Helensart
eCommerce UI/UX & Personal Branding Project
Introduction
Helensart is the my personal business, selling arts online through Etsy and local artist alley shows.
Current Status
The website:
Situation: Helensart.net has been revised and updated for many times based on the users' needs and the owners' budgets.
Result: 1. Helensart.net merge with Etsy store etsy.com/ca/shop/helenlovelove. 2. Notion Portfolio is my new portfolio website.
The branding style:
Result: It will keep existing in the future for at least 2 years.
Situation: Helensart.net has been revised and updated for many times based on the users' needs and the owners' budgets.
Result: 1. Helensart.net merge with Etsy store etsy.com/ca/shop/helenlovelove. 2. Notion Portfolio is my new portfolio website.
The branding style:
Result: It will keep existing in the future for at least 2 years.
Time frame: January 2021 - October 2021
Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Figma
Skills: UI/UX Design, Branding
Category: UI/UX Design, Branding
Role: UI/UX Designer, Graphic Designer, Illustrator
Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Figma
Skills: UI/UX Design, Branding
Category: UI/UX Design, Branding
Role: UI/UX Designer, Graphic Designer, Illustrator
Goal
1. Build and brand my own art store.
2. Gain eCommerce website UI/UX design experience.
2. Gain eCommerce website UI/UX design experience.
UI/UX Design Problems
✖️Users cannot find the right listings.
✖️Users cannot find the right products.
✖️Users feel the website is banal and empty.
✖️Users have questions to ask the shop owners, but they don't know how and where to reach the shop owner.
✖️Users who work in conventions or artist alleys as public relation coordinator want to see my portfolio, but cannot find it.
✖️Users want to have a comprehensive look of my portfolio.
✖️Users want to easy to use and navigate my portfolio and art store.
✖️Users cannot find the right products.
✖️Users feel the website is banal and empty.
✖️Users have questions to ask the shop owners, but they don't know how and where to reach the shop owner.
✖️Users who work in conventions or artist alleys as public relation coordinator want to see my portfolio, but cannot find it.
✖️Users want to have a comprehensive look of my portfolio.
✖️Users want to easy to use and navigate my portfolio and art store.
User Research
The users that visit the website from two major sources: LinkedIn and Virtual Artist Alley Shows
The users who are from LinkedIn will treat my eCommerce website as a portfolio website to show my works.
The users who are from the Artist Alley Shows' attendance are buyers who browse my products and purchase them from my web store.
The users who are from the Artist Alley Shows are host who browse my portfolio and approve my eligibility to join them as vendor.
Pain Points:
😫"It takes me longer time to find the products I want."
🧐 "I'm confused if I need an account to check out."
😌 "It would be great to have classified product listings."
The users who are from LinkedIn will treat my eCommerce website as a portfolio website to show my works.
The users who are from the Artist Alley Shows' attendance are buyers who browse my products and purchase them from my web store.
The users who are from the Artist Alley Shows are host who browse my portfolio and approve my eligibility to join them as vendor.
Pain Points:
😫"It takes me longer time to find the products I want."
🧐 "I'm confused if I need an account to check out."
😌 "It would be great to have classified product listings."
Branding
- Color Choice: Pink, black, golden yellow, and white.
- Font Family: Escafina and Tommy Soft.
- Pattern: Pastel background with lines or dots and yellow stars as decoration.
- Product Photo: Artificial flowers as s decoration while a cream linen as the background. Ruler as a helper tool to help the viewers know the real life size of the sale items.
Kickstarter Cover Design
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Social Media Information Posts
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Social Media Product Posts
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Stickers
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Business Cards
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Website UI/UX Design
4 pages: Shop, Portfolio, About, FAQ
Website Home Page Evolution
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Earliest Web UI/UX Design:
I throw everything I have to my web store. It is not a good starting point, but I am not sure how to improve it. I start with a basic page that does not have visual appealing elements. |
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2nd Web UI/UX Design Revision:
I add more interesting layout in the shop section. It turns into a more comprehensive and easy-to-use web shop home page. |
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3rd Web UI/UX Design Revision:
I add About and Category section, so the users are more clearly know what items they are shopping for and know a bit about the owner. |
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Lesson I learned
- In the beginning of 2021, I original think web store is easy. I take me long time to revise to a professional web store. However, by the end of 2021, I decide to merge my web store with Etsy and turn web store as a portfolio website.
- Reasons of taking helensart.net web store down: 1. Paying $400 CAD per year to the website host to maintain the website is expensive. 2. Maintaining both Etsy and web store needs extra labour and time. 3. The sales of the website is not high as expectation.
Reflections
I consider this project as a real life eCommerce UI/UX design and branding project although there is only me involving in the whole project. I revise the web store many times by myself, because I want a comfortable user interface for the shop. I reference many art store's web user interface and know more about my competitors. In conclusion, this project helps me to learn more about eCommerce UI/UX design.
