1stdibs
The Problem
As one of the worlds most recognizable brands in the world of art and interior design, 1stdibs was faced with the task of transforming their entire website that was traditionally known for getting inspiration and browsing to being a full service marketplace where buyers and sellers could engage and transact entirely online. Part of this effort included giving the website a refresh to how users curated and personalized their experiences on site. Our team needed to sunset the antiquated way visitors would save and organize their favorites and build a whole new experience around personalization.
The Process
This project was really about understanding how users go from searching and browsing a huge selection of products, to saving and organizing the products that interest them. Partnering with our data analytics team, we were able to map out a typical user journey and pinpoint the exact times when a user interacted with the site in a way that was personal to them. One of the key times identified was during the search and browse experience. As a result, our team made a decision to insert a 'heart' icon in the upper right of each of the product cards.
Designing for Organization
Another place when a user might want to save and remember items they like is from the product details page. The product details page is a unique view because since it had more real estate, we were able to think of more ways for the users to personalize. So in addition to allowing users to save items by clicking the 'heart' icon, they could create folders and organize keep their items organized according to their preferred method. One of the challenges was designing an interaction that allowed for multiple level of organization. Interior designers in particular were known as key users who needed robust folder structures.
The interaction of creating a subfolder, naming it, and adding an item to it.
The view of all the products with a folder that a user created.
The Result
Countless usability tests and close work with our engineering team resulted in the launch of a new 'Favorites' feature within the 1stdibs platform. The focus on simple, clean interactions that allowed users to make 1stdibs more reflective of their own personal tastes and interests resulted in increased engagement, (measured of clickthroughs) of the saving function. The project required back-end data migration planning, thorough testing, and data analysis.
View of a users 'Favorites' as organized by folders and subfolders they create, name and organize themselves.