Ghurka

All deliverables and artwork created at Born Group

Overview

This luxury leather goods brand was in need of a site redesign under a tight timeline. My role as the lead UX designer on the project was to conduct interviews with key client stakeholders, create a site map that will solve some of the structural issues the client was facing, as well as a template inventory document, feature value matrix document, and wireframes. I also performed QA on the site prior to launch to iron out any issues. The site is responsive and is on the Magento ecommerce platform.

Discovery

During the stakeholder interviews I gathered information from the client about their brand's history, heritage, manufacturing process, and user backgrounds. I also got a solid idea of our general goals for the redesign, usability issues that needed to be resolved, and future custom features to consider. Our main objective for the initial launch was to create a smooth, solid foundation following best practices that compellingly tells the brand and product story.

Design

During the design phase I aimed at putting the products front and center and simplifying various tasks. I took the load off a busy navigation by introducing category refinements in the listing pages. I created proper landing pages for top level categories to provide the brand with story telling opportunities, and invested in a more detailed and impressive product detail page that will give users all of the information they would need. I also looked for efficiencies in our templates allowing the client to reuse them.

Discovery

Feature Value Matrix

The FVM listed all special features discussed during the Stakeholders Interviews, as well as standard Magento out of the box features. This document insured internal and external alignment on the features implemented for launch and the level of effort required from all parties.

Template Inventory

This document listed all templates included in our scope of work. Each template was paired with a letter that corresponded with our site map and indicated how it will be repurposed throughout the site.

Site Map

The original site navigation was unnecessarily complex and overwhelming with 16 top level links. The client requested that we create two site maps detailing both their original structure and our proposed structure so they can compare the two.

Original Navigational Structure

My Proposed Site Map

Wireframes

Flyouts

Simplifying the site architecture allowed for a more visual navigation. Each category is paired with an image thumbnail allowing users to very quickly grasp the product line and identify the relevant category.

Listing Page

The original site made it difficult to locate specific items since there were no filters implemented. In addition, the products would load very slowly and only 12 at a time. Most Ghurka listing pages feature less than 30 products so having to click Next and wait for the products to slowly load three times just to get through a short listing page was very frustrating. With the addition of relevant filters to the template, setting product load of 30 at a time, and implementing lazy load functionality for slightly longer pages (only suitable for small inventories) the experience became a lot smoother.

Product Detail Page

Since Ghurka bags are made to last and manufactured meticulously, purchasing a Ghurka bag is a commitment, both from a financial and functional standpoint. I wanted users to be comfortable and secure in their purchase by providing them with all of the relevant information they would need.

Among features introduced: Highly detailed zoom, customization options, clear product specs, a Comfortably Fits section showing the type and number of items a particular bag can handle, and a clear overview of the manufacturing process.

During our stakeholder interviews I learned that many customers have a sentimental relationship with their Ghurka bag that has accompanied them in their travels or has been in the family for many years. Some even write to Ghurka to share these stories with the brand. I decided to incorporate user stories on a product detail level to add an emotional/adventurous layer to the more straight-forward functional details.

Checkout

I added a few key customizations to the standard Magento checkout to provide users with a more streamlined experience.

Live Site Demo Video

Final Designs

Visual designs were created by Gisela Garcia.