Tabletop Alchemist Re-Design:
Turning multiple passions into a single feasible successful website.
Deciphering Dreams: You want what now?!
Taking someone's dream, hobby, and passions and turning them into reality isn't an easy black and white process with a paint by numbers guidebook attached. Humans typically are not blessed with telepathy, so we have to rely on communicating in other ways... which always takes some creative deciphering, time, and energy.
The Challenge
The client had an existing site, which was created by a design company a few months prior. The client hated it.
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It was difficult to read and difficult to figure out who and what Tabletop Alchemist is.
After talking with the client several times, I realized that Tabletop Alchemist was three different types of companies blended under one brand. None of which were fully defined.
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Since Tabletop Alchemist's site was live, the very first thing I did was make the site readable and more comprehensive for current site visitors.
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Then I worked with the client to figure out which of the three business aspects the client wanted to lead with.
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The client was heavily leaning on having the ecommerce side of the site be the main focus because they had already invested in becoming partners with specific retail companies products. However the client, I could tell, felt more fulfilled with the floral aspect of the company and was undergoing multiple floral certifications that required more time, money, and effort than becoming partners with retail companies.
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I convinced the client that having the floral side of the company be the main focus was in their best long term interest. We went from there fleshing out the KPI's and strategies.
It took 19 prototypes to flush out the clients complete vision of what they wanted to do, who they wanted to be, what was actually feasible, and how they planned to achieve their goals.
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Now that that was clear, it was time to meet with the client's clients (we will call them Users) and figure out who they were, what they had, what they needed, and what was important to them.
The Real Work Begins: Research And Finding Our Users
We decided to start and focus on the floral arrangements for wineries first and then branch out the business to other services in the future.
To narrow down who our users were, I asked the client where the planned service area was and visually mapped it out for the client to confirm.
Then I searched for existing publicly available winery database listings. I was not disappointed, there were several data base listings available that I could work from... However there were over 2000 wineries listed in each of these databases, and not all of these data bases listed the same wineries.
I would have to narrow down the search results in 4 stages and 4 groups based on the wineries meeting certain criteria listed by the existing data bases.
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Group 1,
Was all of the wineries that publicly listed as hosting events.
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We assumed that the ability to host events at the winery meant that the winery was larger and more likely to be run as a corporation. Which would mean they would have a larger budget to work with, but Tabletop Alchemist would have the greatest competition.
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Group 2,
The smallest group, was created where they were listed as both open to the public AND Drop by anytime, but did NOT host events. It was assumed that these were larger wineries with the staff that could accommodate large amounts of unpredictable traffic.
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Assumptions were made that if the winery could afford to have extra staff on hand, they had a larger budget to work with but not a large venue with lots of places for our services to be benefited from.
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Group 3,
Offered private tasting areas, but were mostly Open by appointment - please call.
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The assumption was that these wineries had smaller budgets to work from as they needed to plan to have staff available for visitors. However having private tasting areas meant that they had potential space to benefit from our services.
Group 4,
Was everyone else. These we assumed were either backyard wineries or what the wine industry calls micro-wineries (doesn’t have their own vineyards or facilities.)
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This group was assumed to be the least likely to be interested or have use of our services, but was not removed from the possibilities list as some of these wineries were listed on winery tours or may have future interest as their winery grows.
Measuring Up The Competition: Heuristic Analysis
While setting up interviews with our new found and defined users, it was the perfect time to see what and who Tabletop's competition really was, what they did well, and where we could do better.
Each of the evaluated websites of Tabletop Alchemist's competition had some wonderful strengths and detrimental weaknesses. They all aimed to be minimal in terms of aesthetics and aimed to not overload users with information. None of the sites had any help or documentation features to assist users on their sites, even though some of the sites really need it. Three of the four sites reviewed offered secondary services or products seemingly unrelated to the primary services offered on the site.
Getting To Know The Makers And The Breakers: Our Users via Persona And Empathy Mapping
Tabletop Alchemists business plan/model could stand a chance depending on how much value our users perceived Tabletop Alchemist could provide them based on multiple factors rooted in empathy and feasibility for our users.
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Each of the four groups researched became represented by a user persona. These persona groups were then interviewed. Interviewing our users would provide insight to what our users currently defined as valuable to them.
Most of the users were focused more on their wine business and selling wine to guests, floral decor is more of an afterthought. Current floral arrangements are either left over from an event that had a florist for it, picked up from the local grocery store, or from the neighbor’s yard.
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All of our users are busy with paperwork, sales meetings, and giving wine tours with little to no time for floral arrangements and the maintenance of.
The Difference Between Importance And Expectations: User Stories And Card Sorting = Sitemap
Where we as humans expect to find something is rooted in the importance of that which we are looking to find.
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What is important is personal, and changes dependent on multiple factors. However expectations on where to find something that is important is measurable as it tends to have some consistency.
Now that we had an idea of what our users felt was important to them, it was time to find out where they expected to find the answers to their important questions and concerns.
This information was obtained by setting up user stories based on tasks the users wanted to to do. Those tasks were then formatted into task cards for card sorting. The users would sort these task questions in groupings of where they expected to find those answers.
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The user story tasks and card sorting groupings would drive the restructure of the website to meet the users expectations of where and how Tabletop Alchemist's web content was set up to be easiest accessible to the user.
Planning For The Probable: User Flow Mapping
We now knew where users expected to find things and what they would recognize, it was time to walk the path our users would take via user flow mapping. This would give us a chance to spot any hiccups or potential "pain points" the user may encounter.
In a perfect world, only our target users would use and benefit from our site. But that is not reality.
