PROJECT OVERVIEW

This was a student project in Seattle’s School of Visual Concepts (SVC) User Experience Certificate Program Interaction design class. The goal was to create a full-lifecycle, responsive interaction design product package. I worked independently to create a brand and design a guided engagement ring website.

ROLE

Interaction Designer & UX Researcher

Secondary Research, User Interviews, Usability Testing, Sketch Rendering, Final Design

TOOLS

Pen & Paper, Sketch, Adobe XD

COURSE

Interaction Design - School of Visual Concepts

TIMELINE

5 weeks, March 2019

INSTRUCTOR

Larry Sisson

THE PROBLEM

Shopping for engagement rings is not easy.

Through research, I found that the engagement ring buying process is time consuming and complex due to diamond ring jargon and time spent learning about the buying process.

THE GOAL

Create a simple online experience that makes it easy to customize and choose your

perfect ring style.

THE SOLUTION

By the end of the 5 week course, I designed a guided, jargon-free e-commerce experience that helps you find your perfect ring in 3 easy steps.

In addition, I created a mission statement to give focus to my design decisions.

MISSION STATEMENT

You design and we build handcrafted rings using Honest Stones to fit your personal style.

THE RESEARCH

The goal in conducting research was to better understand how couples shop for engagement rings.

Secondary Research

I analyzed previous studies completed on ring buying preferences. This helped me to better understand how men and women shop for engagement rings and what factors are important when choosing a ring.

Sources: Cornell University, Brilliant Earth, National Jeweler

KEY FINDINGS

• 44% of couples use Pinterest to generate and store ideas prior to purchasing a ring.

• 80% of millennials believe ethically sourced stones are a key consideration when

  purchasing a ring.

• Women value ring design over diamond quality and size.

Based on these findings, I created a site that specializes in providing honest ethically sourced stones, and gives users the ability to customize their ring design.

User Interviews

I conducted interviews with 3 married couples to understand their buying process. Specifically, I wanted to understand how men choose an engagement ring.

KEY FINDINGS FOR MEN

• Pinterest is used heavily while shopping for a ring.

• Need educational guidance

  while shopping.

• Want control in the design process.

• Pretty unfamiliar with diamonds at first.

Based on these findings, I designed a personal style quiz to allow users to choose a ring based on their personal style. In addition, I designed the informative pop-ups to provide educational guidance.

Competitive Usability Test

I conducted 3 usability tests on existing engagement ring sites to understand how men and women browse for engagement ring styles in the comfort of their homes.

Test Question: You are getting engaged soon. Use this site to find and customize your or your spouse's ring.

KEY FINDINGS

• Women flipped back and forth between Pinterest board and engagement ring site to find their ring style.

• The ring design process is complex because of unclear industry jargon and

  cluttered design studio.

• Men flipped back and forth between Google and engagement ring site to get informed.

Based on these findings, I added 3 guided steps to walk users through the design process and remove any unnecessary complexities.

ANALYZE & DEFINE

Sketches

After analyzing my research findings, I defined 4 design solutions and spent a day sketching out design ideas.

• Simplify the design process with 3 guided steps

• Incorporate Pinterest board and personal style quiz

• Ease decision making process with informative pop-ups

• Use ethically sourced stones

Sketching led to the creation of Honest Stones

Honest Stones are diamonds that are ethically sourced and not tainted by human rights abuse. The blue in Honest represents trust and integrity.

DESIGN

User Flow

The flow of Honest Stones still allows you to feel in control of the design process, but it's guided to reduce confusion and ease you through the buying process.

3 Guided Steps

1. Find Your Style

2. Customize

3. Review & Pay

Product Design: Home Page

Product Design: Style Quiz

Start by taking the style quiz and uploading your Pinterest board, afterwards you will receive a curated ring*.

*Providing users with a curated ring, based on their personal preference, increases their confidence about their engagement ring choice.

Product Design: Design Studio

If you decide to make changes to the curated ring, you will be taken to the ring design studio.

Let's take a look at some notable features.

INFORMATIVE POP-UPS

You will be informed every step of the way with informative pop-ups that demystify engagement ring jargon allowing you to focus on designing.

SIMPLE UI

• The focus was to not overwhelm you with filters and information, but to tailor the filters you see based on the design step that you are in.

• The filters and informative pop-ups keep you in control and enable you to customize your ring and make it yours.

Product Design: Payment Page

Once you've customized your engagement ring. You can review your final design and see a detailed price breakdown.

But wait...what about mobile?

VALIDATE

Usability Test

TEST GOAL

I tested my design on men who had recently completed the engagement ring buying process to understand if Honest Stones simplified the buying process.

WHAT I LEARNED

Research is important and users will tell you their problem if you ask the right questions. The personal style quiz was a concept I created after learning that personal style heavily influences ring choice. Through user testing, it was suprising to see women actually pull out their Pinterest board to help them browse for engagement rings.

If I were to continue this project, I would tailor the experience to be inclusive of all sexual orientations. In addition, I would explore commonly used platforms for storing favorite ring styles outside of Pinterest.