The world of architectural lighting is complex, cluttered, and overwhelming for architects and lighting designers. My client, The Lighting Group Network, wanted to ease the burden of fixture selection process by launching a capsule collection of versatile, durable and tasteful fixtures: Vanilla Lighting.
When the product line launched, the inquiries poured in, overwhelming the current sales staff with specific questions about the products. They needed a fast and efficient way to provide their architect and engineer customers with the critical information they to use Vanilla Fixtures for their projects.
In the competitive legal industry, understanding the landscape and one's place within it is crucial. For Kristen, we wanted to explore what her direct competitors were bringing to the table, as well as take some inspiration from firms we thought were representing themselves well. I reviewed over 10 direct and indirect competitors and evaluated their site brand identities, information hierarchy, interactive experiences, and overall usability of the sites.
My goal was to provide Kristent with a comprehensive view of their competitive environment, enabling strategic decision-making and positioning. Through this exploration, we were able to identify crystal clear goals for how we felt her firm would be best represented.
Kristen and I defined the key goals and requirements for the site, and settled on a Navigation Menu, Site Map, and informational hierarchy for the key content. This phase occurred simultaneously while exploring various design directions, in order to expedite the process. Putting pen to paper and listing all core messages, helped illuminate certain paths forward, and rule out others.
I used Figma, Miro and Google Docs to relay information and map out possible site versions.
We needed to communicate messages to two main groups of users: 1) individuals and small business owners seeking legal council, and law firms seeking talent for hire.
The challenge involved tailoring content for these distinct audiences while maintaining a cohesive message. Additionally, we aimed to introduce users to Kristen, awithout overwhelming them with legal jargon and providing insight into her remarkable achievements without overwhelming them or appearing overly self-promotional.
We were able to identify some possible directions that felt authentic to the brand Kristen is building to represent her site. Kristen provided some inspirational sites that she felt resonated with who is she is, and we also found some aspirational brands that felt like something we could reach for as well. This exercise was helpful because it allowed us to speak aesthetically without having to both have ability to articulate particular design choices. The mood board exercise is one tool that I find especially useful for working with small business and individuals, as it helps us align on visual direction before heading too far down a path that isn't quite right. Once we got the mood of the Brand in the right zone, then we can start progressing further down the UX path to breathe life into the digital experience.
We conducted about 6 user tests to gauge whether our messaging and site experience was successful. These tests included task objective measurement, observational interviews, and a quick survey assessing the attitude and experience of the user. Because the site was intended to be a clear, simple and easy experience, we didn't have too much surprising feedback, but as always, the conversations were crucial in validating our hypothesis and giving us confidence in our designs.
View REviSED PROTOTYPES
If I could redo the project, I would focus on being better prepared to adapt the strategy in response to extended timelines. We had regular meetings and status updates, but when faced with new requests that prompted us to push the launch date, I believe I could have done a more effective job in managing expectations and communicating the additional needs for the site as it was related to the timeline.
VIEW LIVE SITE