Project Role
Conducted User Research
Wireframed sketches on Figma
Prototyped product and created demo
Led visual design direction
Conducted Usability Testing
Project Length
Nov 2022 - Feb 2023
Tools
Figma
Photoshop
Project Type
Personal
Overview
Sanctuary Bridal Store is a bridal store that features a virtual try on method that many brides could use without going in-store. This project was created in response to the Covid-19 pandemic where many stores limited access to the public. Important life events will continue to happen, and Sanctuary was created to adapt to the changing times.
What is Sanctuary Bridal Store?
During the peak of COVID-19, many stores decided to close their doors to the public. However, a pandemic is not enough to stop important life events from occurring.
Through some close people in my life, I saw that they were struggling in finding a dress for their wedding during these uncertain times. Furthermore, many bridal stores do not have prices on their websites which made the process even more frustrating for them.
And so I got to thinking, how can I help address these frustrations?
The Problem
Research
Interviews
To get a better idea of what challenges brides were facing during this time, I decided to interview 4 people who were trying to plan a wedding during this tumultuous time. Here are some of the limitations they were faced with:
Limited options: Many bridal shops and designers were closed or had limited hours during the pandemic, which made it difficult for people to find the dress they wanted.
Delays: With so many factories and supply chains disrupted by the pandemic this resulted in delays in getting their dress delivered.
Limited in-person shopping: Many bridal shops and designers offered virtual consultations during the pandemic, but it was difficult to shop for a wedding dress without being able to try it on in person. Additionally, some people had to limit the number of people they could bring with them to their appointment, which made it difficult to get opinions and feedback from loved ones.
Alterations: Many alterations specialists were closed or had limited hours during the pandemic, which made it challenging for people to get their dress altered to fit perfectly.
Pricing: Not a lot of bridal stores have prices of their dresses online, forcing many to many to have to call the store to inquire which can be a hassle.
Competitive Audit
Conducting a competitive audit was essential to get a better understanding of what were competitor solutions as well as gaps. Doing so gave me insight on what other companies are offering as well as opportunities to out-preform them in other ways. Below is a summary of the findings I was able to gather.
The goal of this project was to create a website that would make sense with a try on feature that didn’t just feel like a filter. The design is to be light and airy (in contrast to the uncertain times) with all the prices and details to be easily accessible. The try on feature itself should be easy to use and intuitive enough for anyone with computer experience to grasp without much guidance.
The Solution
After some rough sketches of the logo, I decided to go with a very simple and minimalistic design. As the name of the store is Sanctuary, I wanted the logo to evoke a feeling of tranquillity and serenity -a direct contrast to the period of its inception. I didn’t want too much of a contrast in the colours either to not overwhelm the eyes.
Aesthetically, I sought to create a brand that was more laid-back, which I felt stood out from the high sophistication of most other bridal stores.
Brand Exploration
Prototype
With all this information in mind, it was time to start wireframing. During this part of the design process, I had some trouble figuring out the layout of the virtual try-on portion of this project; and, indeed, it was a challenge throughout the entire project due to my limited knowledge of AR as well as limitations of Figma itself.
However, after many iterations, I was finally able to get a grasp of how I wanted the website to look overall.
Using A/B testing on select people, I found that the landing page should follow a simple layout with not a lot of shapes to distract from the product. For the virtual try on portion of the site, the options were the users to upload photos onto the site in different angles, or have it be live. I thought the latter option was the best, but due to limitations I was not able to have a live video (with a dress super imposed on a body) in the prototype.
Wireframing
Virtual Try-On
Creating a virtual clothing try-on proved to be more challenging than anticipated. The vision I had in mind was to create a prototype of an AR similar to Snapchat filters. However, due to my own limitations, as well as the software available to me, I decided to move forward with the idea of the user uploading pictures of themselves in various angles after which a dress would be applied onto it.
It is not the most ideal solution, but given my limitations, it was the most viable one.
Current Solution: User will upload pictures of themselves in various angles and dress will be superimposed onto it.
Usability Testing Feedback
After sending the prototype to the same 4 people I interviewed, as well as 2 others, some of the more notable feedback I received were:
Would be good to have a download button for the pictures since its not a video anymore
Many people liked the page that features other brides that bought from the shop (“Meet Our Brides”)
All this was taken into account when designing the final prototype.
Evaluation
The Final Outcome and Improvements
The final iteration of this project resulted in a very light, airy, sophisticated design. I was not able to complete the design all the way through to checkout, however, as I wanted to focus mainly on the virtual try-on aspect. As this was just a project to broaden my world slightly into AR, this project did not launch. However, if I were able to, I would measure the rate of retention and, in particular, the usability rate of the virtual try on portion so see how intuitive it is to users.
Some improvements I see for this project is definitely to learn more about virtual try on AR to make the design more seamless. I also think this project could have benefited from a video of the a prototype of the try on dress but, due to limitations, this was not possible.
