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Editor Co.
Digital Seamless Design Service
Year
2021
Case Type
Business Project
Overview
Founded in 2018, Editors Co is an online interior design service, it revolutionises the traditional interior design service and process and transforms the whole experience into a digital one for the technology-focused generation. Their service helps customers to decorate a beautiful home by curating from 60+ home decor brands at a flat fee, providing services from consultation, home furniture curation to ordering from decor brands.
I worked with Editors Co with the goal to transform their current service to be more seamless while maintaining a personal touch.
My Role
I was one of the UX/UI designers working on the product design from scratch in Feb 2022 with a team of junior UX/UI designer, product manager. The design process contained 16 weeks, which includes user research to high-fidelity mockup design.
Problems & Goals
Editors Co has its entire communication with its customers over fragmented channels and they are losing momentum with customers due to delayed conversation.
Problem😔
The confirmation and feedback workflow is decentralized, scattered across email and instant messaging platform WhatsApp. Communication with customers requires loads of manual effort to consolidate, making it difficult to keep track of project status and continue the momentum.
Goals🎯
Centralise the confirmation and feedback workflow for better communication and efficiency. Consolidating communication channels, it will become easier to keep track of project status, increase transparency and customer satisfaction. Reduce the manual effort required for communication, allowing team members to focus on more high-value tasks and ultimately increasing productivity
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Research & User Discovery
Background Research
We started with a background research competitor analysis to understand the demographic and compare the experience of the same journey amongst different competitors.
Personas
Refining Target Users through Interviews
We identified two main types of personas during the user interview process. 5 qualitative interviews were carried out with existing users to learn about their customer experience and pain points.
80% of interviewees have no insights about delivery information. Users receive confirmation emails once they paid for the items but would forget when items are arriving due to the time lag and their busy schedule.
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After summarise all the interviews and insight we developed two persona as reference for the client when we have the second workshop to define the scope for the project.
Journey Mapping
Crafting the Simplest "Happy Paths"
Based on the key functional scenarios, We crafted 3 unique user flows and user stories to empathise with the users and understand how to enhance the experience during this journey.
1) Select furniture item & add it to wishlist
2) Comment on furniture suggestion
3) Check delivery status
Design & Features
A/B Testings
Optimizing Engagement Rate
We conducted an A/B test with 10 users aged 22 - 35 that are potential users, the purpose of it is to test two key scenarios 1) viewing one furniture item and 2) viewing two furniture suggestions, as well as testing how users react to visual hierarchy, navigation, and UI design.
Key insights from scenario 1 (reference displayed on the right):
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40% find it important to view the floor plan mockup
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90% prefer option B due to its clearer call to action and visual hierarchy
We took on the valuable feedback and improve the design via:
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Declutter information that is less important, e.g. specific details of the furniture item
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Better & clearer labeling/ titles
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Clear indication for users on what action to take
Design System
Managing Design at Scale
We built a design system from 0 to 1, including a style guide for typography, button, cards, carousel, colours, navigation, progress, selection controls, modals, and other key components to effectively scale the design as we cross-collaborated.
Main Features
Furniture Selection
This clean & simple furniture selection flow allows users to view the details of the respective furniture item, with further details to expand on as they scroll down.
Main Features
Feedback Tracking
Users can provide feedback directly related to the item, this resolves the problem where users and stylists struggle to keep track of what items are undergoing revisions.
Main Features
Delivery Tracking
The delivery tracking method requires 3 simple clicks to view the expected delivery date of items arriving soon. This significantly reduces the time and mental energy required previously to look through the same information over emails and excel.
Usability Testings
The final prototype was brought to 3 unique users to test out the key scenarios. 1) furniture selection
2) commenting 3) delivery tracking. Users take an average of 30 seconds to complete the task.
Success Metrics
The following success metrics would be what I'd adopt once the final design is developed to compare how it has improved.
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Weeks shortened in sales cycle due to quicker & more efficient communication
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Minutes saved for the business to consolidate the feedback from customers
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Rounds of communication reduced between Editors Co & customers
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NPS (Net Promoter Score) to track user satisfaction rate before & after
Overall Score
8/10, the new concept of transitioning their current service to a mobile app received a very welcoming and positive score.
Key Results
Self Reflection
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You should always look at your design from a fresh perspective
As part of the mid-fidelity and high-fidelity phases of development, the design was tested. Since I have been working on this file day in and day out, I sometimes overlook details that need to be changed. There is always room for improvement in design, it's an iterative process.​
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Enhance the user experience by focusing on the most impactful journeys
By converting the entire customer experience from email to instant messages to a mobile app, this project is literally transforming the whole customer experience. In order for a service to be adopted by users, it must focus on the most impactful journeys that represent the company's unique selling points. By learning how to prioritise, highlight the design rationale for working on high-impact tasks instead of low-impact & high-effort tasks, I was able to improve my productivity.​
Reflection
The interior design service project was an enlightening experience for me. The project aimed to resolve the problem of fragmented communication among interior designers and clients. By providing a unified ecosystem for users to communicate, select design elements, and interact with designers, we streamlined this process. Working with other designers who had stronger graphic design skills was a valuable learning experience, although I did not play a significant role in UI design.
Possible alteration in 2023
As I reflect on the interior design service project, I realise how important cohesive communication and user interaction are within a design platform. As I move forward into 2023, I am eager to take on more responsibility in both UI and UX aspects. With my interaction science knowledge, I aim to enhance the user experience, ensuring that the platform is intuitive and efficient to navigate, visually appealing, and effectively facilitates communication.
By leveraging my previous experience and improving my graphic design skills, I will actively engage in the UI design process. I believe that by becoming more versatile in both UI and UX domains, I will be able to contribute more holistically to projects, providing a seamless experience for users. To create even more impactful design solutions, I am constantly expanding my skill set and incorporating advanced interaction science principles.