Lalitha’s is a well-respected high-end bespoke gold jeweller in Sri Lanka. With a rich heritage built over 73 years, they have a strong and loyal customer base. They were however struggling to reach the younger generation and grow.
I was tasked with redesigning the website and evolving their online brand identity. Staying true to the tradition but adding contemporary touches to entice a new younger client base.
First I researched the ultimate e-commerce. I wanted the experience to be as luxurious as the product. I researched general E-Commerce design principles to equip myself with the right knowledge.
Then came competitor research, 3 industry leaders were chosen for evaluation:
Strengths and weaknesses were evaluated. The general use of colour, language and style were compared alongside the following user flows:
Utilising the above insight, the new and improved user flow was mapped out for the Lalitha user. The focus was on reducing the number of clicks required to buy their products (to improve the purchase conversion rate).
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It was time to start on the low fidelity designs. Quick sketches gave me the flexibility to work fast and iterate at this early stage. The final Low fidelity sketches included the following new features (5):
Five remote usability tests were carried out to gauge the initial impressions of the new e-commerce process. The tests also focused on validating the addition of the 5 new features, testing the information architecture, general usability issues and interface bugs.
Overall, the users liked the 5 new features on first impression. The general census was that the interface was quite intuitive as an e-commerce platform.
The main areas of concerns:
With the low fidelity designs evaluated, it was time time to move on to working on the high fidelity designs on Figma. I first worked with the founders and team to determine the Brand attributes
I used this to choose the Primary colour, a deep rich purple. The mood board was then created to get an idea of feel and colour. The mood board acts to guide the design decisions and stay on brand.
The brand platform and style guide was then written up to define the visual language of the app and ensure clarity and consistency between screens. Logos, Typography, colour palettes, Grids, icons, UI elements and imagery were defined.
The screens were designed to exemplify the traditional workmanship Lalitha is known for while giving it a modern touch. Making it familiar to their existing user base and attractive to the more modern, younger customer they are looking to attract. An e-commerce experience that is sophisticated and on brand. Colour was used sparingly and the products were allowed to shine (pun intended).
The full redesign was implemented on Figma. A few changed were made to the low fidelity sketches to and provide solutions for some of the concerns raised during testing.
The design, colours and button use were strategically chosen as users felt that the initial designs didn’t feel high-end enough. On hovering over a product card, users can see the piece being modelled to get an idea of what it might look like on them A newly added customer testimonials section allows a user to read about other experiences and builds trust.
The second round of usability tests were carried out with the high fidelity designs, with 3 testers. It was important to validate the new designs. Making sure the the feel was on-brand (Luxurious, Impeccable, Trustworthy, Passionate) while being synonymous with contemporized tradition. The changes made after the first round of testing also needed to be validated.
Overall the users really enjoyed and appreciated the feel and look of the design and felt it was very on brand. The following main concerns were voiced:
The product came out well and we validated that the deign changes implements did help cater to Lalithas three core issues - users browsing but not adding any item to their cart, not following through on making any purchases and indecisive users who didn’t have enough information or help to make informed decisions. In future iterations, it would be wonderful to be able to automate and capture the bespoke jewellery process that the brand is known for. So users can create and personalise jewellery as they wish.
Also, given the advancement in social media and filters, we could utilise the software to allow used to “try” pieces at the comfort of their home
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