Project
Because of the pandemic, in order to continue safely conducting business, and to expand the client’s reach, Yeeyo’s Boutique needs an e-commerce shop, contactless pick-up capabilities, and visual branding.
UX Components
Competitive Audit
Journey Map
Interactive Prototype
On-site Visit
Mood Board
Storyboards
User Personas
Yeeyo's Boutique
In the time of Covid-19, taking a brick-and-mortar store online.
Owner Fardowsa Ali’s small retail business, Yeeyo’s Boutique, focuses on filling the needs of Muslim and East African communities. Currently, the brick-and-mortar retail store (located in the 24 Mall) is the heart of the business operations. Developing an online presence for the store would help with current challenges to in-person shopping as a result of Covid-19.
To continue to support sales and connect with their community and customer base, Yeeyo’s Boutique would like to create an online presence that allows customers to view and purchase goods online for delivery or contact-less pick up.
Goals
Design an e-commerce site to enable online ordering and contact-less pickup.
Create a distinctive branding with logo, colors, typefaces, signage.
Recommend a system for staff workflow, and contact-less pickup.
A Place to Belong
Yeeyo’s Boutique celebrates Somali culture with clothing and a sense of community.
One of my roles on this team was to examine the importance of culture and identity that a specialty retailer can provide - in addition to their products. This research led me to a discovery of the “Little Mogadishu” neighborhood of Minneapolis and the 24 Somali Mall.
Bringing the unique voice of Somali culture and the personal outreach of Yeeyo’s Boutique into the online experience was something to keep top of mind.
Journey Map
The typical buyer of Somali clothing has limited opportunities to discover cultural and modest clothing. Their journey of discovery revealed opportunities for Yeeyo’s to actively reach out to customers and potential customers.
User research
From our research, we discovered that about 88% of Yeeyo’s Boutique’s competitors utilize social media, and 100% send newsletters in order to reach out to their customers on a regular basis. Our users also indicated that they would expect to receive a regular newsletter from Yeeyo’s.
Branding
Distinctive logo, color palette, typefaces.
To capitalize on the needs of a website in the highly visual space of the internet, Yeeyo’s Boutique needed a logo, branding, and consistent and appealing visual design.
The logo and site colors combine the cultural and personal identity of Yeeyo’s Boutique. To reflect the owner, Fardowsa, we incorporated a silhouette of her face as well as the hijab she wears - tied together into the silhouette of Africa.
Website
An e-commerce site in both English & Somali.
Having an online presence for the store will help with current challenges to in-person shopping as a result of Covid-19. To continue to support sales and connect with their community and customer base, Yeeyo’s Boutique needs an online presence that allows customers to view and purchase goods online for contact-less pick up.
Extending the Yeeyo Experience
After visiting the store, I understood that we also needed to bring branding and way-finding into the physical space. I designed a storefront sign to help differentiate them from other shops. And, i came up with shelf signs to bring some color and descriptions to shoppers who may not know the product selection. I also created a sign for their contactless pickup cart.
Conclusion
Moving a brick & mortar store into an e-commerce space is a big undertaking, but this design strategy will help Yeeyo’s Boutique make that transition — to expand their reach and enable contact-less pickup.
It will be important for the personal and friendly atmosphere of the physical store to be reflected in the online store through consistent visuals and voice of the copy. And success will include the regular, consistent updates and promotion of the site to their customers.