Katalog
Personalized Fashion And Travel With Seamless Discovery On Katalog.
At a glance
Introducing Katalog, the ultimate destination for women seeking a shopping experience beyond mere transactions. At Katalog, we understand the deep-rooted desire to intertwine shopping, friendships, and life's unforgettable moments. Every woman deserves a luxurious experience filled with insider knowledge and exclusivity. With worldwide access to emerging small brands and unique boutiques, Katalog is your passport to a world of fashion and discovery.
In this case study, I discuss location-based shopping, where boutiques and influencers provide reviews of their products, enabling customers to make informed purchases. The platform also features online booking with in-store pickup options. Additionally, users can share and categorize their wishlists with friends and family, enhancing their shopping experience.
MY ROLE
As a UX Designer at Echidna Software, I spearheaded the UX strategy and execution for the Katalog project. I collaborated closely with the project team, gathering insights from client elaboration calls and Business Requirement Documents (BRDs). My role was crucial in guiding the project from its initial stages of ambiguity to a successful design.
A key responsibility was ensuring alignment across cross-functional teams to achieve our common objectives. I guided a UX strategy that made a significant global impact, ensuring that our design was consistent and cohesive across all platforms. By incorporating new features based on client feedback, I crafted conceptual wireframes and sketches to bring my design ideas to life. I managed the entire process, from initial concepts to final design implementation, ensuring everything came together smoothly.
Problem
Users often struggle to find time for clothes shopping. They may be too busy, the desired store might be too far, or the clothes they want are unavailable. Stores can be overcrowded, leading to long waits to try on clothes, and physical conditions can hinder store visits. As a result, many people buy clothes without trying them on, often returning them and purchasing something else, creating an endless loop of buying and returning. Hesitation to place orders or abandoning carts due to fear of incorrect fit is common.
Additionally, fitting issues vary across different brands, leaving people unsure about which product is suitable. Fake reviews can further frustrate customers. The lack of location-based shopping experiences prevents customers from knowing product availability in stores.
The Business Needs
Users often struggle to find time for clothes shopping. They may be too busy, the desired store might be too far, or the clothes they want are unavailable. Stores can be overcrowded, leading to long waits to try on clothes, and physical conditions can hinder store visits. As a result, many people buy clothes without trying them on, often returning them and purchasing something else, creating an endless loop of buying and returning. Hesitation to place orders or abandoning carts due to fear of incorrect fit is common.
Our location-based shopping feature lets users book products online and pick them up at nearby stores, making shopping more convenient and helping us keep customers loyal. The app also features influencer marketing, allowing users to share their product reviews, and lets users create a personalized style profile. Plus, engaging blogs keep users updated on the latest trends and style tips.
Demonstrating a compelling digital revenue and marketing channel will be essential to attract individual boutiques. Giving them the ability to add high-quality imagery, describe their brand, and showcase their personality will be paramount to increase adoption of the platform and encourage boutiques to participate actively.
DEFINING GOALS
Key Objectives
- Product and Business Objective: The goal is to boost user loyalty, engagement, and create a seamless shopping experience. By allowing customers to specify their destination and timing, we can provide personalized recommendations for boutiques, styles, items, and even set up personal shopping appointments. This tailored approach enhances the shopping experience and fosters stronger brand loyalty.
- Design Objective: The Katalog brand should enhance its authority with a distinct logo, complemented by a unique icon family for key functions. Use a black-and-white palette to highlight boutiques and match location styles. Preferred fonts include a primary serif for titles, a handwritten style for accents, and a sans-serif for readability. Implement square buttons with clean colors and sharp strokes, supported by a digital visual strategy guide for consistent branding and design.
Let’s Start The Design Process
Research & insights
Katalog Survey
- Before diving into the design work, I invested time researching and surveying the common stress points experienced by Katalog stakeholders. I discovered that the user experience on the Katalog app might be causing significant stress and discomfort for users.
