Case study: Concealing the Spots on
Kylie Cosmetics’ UI
A UX Case Study & Redesign
Overview
Digital media in the 20th century is the largest medium to reach out to the general audience. There are many online outlets in the world of beauty and fashion that impact people. Several Youtube channels and influencer blogs convinced me to try the different cosmetic items, and very soon, I came across Kylie Cosmetics. I started using their mobile application as I totally adored their products; however, I some way or another confronted issues exploring through their application and accepted this as an open the door to redesign their android app.
Disclaimer
I’m not associated in any way with the brand.
I am solely responsible for the research and redesigning the android app.
My Goal
Make the digital shopping experience smoother and comparable to in-store shopping by offering consumers the ability to navigate through the app easily.
Understanding Users
To make an efficient app, understanding the targeted users is important; thus, I started with learning about the user demographics and conducted an online survey.
Targeted User Demographic
The targeted user demographics are women ranging from 15–55 years old, mostly from the upper-middle-class bracket.
Few are men from 20–40 years age range who take an interest in cosmetics and make-up industry.
Design Process
User Research
Competitive Analytics
I did a competitive analysis of other cosmetics and skincare brand mobile apps which offer similar category products.
My keynotes of the analysis were :
- Clean navigation and breathable design
- Properly categorised display of products
- Simple yet detailed description
User Persona
Based on assumptions and online research, I built a user persona. This is to further empathise with the target users and truly comprehend their desires and behaviour.
User Stories
Along with persona, I spent some time understanding the users' motivation and desires for shopping from this app and created user stories revolving around the users.
Usability Testing
To get to know about the genuine concerns about the app from the users, I conducted a usability test amongst some potential through online video calling.
Each user was given a situation where the users were given a few series of tasks or questions, and they had to perform on the app.
Some of the tasks or questions were :
- You liked a product but don’t want to buy now, what will you do?
- How do you know about the product description?
- How will you remove a product saved in your bag?
- What do you wish to see when you open the app?
Some of the responses from the users were :
“ This confusing…. where do I go to remove?”
“ Wait a minute I have to look for it..”
“ I wish I can see their offers more.”
Analysis
Affinity map
I reviewed the results of the usability test and identified the most common concerns users had and then laid them out to organize them according to the issues with the help of the affinity map.
2x2 matrix
To prioritize the main concern, I took the help of 2x2 matrix to understand and bring together the concerns of the users in order to address the real problem.
Defining problem
I finally concluded the main issues of the users :
- 0/5 Users were able to edit their profile settings
- 2/5 Users were able to remove the product from the cart
Informational architecture
Current IA
The majority of users had difficulties navigating through the current app. I, therefore, designed the information architecture to recognise its structure in order to redesign the app.
Revised IA
Based on the previous research and assumptions, I made a revised user floe or IA of the app, which helps to increase the usability and ease of navigating through the app.
Ideation & Creation
Lo-fi paper sketching
Before jumping into making a hi-fi prototype, I scooped out all the possible solutions for the problems and created a lo-fi sketch for the app layout.
Hi-fi Mockup
After sketching the mock-up of the redesigned app, I incorporated the idea into a hi-fi mockup design.
These are my solutions to the reoccurring trouble points for the app.
#Home page
Previously users had to look everything in the hamburger icon, so I added a profile icon for easy access to accounts and other notifications. I also added a search bar and divided the page into “Explore” and “For you” for a segregated and personalised experience.
#Shop
The hamburger icon led to the shop where the options were all cluttered and confused users thus I separated the categories and replaced the “Collection” with “Make-up” and “Skin” and sorted out other options.
#Make-up page
The previous layout covered most of the items under collection, which confused few users during the usability test, so I segregated them and placed them and revamped the page to make it more pleasant as visuals are an important factor in the beauty industry.
During the testing, it came up that few users didn’t notice the product description, so I made the description more noticeable and also added an option of sorting for the reviews.
#My Bag — Cart
It occurred to me that most of the users were struggling with removing the product from the cart. As a solution, I added a button for removing the product with a single touch.
#Account
One of the main trouble points was the account or profile. Users did not have any option or so to edit the information. Thus I added the important options for the account. Users also found difficult to log out from the app; thus, I added a conspicuous button for the same purpose.
Prototype
Now it is time to see the final redesign of the app.
I created the prototype in Figma.
Check it out here. 📲
Validation
After the final design, I tested it out again with some potential users, and they were able to complete the tasks successfully.
- 5/5 Users were able to edit their profile settings
- 5/5 Users were able to remove the product from the cart
Users were able to find the kind of desired products they looked for with the help of a filter.
The feedback I got from them showed they were impressed by the layout.
Thoughts
This case study helped me to think about user research and gave me a greater understanding of the methodology and approach to research.
At the same time, I was excited about doing the thing I love yet nervous, but I enjoyed the experience and learned a lot.
If you think this case study helped you then don’t forget to give a clap 👏 and let others know about it too.
If you have something in mind and want to talk about it, then you can mail me at nayanicasaha@gmail.com
Kudos!!
