TAMARA HESSE
SW The Salon
Responsive Website Redesign
Role
UX/ UI Designer, Corporate Branding
Duration
2 weeks
Client
SW The Salon is a high-end salon located in an affluent neighborhood of Atlanta. The salon has been open for just over a year, but the owner and staff have well over 25 years of experience and a large existing clientele. Currently SW does not have a front desk (nor do they intend to) for clients to book appointments through. All bookings are done personally by the salon owner via phone, text, and an online contact form on their website.
Challenge
Design a user-friendly, fresh and modern design, that takes into account the information users require first and foremost to be easily accessible. Incorporate an online booking feature so users can book appointments easily and efficiently, saving both the client and the staff a lot of time and stress.
Result
Research and analytics gave us the information from the last year or so about how best to adjust the information architecture within the site to provide the most user-friendly experience. The online booking feature has been tested thoroughly to ensure the most positive experience for both customers and staff.
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SW The Salon specializes in providing a unique and exclusive color and style experience for their guests.
Research
The research for this project was threefold:
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Determine the most critical information users access when visiting swthesalon.com.
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Determine how to integrate Square, or other online booking service.
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Determine whether online booking would be beneficial for both clients and staff.
Secondary research was conducted to determine how many of SW The Salons competitors offer online booking and if so, what service do they use.
1:1 User interviews were conducted to determine the desire and experience customers have for online booking in addition to determining the type of information users are looking for to determine architecture and hierarchy within the site.
Key Takeaways
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Users visit salon websites looking for general information such as location, hours and contact info.
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Most users prefer to call or text to make an appointment, but for those who have booked online it was a positive experience and would do it again.
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Users need to feel confident that their business and time is important to the service provider. They want confirmation, reminders and to know the service they are booking is within their budget.
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Once users feel confident in the abilities of the service provider, they often will become committed to that provider for several years.
The results of the research illustrate the basic requirements of good customer service. Customers want to be seen, and feel important; as if their business is of value to the proprietor and staff.
Meet Nikki
Nikki is a 43 year old professional photographer, wife and mom of 3. She is a natural beauty who likes the idea of growing old gracefully, except when it comes to her hair. She is on a mission to keep her blond tresses blond, not gray. She has been with her colorist for going on 14 years and has always been happy with the service. She loves that her colorist confirms and reminds her of her appointments. She doesn't have the time or energy to worry about whether her appointment is locked in or not.
"I treat my clients like their business means everything to me. I like to feel as though my business is important to whomever I give it to in return." - Nikki
SW The Salon Site Map
Task Flow
Because SW doesn't have a ton of data to display, the architecture is critical, as is the booking process, to the success of the redesign.
Lo-Fi Wireframes
As an existing business, much of SW The Salon's branding was already in place. However, I wanted to soften the color scheme by adding a warm neutral, and letting the imagery provide the color and interest.
Branding
SW The Salon's original site was very modern and very black and white. It was pretty but not very functional in the sizing of text, information architecture, and even use of some pages. I chose to keep a modern look in many ways like with the neutral color palette, and san serif font - Futura. At the same time. I chose to soften the overall look by adding a warm tan/ gold neutral and adding a stylized serif font for the headings by using Playfair display.
The color and pop on the site comes from the images of beautiful hair color and style that excite and inspire users to try something new, or to imagine enjoying their treatment or service.
Style Tile
UI Kit
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"If it is both necessary & useful, don't hesitate to make it beautiful." - Joshua Porter
Responsive High Fidelity Wireframes
"Supposing is good, but finding out is better." - Mark Twain
Usability Testing
Objectives
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Observe first impressions of the site
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Determine if the user can follow the task flow.
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Assess whether there are features that are missing that may enhance usability and overall experience.
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Assess user pain points.
Methods
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Maze usability test
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"Seems fairly easy to get around. I didn't have any problem following the instructions and making a booking."
"I would add a little more color just to add contrast. Overall I would say I liked how the website is formatted and how simple it is to use."
"I liked the color scheme and images, and typeface. I think it was the best choice for that salon."
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Users told us about their overall impression of the website, or if they would change anything about the look for functionality.
Results
YES / NO
57%
43%
Used an online booking service for a salon before?
100%
Of users felt confident their appointment had been booked.
85.7%
Of users had success using the direct path to complete the task provided.
100%
Of users felt the online booking process was easy to complete.
100%
Of users would now choose online booking over phone or text!
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