- To understand the process of online shopping, I explored pain points and user frustrations. This helped in identifying key areas where the Katalog app could be improved to enhance the overall user experience.
- Many users experience frustration with shopping due to long queues, unavailable products, and the need to travel long distances to stores.
Key Insights for Creating an Engaging Customer Experience
- Effortless Exploration, Discover Boutiques, Locations, and Styles Naturally: For Katalog’s audience, seamless discovery is essential. Users expect to be informed and inspired throughout browsing. Mobile and desktop UI should offer personalized content, while location and boutique pages should convey unique brand identities.
- Get to Know Me: Exceptional fashion experiences adapt quickly to user preferences. Allow users to share style details for tailored recommendations and influencer connections.
- Reduce My Anxiety Around Transactions: Shopping from multiple boutiques can complicate transactions. To ease this, streamline checkout with clear product grouping and options, and ensure a smooth post-purchase process for tracking orders and getting support.
- Help Me Coordinate My Trip: Shopping can be an adventure. By integrating a "Create an Event" feature, similar to travel sites, customers can set their location and timing preferences. They’ll receive personalized recommendations for boutiques, styles, and items, enriching their shopping journey and boosting brand loyalty.
- Help Me Inspire My Travel Companions: To expand your audience, let customers share their shopping experiences with friends. By allowing them to highlight events, boutiques, and styles, you create a natural way to attract new customers and grow your brand.
- Show Me Other’s Experiences: Leveraging testimonials and influencer content effectively highlights Katalog's value in enhancing the shopping journey. Integrate these stories thoughtfully to show how others have benefited and enriched their shopping experiences.
- Show Me The Value of the Boutique Network: Boutiques need to see how the marketplace attracts quality customers and highlights their unique personality, standing out among others.
- Help Me Make Catalog Upload and Maintenance Easy: Boutiques vary in technical skills and resources. Simplify catalog uploads with minimal training, offering bulk upload options and support to ensure accurate and efficient catalog management.
- Ensure The Order Process is Efficient and Self-Sufficient: To streamline the ordering experience, simplify the workflow so boutiques manage post-transaction tasks like order status, queries, billing, and returns. This reduces the time to market and lessens Katalog's operational burden.
- Make Promoting My Boutique Easy: To attract boutiques, offer them an effective digital marketing channel where they can upload high-quality images, describe their brand, and showcase their unique personality. This will boost platform adoption and engagement.
Pain Points
While summarising my research, I found the following observations:
- Mitigating the Impact of Fake Reviews on Product Ratings
- Addressing Quality and Size Discrepancies in Online Purchases
- Limited ability for users to share shopping experiences, affecting audience expansion.
Persona
Focusing on the persona of Emerson Jane, an Fashion Designer who frequently purchasing products from online.
Design Principles
The Katalog brand should visually integrate with various boutique elements, with the logo serving as a key identifier. A distinct set of icons will reinforce brand recognition. The design should use a black-and-white palette and complementary fonts for readability. Square buttons with clean lines will be used for CTAs. A visual strategy guide will define branding parameters and design elements.
Following my research and gap analysis in the competitive landscape, I developed design principles to ensure alignment between research findings and UI design.
- Seamless Integration: The experience should effortlessly integrate into existing workflows without adding complexity.
- Familiarity: The design must be user-friendly and accessible, minimizing any UI disruptions.
App/Website Foundations
Few screens are displayed here for reference.
Optimizing User Engagement and Onboarding for Katalog Exploration
- Visually Captivating Onboarding: Create an eye-catching onboarding screen that highlights Katalog’s core features, focusing on ease of use and the exciting journey that awaits users.
- Intuitive Search & Filtering: Implement user-friendly search and filtering options to help users effortlessly find boutiques, styles, and products based on their preferences. Use compelling imagery and engaging content to enhance the exploration experience.
- Interactive Features: Integrate interactive elements such as virtual boutique tours, user reviews, and influencer content to boost engagement and build trust.
