DENVER MODERN
— 2018
Creative & Art Direction: Erin Jacobson
UX Design: Erin Jacobson
Branding & UI Kit: Studio Mast
Front-end development & UX design assistance: Camille Condrey
CMS: Shopify
Looking to make an impact in the local furniture scene, Denver Modern entered the market in December of 2017, with a big challenge on their hands. As a startup, they needed awareness to build their brand, but lacked some of the digital tools to do so. They also faced two other hurdles that most beginners do - time and money. They had to build out their suite of products in a strategic manner that would allow them to gain critical awareness as soon as possible while allowing for growth of the brand over time. And so, a plan was hatched.
CHALLENGE # 1
BUILDING FOR THE MVP
Based on the three primary user personas developed during initial research, we identified three different shoppers for the Denver Modern brand. Our brand strategy relied on starting small, focusing on building a name in the local market first and then expanding to a larger audience. With this in mind, we decided to focus the MVP on the needs of Emma & Todd, with phase 2 of the site including further detail for the expanded market of Callie and Jake.
Emma & Todd, 35 & 40
— Local customers that discovered the brand while visiting the RINO pop up shop but not willing to buy it on the spot. They want to make sure the piece will fit in their space and rely on product imagery and other customer reviews before making any final purchases at this price point.
Callie, 31
— Interior Designer, needs easy access to tech specs and material samples. Looking for trade discount and solid customer service. Wants to know she can depend on the company after purchase to resolve any issues.
+ also pertains to Architects and furniture reps.
Jake, 42
— online buyer with no access to a physical showroom. Reliant on site to give quality lifestyle & product imagery so that he can imagine the piece in his own home. Driven by aesthetics and quality. He wants to know as much as possible about the brand and the intention behind their products.
The phased approach to the Denver Modern Site launch allowed Denver Modern to allocate resources as needed for both design and build while also providing the digital tools needed as each new step was made in the product launch process. When approaching the overall site structure, we worked to make sure that the bones of the phase 1 site were simple and ultimately, transferrable to the phase 2 site to avoid unnecessary cost and time in development.
Over time, the emphasis transitions - starting in phase 1 with an emphasis on brand awareness and moving on in phase 2 to encompass awareness, engagement and conversion.
CHALLENGE # 2 LAYERED INFORMATION
Between the three needs of the three personas, a fair amount of function and information was required out of the product page for a successful experience. We then needed to balance this with the desire to maintain a clean look and feel for a modern narrative. The final challenge was to keep all of the critical information above the fold, a important strategy in e-commerce.
V1 Product Page, ‘above the fold’ by MAST.
Working within the UI kit created by MAST, I reorganized the primary product information to align with the common ’F’ pattern found in usability studies of e-commerce. Additional elements were also added to support the needs of Claire, our Interior Designer persona.
CHALLENGE
#3 CONVERSION
The checkout page can be one of the biggest points of drop off in conversion if the user flow is confusing or too time intensive. Working within Shopify’s constraints, we designed a large format display for each cart item that allows for easy navigation and editing by the customer.
