Beard Game Strong — Candice Huang

OVERVIEW

Beard Game Strong is a Canadian-owned startup business that was launched in 2019. It sells premium men’s beard oil without the use of chemicals, artificial ingredients, or harmful preservatives. It is trying to convert from a brand of product into an online marketplace. Our goal is to create a “Sephora” of men’s grooming, where end purchasers can find everything grooming-related and vendors can list their products effortlessly.

ROLE

User Research, Affinity Mapping, User Persona, Design Systems, Lead UI/UX Designer on End Purchaser’s Product Flow (Low-Fidelity and High-Fidelity Prototyping),

DURATION

November - December 2021

TOOL

Figma

SCOPE

UI/UX, Wireframing, Prototyping, User Testing

TEAM

---- PROBLEM

Converting from a brand of product to an online marketplace.

As the company tries to convert from selling one product to an online marketplace, it transitions from B2C to both B2B and B2C. As more products are being listed, there is a lack of structure and organization for users to navigate the website and find the products they need. In addition, the website does not have an existing feature for potential vendors to sign up as sellers. The main challenge is to redevelop Beard Game Strong’s existing website into a multi-vendor marketplace that is user-friendly for end purchasers and vendors.

---- SOLUTION

Creating an online marketplace that is better than an in-store experience.

After conducting initial research and interviews, we came up with the following solutions for two user groups: end purchasers and vendors.

For End Purchasers

On this platform, end purchasers can browse freely to discover the newest or best-selling products. At the same time, they can also navigate to what they are searching for easily.

1. Organized Categories: Allow the customers to shop based on actions: shave, post-shave, groom, cleanse, or care.

2. Product display that is even better than in-store:

Clear front, back, side, and lifestyle product display photographs. A quick glance of the ingredients contained in the product as well as the scent of the product.

For Sellers

In order to attract sellers to utilize this marketplace, they are provided with clear incentives to sign up as vendors. As we want to allow them to put their focus on selling, we make the onboarding process including signing up and listing products as simple as possible. In addition, we built a dashboard for sellers to constantly keep track of their selling activities.

1. Incentives: Providing sellers clear incentives to join the marketplace and start selling through list of benefits and successful seller stories.

2. Simple Analytics Report: The dashboard provides everything the seller needs to know about his/her products including statistics and activities.

View Prototype

---- SECONDARY RESEARCH

Data Collection

We began by conducting secondary research and gathering quantitative and qualitative data on this topic. Our objective is to deepen our understanding of the problem space and ask questions that we have not yet considered.

Competitive Analysis

We conducted a competitive analysis to understand how other successful companies developed their online marketplace. We analyzed 3 popular competitors: Amazon, Sephora, and Creative Market.

---- Discover

User Research

How Users Were Recruited: In order to recruit users, I joined online community groups on Reddit such as Male Grooming and Beard Advice. We selected 5 participants who were frequent customers of men’s grooming products and experienced sellers who sold men’s grooming products on marketplaces.

How Research Was Conducted: We conducted our user interviews via Zoom, with each session lasting approximately 30 minutes. Our objective is to understand how customers are currently purchasing men’s grooming products and how sellers are using the marketplace as a platform to sell their products. These were the major questions that we wanted to get out of the interview:

For customers:

What are some of the most important factors when purchasing?
Are there any resources you use to learn about existing and new products?
When you compare different products, what are some of the things you look at?
What is your buying experience like on these marketplaces?

For sellers:

How do you go about marketing your business/products?
What are some features of a marketplace that benefit you as a seller?
What are the most frustrating processes of selling products online?
How are you receiving feedback on your products on the platform you are currently using?

---- Synthesizing Research

Research Output & Affinity Mapping

User Persona- Meet Ben & John

To have a better understanding of the user’s needs and goals, we identified two personas: one for the end purchaser and the other one for vendors.

---- Information Architecture

User Flows

Based on the informational interviews that we conducted with 5 users, we selected two red routes that are critical to redesign the platform.

---- Sketches & Low Fidelity Prototype

Crazy 8’s

After completing our research, we started to brainstorm our ideas into sketches using the Crazy 8’s method. We gave each other feedbacks on the screens. We combined features that we liked and incorporated them into our low fidelity prototype.

---- High Fidelity Prototype & Testing

Usability Testings

We conducted two rounds of usability testing: one on the low fidelity prototype and one on the high fidelity prototype. Each week, we also meet with the stakeholder to discuss the findings of our testing. Our goals for the usability testing was to make sure that the customers can easily find and learn about a particular product and vendors can quickly onboard and upload their products. Below were the major improvements that we made based on the insights we learned from the testings and meetings:

1. Improved Filter Design

During testing, many users mentioned that the determining factors when they decide to purchase a product includes skin type, ingredients, scents, and known brand names. In order to cater to their needs and preferences, we built a complete list of filters that allows them to find the most suitable products.

2. Efficient Product Listing

Initially, we ask users to create product listings as they are onboarding as sellers. However, many users found this feature hard to navigate. As a result, we allow sellers to create product listings after they complete the onboarding process. In this way, they can view the active listing and add or edit any product as they wish, all on the same screen.

---- High Fidelity Prototype

Final Product

Click Here to View Lofi Prototype

Click Here to View Hifi Prototype

Click Here to View Hifi Prototype- Mobile

---- Visual Design

Style Guide & Mood Board

---- Reflection

Challenges & Moving Forward

After learning that I will be working on a project for a men's grooming company, I was excited and nervous at the same time to work on a topic that I am unfamiliar with. In order to learn more about men’s grooming products and be able to emphasize with users, I joined online community groups such as Male Grooming and Beard Advice. I also had a lot of fun talking to the members about their grooming experience.

This project was also my first time working with a client and a team. During this process, I have learned two main lessons that will help me become a better designer moving forward:

Consistent Communication
Before we started working, we created a scope and timeline sheet for the team and the client. The timeline helps us set goals for what needs to be completed each week and help both ends stay on the same page. Every week, we send out a meeting agenda and recap before and after our meeting with the client. I found that consistent communication goes a long way and it allows us to quickly fix or alter to a correct direction as soon as possible.
Effective Collaboration
One of the challenges that we faced as a team was making our prototype cohesive. Since we each worked on our parts, the work produced by each team member has a unique style. In order to stay consistent, we set a time to meet every couple of days to align our styles and direction. Working together has taught me the importance of cohesiveness and consistency. It was also a fun process to see each piece of work come together to produce the result.

Acknowledgment

Thank you to my teammates, Jaden Flores and Stephanie Mulowayi for continuously inspiring me and making this project a fun journey. Finally, thank you to our client, Shaun Schwartz for trusting our skills and professionalism.

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