- User Feedback System: Introduce a simple feedback mechanism for users to share their experiences and suggest improvements, promoting community engagement and continuous enhancement.
- Adaptive Learning: Ensure the app learns from user habits and interests to provide a personalized and improved experience over time.
User Journey
Let’s explore the user journey from their perspective to enhance design and optimization. By understanding their pain points and discovering areas for improvement, we can create more effective solutions. Next, we’ll use empathy mapping to better grasp their experiences and needs.
Empathy Mapping
Based on the user journey outlined, I’m diving into how users experience and connect with their surroundings. This includes looking at their first impressions, how they engage with the space, and how these interactions influence their emotions and overall experience.
Value Proposition Canvas
This will assist in further defining user profiles and visualizing the value created by my proposal.
Proposed Solution (Information Architecture)
Enhance Katalog’s user experience with intuitive navigation, a personalized home page, robust search and filtering, and interactive boutique pages. Provide clear product details, a seamless checkout, and user feedback options. Use adaptive learning for tailored recommendations and improved engagement.
Initial Stage - Storyboarding and Wireframing
Begin by creating storyboards to visualize user interactions and key scenarios. Develop wireframes to outline the basic structure and layout of the application, focusing on essential elements like navigation, content placement, and user flow. This foundational work will guide detailed design and ensure a user-centric approach.
Final Design
I created the final UI design prototype based on the user research and analysis results. Here are some initial experiments with the visual style. The design focuses on three core principles: simplicity, innovation, and tradition, while incorporating the latest design trends.
Navigation and Tooling
From a user experience perspective, the Bottom Navigation Widget provides a quick and easy way for users to engage with straightforward incentives. It’s designed for those who want instant results without needing to invest much time or effort, offering immediate rewards for quick decision-makers.
Boutique
Boutiques are prominently showcased with comprehensive profiles, high-resolution imagery, and detailed store information. Users can explore boutiques by location and engage with interactive elements such as virtual tours and style showcases. The app delivers personalized recommendations, integrates efficient shopping features, and offers promotional tools and feedback mechanisms to enhance user engagement and optimize the shopping experience.
Location
When users click on a specific location from the listing page, they are directed to a detailed page. Here, they can view location information, discover unique fashion styles associated with that area, and explore featured boutiques. A map view displays other boutiques in the vicinity, while shopping tips and local weather conditions are also provided. Products relevant to that location will be showcased and can be scrolled through.
Influencer
When users click on a specific influencer on the page, they are taken to a detailed profile page. Here, they can view the influencer’s profile information, recent activity, and a follow button. Clicking on the "Activity" link opens a bottom sheet with several related links, organized in a tab structure. The "About" tab provides information about the influencer, including their inspiring style, favorite products, and boutiques, as well as suggestions. The "Reviews" tab shows feedback the influencer has given on various products. Additionally, users have the option to share the influencer’s profile with friends and family.
Checkout Process
When a user adds a product to their bag, it is stored in the shopping cart. Clicking "Proceed to Checkout" prompts guest users to log in. Logged-in users can either enter a new address or select a saved one. Users then choose from various shipping methods, including store pickup. After selecting a shipping option, users proceed to payment, where they choose their preferred payment method. Upon completing the payment, users receive an order confirmation both in-app and via email.
Conclusion
Creating the Katalog app presented unique challenges and insights across research, strategy, design, and implementation. With limited historical data, we relied on qualitative insights to guide our design decisions, revealing diverse merchant needs and pain points that shaped our UX strategy. This phase underscored the importance of face-to-face interactions for deep product understanding.
As a designer with a perfectionist approach, balancing ambition with practicality was crucial for achieving impactful outcomes. The key takeaway is that excellence comes from incremental progress—each small step drives larger transformation. This experience highlights the value of iterative design, cross-functional collaboration, and adaptability in developing user-centered solutions within resource constraints.