date - instant or specific date, gift wrapping, and adding a personal note.
In the final steps, the sender checks order accuracy with the option to add more items or edit them. In the last step, they are provided with varied payment options.
When the payment is completed sender sees the final screen - order confirmation. Here we give the option to build another gift, print a personalized card, or share a gift link, as well as the opportunity to earn rewards for a referral.
After receiving an email, text, or printed claim code, the recipient would either land on the claim code page or directly to opening their gift. Here they would see a personal card, message, and present in the form of animation - mimicking opening a real gift.
After opening the gift, the recipient is taken through each product type to select their chosen themed product.
Since the recipient might not be familiar with our products, including a product page with fragrance details and a ring size guide with a how-to to determine their size was necessary.
After selecting their themed products, the recipient is directed to the order summary page, where they can update the size or change products. Here we would collect their shipping information.
After completing their order, the user sees a gift confirmation page. During this stage, we encourage users to increase average order value by offering them additional products to purchase while taking advantage of free shipping.
Upon paying for the order upsell, the recipient is directed to an order confirmation page with the option to earn rewards for referrals and an SMS subscription for order tracking updates.
To convey design intention and finished product behavior, I created interactive prototypes for early product testing.
Check out both desktop and mobile in-depth Figma prototypes in the below links.
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Tap/click once on the screen to view clickable, interactive elements.
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