THE CHALLENGE
My challenge was to provide an immersive online experience that was both trendy and relevant to its prospective demographic. The experience had to showcase three separate user journeys for car seats, travel systems, and strollers.
Services Provided
Interaction Design
UX Research
Information Architecture
WHAT I DID
Using UX best practices, I created the customer journey for the three product categories; car seat, travel system and stroller. Due to the complexity of featuring three different paths I wanted to simplify the process and approach. In effect, I created a hierarchical sitemap detailing all the different pages within their tiers, and how they linked to one another.
The navigation was key in the experience because it provided a seamless way for the customer to find what they were looking for. The simple and easy-to-use navigation allowed them to jump from each of the sections by drilling down a unique path that led customers to what they wanted to view.
HIGH FIDELITY WIREFRAMES
Check out the Axure wireframe
With a mobile first approach, the mobile wireframe had to be unique and easy to use so that the customer could easily get to any of the three paths he/she chose within the same page. After the wireframes were completed, I showcased the entire experience to Graco and they were thrilled to see such an engaging and rich experience.
Using RWD (Responsive Web Design) methodologies the experience quickly showcased the three paths.
Due to the experience using a mobile first approach, I was able to seamlessly translate the same mobile navigation into desktop. This saved time and effort on both design and development sprints.
FINAL DESIGN
The final design provided bright distinct colors and icons which allowed the user to quickly distinguish each path. Once the user clicked on a section, it expanded revealing the image with a click to close x icon to be able to open another section if desired
Given a trendy visual treatment, each section expanded and revealed the rest of the image once it was selected.
RESULTS
Due to the collaboration of cross-functional teams and various business stakeholders, the final product yielded positive sales selling over hundreds of products from the experience and provided overall customer satisfaction. The Happy Travels experience was a success and was kept the following year under a new name of "On the Go." This experience was first of it's kind for Babies"R"Us because it featured products and stunning visuals that told a story. Customers were educated on products as well as were given product recommendations sprinkled throughout.
WHAT I LEARNED
The key to any immersive experience is to be able to stand out from the rest. Customers nowadays want an experience that is accessible through any touch point they choose to engage with. By providing this touch point it allowed them to be able to quickly see the best products that Babies"R"Us had to offer.