Overview
Uniqlo is a Japanese clothing retailer and manufacturer reknown for its affordable and comfortable product line. Ever since I came to Canada, I have been very fond of their clothings. I am usually Uniqlo's in-store shopper. But since the pandemic hits, I have been avoiding all in-store visit and switched to online shopping . Couple of months ago, I tried to use Uniqlo's iOS app for the first time to order some activewear. As a user, I found the user interface difficult to navigate and as a designer , I found many flaws. To soothe my designer soul, I wanted to dig deeper and take the opportunity to redesign the user interface.
Objective
The project is unsolicited and the goal is to identify any usability issues and redesign a better user experience for Uniqlo's iOS app.
I completed the redesign process based on the findings of the following questions:
- What are the key usability issues of using the user interface of Uniqlo's iOS app?
- What is the mental model of clothing–retailer–app users?
- What are the necessary features missing in Uniqlo's iOS app that might have an impact on it's user experience?
Based on the insights, the project's goal led to designing a functional prototype.
Role
User Research, Interaction, Visual design, Prototyping & Testing
Tools
Sketch, InVision, Facebook Messenger, Voice Recorder, Pen & Paper
Contributors
I single-handedly completed the project.
Duration
September 15 - October 02, 2020
The Process
I divided the redesign into three phases:
User Research
Usability Testing
I conducted usability test with 5 people and asked them to perform few predefined tasks in the iOS app.
I mainly approached my friends and families. Since it was a lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic, I took the interview using facebook messenger, used it's video chat and screen share facility to monitor participants' actions, recorded our conversation in voice recorder and took notes with pen and paper.
Some of the tasks/questions were:
- What are the tasks you usually perform when you use a clothing retailer's app?
- What do you want to see first as you open the app?
- Browse and add a product of your choice in your cart.
- Find out what's on sale ,new arrivals, store location, your order history, and size chart.
- Change notification settings.
- Check if you have a discount/coupon.
This is what users said during the usability tests:
- Why everything is so clumpsy?
- There are so many things. I am lost!
- I can't see these texts.
- Where is my account?
Identifying the Problem
Participants particularly faced the following difficulties:
- Navigation through "Home" tab.
- Browsing product categories.
- Finding "Order History" and "Size Chart".
Current Design Analysis
Analyzing Current App Structure
Since most of the participants including myself had difficulty in navigation, I built its information architecture to better understand its structure.
Competitive Analysis
I looked into the app of leading Canadian clothing retails who have good rating on app store (above 4.6) and good reviews about their UI. I went through their information architecture to see how they have organized their app, and what are the features missing in current Uniqlo's app.
The Redesign
Revised Information Architecture
The designed the new information architecture to increase the visibility of the app’s key features and improves the overall organization and navigation throughout the app.
Ideation & Prototyping
Before committing to high fidelity designs, I sketched out possible solutions on paper for the main screens.
