The Problem

The original design of the Blackstone Products homepage faced challenges due to its inconsistency and lack of visual appeal. It featured various font families, color palettes, and button styles, resulting in a disengaging and unappealing user experience.

Solution

After conducting comprehensive research on Blackstone Products' competitors and establishing a more cohesive library of design components, I successfully crafted a visually appealing and engaging user experience. This achievement translated into a 15% increase in the conversion rate and a 20% increase in the engagement rate.

Process

Since the majority of UX research had been done prior to me starting the homepage redesign, I initiated this project by conducting a heuristic evaluation on the existing homepage design to identify the utilized design components and determine which ones should be used moving forward. The following is a screenshot of the original homepage design.

After observing the original homepage design, I discovered three different font families that were being used: 'Poppins,' 'Acumin Pro,' and 'Open Sans.' After collaborating with the marketing department, we decided that 'Acumin Pro' was going to be their primary font moving forward due to its bold characteristics that represented their brand effectively.

Recognizing the variety of button styles and stark contrast among background colors during my homepage observation, I opted to streamline the design. To achieve this, I followed Material Design standards and guidelines, creating a primary filled button and a secondary outlined button. This decision was driven by the aim to establish a cohesive and familiar design language for users, ensuring a consistent and user-friendly experience. Additionally, background colors were adjusted to minimize the contrast between them.

Next, I researched Blackstone Products' competitors to identify design trends in the outdoor cooking industry. Competitors effectively showcased what it's like to own their products through lifestyle images and videos of real people using them, which was a missing element on the Blackstone homepage. To address this, I added a video section featuring people cooking on a Blackstone and included clickable logos for users to explore Blackstone's YouTube chefs and their videos preparing meals on a Blackstone grill, enhancing engagement.

Another common design trend I discovered while conducting my research was the inclusion of 'Shop by Category' sections on Blackstone's competitors' websites. Recognizing the benefits of enhanced user-friendly navigation, increased engagement, and improved visual appeal, I opted to integrate a 'Shop by Category' section into my design.

To meet the project's tight deadline, I strategically chose to skip lo-fi sketches and instead leveraged a Shopify template, tapping into its pre-established UX patterns. This decision was driven by the need for efficiency while ensuring a user-friendly layout and navigation within the given constraints. The streamlined approach resulted in a significant 20% increase in engagement and a 15% rise in conversions. Throughout the project, I remained vigilant about potential trade-offs and continuously monitored the impact on the user experience, ensuring that the design decisions aligned with both the project goals and user needs.