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Now that we had planned and set up the site for our users, we also had to think about our non-users.
Our competition and non-target market were also likely to visit the site. So how do we make sure that they also have a positive experience with Tabletop Alchemist?
NAPA is tight knit, and word spreads regardless of if the experience with Tabletop is from an intended user or not.
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Our non-users interaction and experience with Tabletop is just as important as our users. Flow mapping for them was also explored.
The Click Path In A High Fidelity: "Wireframes", Site Concepts, and User Flow Visuals
Doing traditional wireframes was not economical for our client since the site was built in WIX and we already had all of the necessary content required.
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Instead I took my knowledge gained by observing users on our site during the interviews and combined it with the flow mapping to gain an idea of where content placement would be the most effective.
Solidifying The Brand: Branding and Identity
They say beauty is only skin deep, but we know better. True beauty comes from within and radiates out. Tabletop Alchemist's branding was set up with this in mind. The little things add up.
Branding for Tabletop Alchemist extends beyond a logo and colors, I set it up to encompass file structure, consistency with typography, tone, buttons, images, and so much more.
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Branding and consistency has proven on its own to make or break a company. If poorly done, users will never trust the company to meet their expectations or needs.
Putting It All Together: Testing Our Site And Research Evaluation
From previous experiences reaching out for persona interviews, I understood that our target users are really busy and do not respond to emails or phone calls unless it is about buying their wine... I had to get creative with obtaining this particular data.
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I walked into each winery, dressed as un-intimidating as I could, pulling off a poor but fashionable college student look. I paired this with asking for a tasting, and preferably a spot with an outlet so I could “study” while I tried their wine. The success of this approach surpassed my expectations.
Steve Marks was the only one out of the four that refused to participate in any questions I asked in regards to the site, but was more than happy to have small talk conversations on any other topic.
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The others were all more than willing and interested in participating with “Helping me see if the website I made was working correctly.” A few of them forgot to keep the tasting going, as they were very interested in the site, tasks, and giving any and all personal input and preferences/ advice.
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In-fact, two of them enjoyed participating so much, they refused compensation and gave the tasting complementary!
All of the participant users enjoyed this activity, and were looking forward to hopefully working with Tabletop Alchemist in the near future.
Participants had the least difficulty with responding to tasks 1 and 5.
Task 2,
had some very interesting results when it came to testing two versions of the same page. However in both scenarios, they needed to see verbiage or text concerning monetary value to accept the page as where they would order a bouquet from.
Task 3,
was the most problematic. Users were very happy to be on the page, however they were not choosing the correct linen line. The lack of prices upfront made participants a bit uneasy. They also had difficulty with memory recall when it came to the order form drop down menu.
Task 4,
had some very insightful feedback: That time management and planning were a huge concern when it came to using Tabletop Alchemists services.
Most of our user participants had an average of 20 hours of screen time a week, which mostly consisted of personal shopping and general web browsing unrelated to their job. Those that did have screen time on the clock and for work were very pressed for time and did not have the luxury to dabble with things unknown to them.
The Final Result
Changes were made to the site based on the users interactions, which proved to be successful where I was focusing the project.
Because I listened to my client first and helped her solidify her vision, my client was willing to listen and understand what and why I needed to do and why and trusted me to do it without regrets.
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The final result opened up doors and business opportunities that her competition does not receive.
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Even though our users were very busy while I tried to interview them and test the site, they seemed to have a difficult time not wanting to explore it. Many wanted to continue looking through the site and wanted to see more of what the company offered.
Recap Summary
The Problems:
The Client was turning her dreams and hobbies into her retirement business.
- She had a website built by another company, but hated it, it was no where near what her vision was for her retirement baby.
- Because her business was centered around the things she loved, she had a difficult time narrowing down what and how much she wanted to do with her business.
- Her vision was three very different types of businesses under one company name and website.
- She also did not have any background in the types of businesses she wanted to pursue, but we know that never stops the willing and the passionate.
- Time, technology, and funding had huge restrictions.
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The Parameters:
- The site was built in WIX, so there were limitations on what and how things could be done.
- The client had been disappointed by a few previous designers, I had to take things slow and help the client understand what I was doing and why.
- There was also a constraint on hours per week that I could work on the project.
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The Solution:
- Build the site in steps and phases working directly with the client to obtain and stay consistent with the clients vision while helping the client connect with and understand her users (clients) needs that would enable her business and dreams to flourish.
- I knew that the best way to get what both the user and my client wanted, was through an emotional connection to the site. Emotional connections could be made if I chose and placed specific content, images, and colors deliberately with consistency.
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The Outcome:
- The time and energy had a huge payoff. The site nailed her vision and the users were smitten with the feeling the site gave them.
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Note of Interest:
- Businesses that my client wanted to do business with do not typically do business her kind of company.
However, the site I built opened up doors for my client and her business that surprised us both!
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What I Learned:
- Good things done well need time.
- Working hourly on a project with too many variables and no defined direction was the correct call.
- WIX changes what you can do with it often.
- I learned how to communicate my findings to my client in ways that they could understand and relate to.
- Users can be skittish if they think too much about making plans.
- That sometimes the work never feels done.
- What I do seems to be a little above and beyond what others do in my field, but it gets great results.
- I really love what I do.
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What Next:
- Parts of the site for ecommerce, rentals, FAQ, and membership pages will be finished in the near future.
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BONUS: Check Out The InDesign Prototype
*This was created after the projects completion
San Francisco/ San Jose California
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To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have omitted and obfuscated confidential information in this case study. All information in this case study is my own and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tabletop Alchemist or any of the people/businesses researched and interviewed.