Primary Research

User Survey
I conducted a survey using a Google survey form which asked users open-ended questions regarding their purchasing behavior when it came to beauty and skincare products. Close-ended questions were also asked in regards to user demographics and general beauty knowledge.

‍Participants

• 10 users
• All female
  
• Ages 22-38 years old
  
• Located in the United States
  
• Have purchased beauty products within the past six months
  

Empathy Map
‍Once the survey was conducted, I was able to organize all the feedback into an empathy map that helped me uncover user needs based on patterns from insights.

Insights

• Users frequently read ingredient labels.
• Users often rely on feedback from others when making purchases.
• Users care about what ingredients are in their products.
  

Needs

• Users need detailed ingredient information.
  
• Users need access to product reviews and ratings.
  
• Users need to know what's in their beauty products.
  

User Persona
‍A primary user persona was created based on insights and patterns discovered through my survey results and empathy map. This persona helped me to understand the primary users as a whole when it came to their motivations, goals, needs, and frustrations.

Application Map
‍‍Once the primary users were defined, I was able to build an application map. Since this was a brand new product, the application map was crucial to ensure that the information architecture was logical as well as intuitive to users.

Mid-Fidelity Wireframes
‍After completing low-fidelity sketch ideas, I was able to move on to designing the mid-fidelity wireframes in Figma. This helped me connect the conceptual structure to the product’s visual design. The wireframes here shows 3 of the key screens based on the sketches above.

Usability Testing
‍In order to ensure that my mobile prototype was both user-friendly and easy to navigate, I conducted usability testing with 5 participants. The methodology used was Think Aloud along with task elicitation. Participants were asked to complete 3 key tasks and asked to verbally communicate their thoughts and decisions as they navigated through the prototype.  A total of 22 key screens were created to allow users to complete task prompts using Invision App.
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‍Task 1:  Scan the barcode for a new deodorant in order to check its ingredients list.

Task 2: Add “Formaldehyde” to Your Banned Ingredients list.

Task 3: Leave a 5 star review for Juice Beauty Green Apple Moisturizer.

A script was used to maintain consistency amongst testing participants. Participants were recruited based on their demographics and testing was conducted both in person and remote using screen sharing.

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‍Usability Test Findings
‍Once testing was complete, all transcripts were included in a testing document. From there, error-free and test completion rates were recorded and a summary of feedback was created to provide a high level overview of testing feedback.​

‍Test Completion Rate: 100%
‍
Error-Free Rate: 96%​

The error-free rate dropped due to participants who expressed being unsure of how to edit and add an ingredient to their My Banned Ingredients section within the Skincare Profile page. These slips were mostly related to the interaction with the element being inconsistent with the action related to similar elements in the Sensitivities and My Preferences sections on the same screen. Users had the correct mental mode and navigated to the correct section on the screen, but they did not initially associate tapping the “edit” icon with the action of adding new ingredients to the list. 

An affinity map was created to synthesize test findings. This allowed me to find patterns amongst participants and pin point slips and/or other frustrations to prioritize for revisions before the site launched.

Insight:

• 100% of users expressed liking how the product ingredients were laid out and felt they were easy to read and understand.
• 80% of users stated that they would use the barcode scanner feature.
• 60% of users stated that they thought searching for products and their ingredients was easy to do.
• 60% of users were confused by how to add ingredients to their banned list.

Priority Revision:

• Skincare Profile Screen: Change the format of how to add/remove ingredients to the My Banned Ingredients list so that the action is more consistent with the other elements on the screen.

Logo & Branding
‍Pure Rx was a brand new mobile app concept so they did not have any existing branding or logo. I first started with sketching out preliminary concepts for their logo design while keeping in mind their brand attributes: Honest, Contemporary, Youthful, Innovative

Once a logo was decided upon, a style tile was created to visually communicate the overall look and feel of the app design.

UI Kit
‍A UI kit was also created to help maintain consistency between elements used throughout the app.

Reflection
‍Designing a brand new mobile app with no existing presence proved to be challenging. A lot of research was conducted in order to educate myself on not only beauty products and the way users purchase them but also to learn more about toxic ingredients and why they are added to so many products. Competitive research also proved to be crucial for this project to understand how existing apps are addressing these needs but also neglecting certain aspects that greatly improve user experiences.

Although challenging, I also really enjoyed the creative aspects of this project. Having the opportunity to build a brand from scratch pushed my creative limits. I hope as more users strive to stay educated on the products and ingredients that they put on and in their bodies, apps like this concept will become more of a necessity and improved upon in order to help users with their purchasing decisions.