M.
Brandz
Mobile Application
What is Brandz​
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Brandz is a social media application to promote fashion brands and build a community for fashion lovers and followers.
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Key Goal
The main goal is to promote fashion trends and purchasing behavior based on social proof.
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My Roles + Responsibilities
I was the sole researcher and designer for this product. I performed research, analysis (Personas) and also designed the experience (Sketching, Wireframes, Prototyping) and finally the Visual/User Interface Design.
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Timeline & Team
Major design work was completed in 3 months and now I am providing support/iterations.
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Tools
Adobe XD, Affinity Designer, Invision, Google Draw
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Year
2018-present
Problem Statement
Fashion is a form of expression and people love to adopt a distinct style for themselves. And for a lover of fashion, keeping up with trends can be a priority and need. Brandz wants to create a community where fashionistas can express themselves, follow latest trends, get opinions on styles and a shopping experience supported by the fashion community.
In order to understand the entire audience, I was provided with the business case study by the client to understand the underlying model and intent of the application. The document gave me a basic knowledge on the target audience and goals set for the product. I’ve tried to summarize the data as follows.
Users & Audience
I identified three major categories of users.
The Serious Fashionista/Brand Marketer
The Trend Experimenter
The Fashion Fan
They formed the basis of needs and feature definition for the application.
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User Groups
The Serious Fashionista
The Trend Experimenter
The Fashion Fan
After analyzing the personas , I could summarize on the major user needs and expectations.
Design
After coming up with the features for the first release, I validated the ideas with the client and worked on building the information architecture.
We had to think of ways to engage fashionistas, start conversations about the latest trends and make Brandz a go-to place for fashion advice.
Information Architecture
Wireframing & Taskflows
I did multiple rounds of paper prototyping and rapid wire framing to come up with the user interface of the application.
I explored several options for the navigational menu, profile, on boarding and posting scenarios keeping in mind the users and competitors.
I, then proceeded to create the high fidelity mockup and the user interface design for the mobile application.
The following is the on boarding screen explaining about the app and I created a fun section for the user to pick their favorite brands to populate their home feed.
I also took the liberty to explore on the profile page by giving a dedicated screen for the user’s profile overview, featuring the user’s taste and favorite brands. I believed that the full screen would provide more freedom to showcase their fashion personality.
The vote and rate flow . Two of the unique types of post that can be created was given a easy and straightforward way to upload images/click images. User could add filters or edit the images and add brands and details about the post. He/She could also make a post public or private.
I even used Invision to create an interactive prototype to give the client a real feel of the mobile application.
Visual Design
What I Learnt
A challenging and exciting project since I had to single handedly steer the project forward. Doing every process alone required considerable effort.
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Working with a client on a remote location with a different time zone taught me to manage time with full time work and manage client calls.
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Keep my mind open and avoid closing a thought too quickly since there wasn’t a team to challenge my thoughts and ideas.
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Collaborating and communicating with the development team in different locations - from Chennai, Bangalore, US and Canada.