Huizenga's Greenhouse
Role: UX Designer
This project was to create a website for a greenhouse that sells products both wholesale and retail. The unique challenge for this project was that the retail store is seasonal. The goal for the site was to communicate to users that the business is seasonal while still keeping users engaged year round.
01
Research
Affinity Diagram
I started the research by doing a competitive analysis. I looked at similar seasonal businesses to see how they were communicating their hours and other important information. I also interviewed potential users to see what expectations they had when looking for plants at a local shop. I compiled this information into an affinity diagram to look for trends. Some things I noticed were that other sites were including too much information and overwhelming the user and often not including the types of products that were offered at the business. I also noticed it was hard for potential users to actually see what plants each shop offered without going into the store.
02
User Flows
Customer Journey Map
In order to understand how a customer moves through the process of looking for plants at a local plant shop and understanding their motivations and pain points I created a customer journey map. I was able to understand that the most frustration was created when they were trying to find out what plants local shops carry.
03
Ideation
Sketches
After completing my initial research I created sketches of the website for both mobile and desktop. The goal was to provide information that was essential to the business without overwhelming the user and laying out the information that makes sense for a seasonal business
04
Final Design
Prototype
After showing the sketches to the client it was time to create the final prototype. I then did some usability testing on the prototype that helped me realize what items were missing. Users wanted to be able to see what products were currently available so I added a filter users could see what items were available each season and how or where they could be purchased.
05
Conclusion
For this project less research was needed as it was a smaller project and the client did not want to offer online ordering. ​
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Challenges: The main challenges for this site was to provide information on the products being sold without offering online ordering. It was also a challenge to provide information on the products that are available seasonally and how and where they can be purchased. The client also wanted a layout that would not constantly need to be updated. Because the client wanted a low maintenance site we opted to leave out some items such as prices for each item.
What Went Well: The prototype was well received by the client. We were easily able to add a list of products available to users as well as a list of promotions that are currently running. Feedback from potential users was that it was easy to use and the information was easy to find.