Web Design For Dealata — UX Case Study

Introduction

I got a freelance gig on Upwork from a client who wanted me to design a website for his agency. The client is based in Israel and it was exactly the sort of job that I was looking for in order to explore my creativity and show clients what I can do.

The Brief

The client needed something advanced but at the same time easily navigable for visitors. The client wanted me to focus on three things which were:

• Simplicity

• Creativity

• Avoiding the over usage of colors

The agency offered services such as WordPress development, Shopify, Amazon sales, etc. These services helped me narrow down what I needed to add to the website. In the end, I came up with the final design which I can't wait for you to see.

Design Process

Role: UX Research, User Testing, Wireframing, and UI Design.

Tools: Figma, FigJam, Google Keep

Duration: 1Week

I kicked off my research immediately after the design brief. I looked at other agency websites to see if I could get any kind of inspiration from them. However, I took a different approach to the design that I made for the client because of the time constraint. I didn’t employ all of the design thinking skills that were needed for a project instead, I used a few.

These are what I did:

• Empathize

• Define

• Ideate

• Design / Prototype

• Testing and Handoff

Stage 1: Empathize

I conducted a comprehensive competitive analysis from two design agencies which were CreateApe and AskPhill. This was done in order for me to understand what needed to be added to the website, through this I was able to list down the features and also build the sitemap for the website.

From the analysis of both websites, I was able to list out what was going to be added to the website.

• Our Work

• Services

• About Us

• Contact Us

Stage 2: Define

I didn’t create a user persona because I usually extracted the persona through user interview answers which I didn’t conduct for the project. But I was still able to understand the project goal which was to design a website that offered the best services to clients and companies.

I created three how might we questions which will help guide me in the design process.

How Might We

• How might we provide information to our clients about our services?

• How might we make it easy for clients to contact us?

• How might we increase our client base?

Stage 3: Ideate

Sitemap

I designed the sitemap for the website after conducting the competitive analysis from CreateApe and AskPhill. I also used the design brief from the client to determine what should be added to the website.

First Hi-Fi Wireframes/Design

I made the first Wireframes/Design for the client and he rejected it. He said it wasn’t functional or advanced enough. Below is the design that I made first for the client.

I used Relume’s design template to help me speed up the design process while working.

Stage 4: Design/Prototype (2nd Design)

After the first design was rejected, I had to spend extra long hours just to come up with something else and a lot of research.

The inspiration for this website came from AskPhill and a design I picked up from Behance. I chose a modern and fun look for the project while also ensuring that the CTAs were the main thing for clients so they could easily contact the agency.

I also chose these two colors to add minimalism to the website while also giving it a bit of personality. I made sure that potential clients saw the work the agency had handled and also explained the services that they offered.

Check out the interactive prototype for the project

Stage 5: Testing

I ran a comprehensive test before handoff to the clients with some respondents. I showed them both designs that I made and asked which they preferred and they all preferred the second one that I made.

They felt it was more functional and interactive, they also felt that the design portrayed what the business was trying to achieve and that they would even consider patronizing the agency.

Finally, I handed it off to the clients, one of them loved the design and hoped it was going to be used while the other was dissatisfied with it and wanted something more advanced. Eventually, they went in a different direction which still incorporated some of the design decisions that I made.

Lessons Learned

I learned a lot throughout the designing of this process which was as follows:

• Not to take every project that comes your way, especially one that demands that you give them heaven in a week. Trust me, you’ll end up stressing yourself more than ever.

• Always explain to them why a short period of time won’t give them the desired result.

• I also saw what I could achieve in a week but at the cost of my mental health and I am not going to do that again.

Thank you for reading through my design process, this one was a bit different and I plan to explore other design processes out there as I evolve as a designer.

Also, don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any design projects and I’m also looking out to potential employers, especially from design agencies or startups.