Heirloom
Sector
Private, Shopping
Challenge
The client needed a website that could cross navigate the shopping experience across their two companies and showcase them as a small business.
Duration
6 Weeks
Role
Full Stack Designer
Research
In the initial consultation with the client, they were able to provide me with several inspiration sources to base the design of their site off of. They also supplied me with links to several of their competitors to understand what a challenging website in their market might look like.
As my first true experience designing a shopping site, I took my time to look into these brands and familiarize myself with the design styles of their competitors. The client also had existing Amazon listings and graphics, helping me to understand the tone and identity of the brand.
Ideation
With some inspiration in hand from the client, I began to gather ideas for what a shopping experience would look like with Heirloom.
A primary request of the client was to have both Heirloom and their secondary company Hypoclear’s products available to shop from on the same site, sharing features like the shopping cart, but having different branding, headers and designed content. I was able to source some similar shopping experiences to this in the ideation process as well, helping to conceptualize how it might work when designed. I then created a prototype of the website and presented it to the client, which they approved.
Design
With the prototype approved, it was now time to build my designs on the website. This was my first time building a website in Shopify, and I quickly learned that there would be some challenges with the builder to deliver the client their requests.
After researching the builder, I learned that Shopify does not innately allow for features like changing headers or having dual stacked navigation menus. To resolve this issue, I coded these sections of the site for Heirloom so that the client could still have the final product that they requested.
Despite the limitations of the builder, the website creation went smoothly and was actually delivered to the client ahead of schedule.
Result
This project resulted in many firsts for me, from designing my first shopping site to using a new builder, Shopify. Overcoming the challenges of the builder, and learning new design standards for shopping platforms both significantly helped me to become a better designer. I am grateful to have used what I learned on other projects, and to now have a better understanding of shopping UX, and Shopify as a tool.
