BRIEF
As a UX designer, my project involves creating a sustainable activewear brand that prioritizes the environment and animal welfare.
The focus is on providing a solution for ballerinas who struggle to find vegan ballet shoes and want to exchange their used shoes with a company that will repurpose them instead of adding to the waste.
The goal is to design a user-friendly website that offers a seamless shopping experience for the target audience while promoting sustainable and ethical practices.
The brand's mission is to reduce animal suffering and the environmental impacts of animal agriculture by creating all vegan and cruelty-free ballet shoes.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Product
Webiste & app
for a
Vegan Ballet shoes brand
Duration
2 Weeks
Date
Winter 2020
MY ROLE
I worked alongside a UX designer and I was responsible for:
• User Research
• Branding
• Logo Design
• IA
• User Flow
• User Testing
• Iterations
• Prototyping
• UI
• Iconography
SOFTWARES
Figma
Miro
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Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Design Process
This was not a linear process
Research
Branding
Early Sketches
&
Low-fi wireframes
Hi-Fi prototype
User testing
&
A/B Testing
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Competitive analysis.
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Research on existing sustainable products.
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User research.
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Search and learn ballet terms.
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How ballet pointe shoes are made, and what they are made of.
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Creating user persona.
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Creating a mood board on Pinterest.
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Brand name.
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Brand colors.
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Brand typeface.
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logo ideation/design.
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Packaging.
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Early sketches with pen & paper.
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Low-fi wireframing on Figma, mobile, and desktop screens.
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Iteration on low-fi wireframes based on testing.
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Created the style guide.
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User Interface design
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Hi-fi prototype
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Tested the prototype with the users
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Have done A/B testing on some forms and elements
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Iterations based on the usability testing
KICKOFF
WHO OUR TARGET AUDIENCE ARE?
HOW DID WE LEARN ABOUT THEM?
We found it necessary to
learn more about ballet and ballerinas at the beginning of this project.
The only source we had was online sources.
We searched on google and found some valuable sources like;
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Ballerina's blogs were sharing their professional stories.
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Ballerina's Instagram profiles share their everyday activities.
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Youtube videos showing "How Ballet Pointe Shoes Are Made" and what they are made out of.
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Youtube videos and blogs to learn more about vegan ballet shoes.
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We also learned that there are some artists out there who take care of the dead ballet shoes and stop letting them go to waste.
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Reading other websites and brand reviews was helpful as well.
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So, we have started reading their stories, following them on Instagram, watching the videos, monitoring them, making notes, and learning new terms and competitive analysis.
WHY
Competitive analysis?
Our aim was to gain insights into the ballet industry and other brands.
To achieve this, we conducted a thorough analysis of our competitors
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strengths
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weaknesses
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opportunities
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threats
We also evaluated various factors such as their
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Features
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Reliability
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Availability of information
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Our ultimate goal was to identify potential opportunities that could enhance our brand, taking into consideration the specific needs and desires of our target audience.
Competitors:
Grishko
Capezio
Cynthia King Dance Studio
Gaynor Minden
WHAT
We've learned from our research!
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Thousands of ballet pointe shoes go to waste each year.
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Some dancers can go through their first pair in a year and others only a day.
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"When the weather is HOT, I can kill a pair of shoes in a day"
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The average lifespan of a pair of pointe shoes is two days.
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Ballet shoes are made from leather, which is the skin of a cow!
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Ballet and pointe shoes have suede soles; that soft material, is actually the underside of the skin of an animal.
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Though cows can live to be up to around 22 years old, cows killed for their meat and skin will likely be slaughtered when still practically babies!
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Even dairy cows are killed for leather at a young age once they stop producing large enough quantities of milk or suffer disease from poor farm conditions.
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This cycle of forced impregnation and traumatic separation is repeated over and over again until dairy cows’ bodies give out entirely around age four or five, despite having a natural lifespan of 20 years or more.
Persona
Following extensive research and data collection,
we developed a user persona to maintain a clear understanding of our target audience's needs, challenges, and desires throughout the design process.
This proved to be an invaluable tool for our team and greatly aided us in creating a user-centric design.
BRANDING
MOOD BOARD
Our team conducted a search on Pinterest for sustainable activewear and curated a mood board based on our findings.
BRAND COLORS
From the mood board, we came up with this
color pallet for our brand:
BRAND NAME
DEUX
We were a team of two!
Deux is a classical ballet term that translates to "two" in French.
It is frequently used in conjunction with the term "pas de deux," which denotes a dance for two individuals.
LOGO IDEATION
We wanted our logo to be modern and minimal.
So we decide to only work on the typeface and keep it minimal.
Typography
FUTURA
Why FUTURA?
We chose the FUTURA typeface because;
it looks classic and at the same time is sporty and easy to read and scan.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q
R S T U V W X Y Z
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q
r s t u v w x y z
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Buttons
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Icons
Main menu icons
Social media icons
Other icons
Components
HOW MIGHT WE
Encourage ballerinas to buy vegan ballet shoes
We leverage our website and social media channels to promote and educate users on the benefits of using our vegan ballet shoes made from sustainable materials.
By using our products, users can contribute to the conservation of our planet.
Additionally, we offer discounts and rewards to incentivize users to join us in our mission toward a more sustainable future.
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HOW MIGHT WE
Create a sustainable brand in a larger scale
DEUX is committed to reducing plastic waste by eliminating the use of plastic bags.
To support this cause, we provide a reusable tote bag with each purchase of Pointe Shoes, which can also be conveniently used for ballet classes.
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HOW MIGHT WE
Decrease the number of ballet shoes going to waste
In an effort to reduce waste from dead ballet shoes, we incentivize ballerinas to trade them in for a 10% discount on their next purchase. Join us in our sustainability mission and help us minimize the environmental impact of discarded ballet shoes.
Our user-friendly system simplifies the process for users to access our App or website.
By filling out a brief form, an instructor will guide users through the next steps, as demonstrated here.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED
In this project, I've practiced and improved my
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Research Skills
While not having direct access to users presented a significant challenge, it also provided an opportunity to develop my research skills and explore alternative methods of data collection and analysis. Through this experience, I have gained valuable insights into the importance of creativity and resourcefulness in research, and I am better equipped to tackle similar challenges in the future.
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Empathy / Teamwork / Time Management
This was a collaborative project that involved working with another designer. Unfortunately, my teammate fell ill during the design stage, leaving me solely responsible for completing the project within a tight deadline of 48 hours. This presented a unique opportunity for me as a user experience designer to demonstrate empathy towards my teammate and take charge of the project.
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Despite the added pressure and time constraints, I was able to rise to the occasion and complete the project to the best of my ability. This experience taught me the importance of being adaptable and able to handle unexpected challenges, while also emphasizing the importance of communication and teamwork.
Furthermore, this experience taught me valuable lessons about project management, time management, and prioritization. It allowed me to develop my skills in handling complex projects under tight deadlines and demonstrated the importance of being proactive and taking ownership of my work.
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Overall, while the situation presented its fair share of challenges, it provided me with an opportunity for growth and development as a designer and reinforced the importance of empathy, teamwork, and adaptability in the face of adversity.
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