Transformed the way users shop for curtains with AI and digital humans

Success

After launching the MVP, we conducted user testing over 2 sprints with 100+ users, as a result,

  • Time spent on the platform has gone up from 2.2 min to 4.5 mins.

  • The 73% average user interact with digital human assist

  • The bounce rate has decreased to 35%.

Role & Responsibilities

Lead Designer
Strategy
Planning
Design + Execution
Coaching

Contribution —
User Research
Design Thinking 
UX/UI
UT

Collaborators
BA
Data Scientists
Engineering Team
Client's Product Team

Timeline
7 sprints
including UT.

Platform:
Web.

User Frustration

Urban couples find buying curtains challenging due to busy schedules, limited access to experience centers, and frustrating online navigation with unclear product guidance and complicated support.


Design Thinking Workshop

Design thinking workshop was conducted with the AP's stakeholder, sales manager, sales representatives, and end users.

  1. Customisation options: like tailored sizes, fabrics, and designs attract customers but can be challenging to manage profitably.

  1. Customer preferences: meeting diverse customer preferences in styles, colors, fabrics, and price is crucial for sales; failure to do so can lead to lost sales and negative reviews.

During the workshop, insights were gathered.

  1. Online experience: It must provide a seamless experience with easy navigation, secure transactions, and device compatibility.

  1. Offline store: Difficulty in finding offline store and store will not have same collection what they see in online.

  1. Customisation options: like tailored sizes, fabrics, and designs attract customers but can be challenging to manage profitably.

  1. Customer preferences: meeting diverse customer preferences in styles, colors, fabrics, and price is crucial for sales; failure to do so can lead to lost sales and negative reviews.

  1. Online experience: It must provide a seamless experience with easy navigation, secure transactions, and device compatibility.

  1. Offline store: Difficulty in finding offline store and store will not have same collection what they see in online.

Existing User Journey: Steps Through the End User’s Perspective

End User- Working Woman Pooja Kulkarni

"In home design, accurately feeling fabric textures is crucial before making any purchase. However, with our busy lives, finding the time to visit stores can be quite challenging."

Sales Representative
Ramesh Shinde

"Offering custom options such as tailored sizes, fabric choices, and unique designs, customers seeking personalised curtains. However, balancing these are tough challenge."

End User- Working Woman Pooja Kulkarni

"In home design, accurately feeling fabric textures is crucial before making any purchase. However, with our busy lives, finding the time to visit stores can be quite challenging."

Sales Manager
Rajiv Gupta

"To drive sales, it's crucial to actively address diverse customer preferences in curtain styles, colors, fabrics, and prices. Failing to meet expectations risks lost sales and negative reviews."

Contextual Inquiries for End Users, Sales Managers, and Sales Representatives

To comprehend diverse user workflows, I gathered insights from end users and the sales team to optimise the solutions for pain points, conducting a series of interviews.

Bridging Insights and Actions; Key Decisions

Ideas and information were systematically organised and grouped using affinity mapping to reveal how users categorised the collected data.

This collaborative approach allowed us to:

By asking the right questions and observing user behavior, we gained a deeper understanding of their pain points and needs.
Witnessing user struggles firsthand fostered a shared understanding and commitment to creating a better experience.

Key decisions factors

  • Diverse preferences indicated the need for a broad catalog but highlighted the importance of focusing on top-performing trends.

  • Challenges in balancing customization costs with operational efficiency.

  • Increasing mobile usage dictated the need for mobile-first design.

  • Usability insights emphasised the importance of safe and multimodal intuitive design for conversation.

  • Strong dependency on online-first approaches, requiring synchronization between online catalogs and in-store availability.

By blending qualitative and quantitative methods with design thinking principles, uncovered valuable insights that truly resonate with both users and business needs, this thoughtful approach helped us better understand user pain points and find practical opportunities to stand out and innovate, ensuring our solutions are both impactful and meaningful.

Conceptualisation

A pop-up interface was created for users to interact with a digital human assistant, acting as a sales rep, it guides users to suitable products, suggests color, texture, and material options, and helps with informed choices, store directions, and a seamless online-offline experience.

Hick’s law

Reducing cognitive load is essential. A simple QR code and PIN-based system minimises decision fatigue, making the process in the online browsing to an in-store visit effortlessly.

Hick’s law

Reducing cognitive load is essential. A simple QR code and PIN-based system minimises decision fatigue, making the process in the online browsing to an in-store visit effortlessly.

Anchor effect

Provide reference points for good budget behaviour to online commitment to visit offline store.

Anchor effect

Provide reference points for good budget behaviour to online commitment to visit offline store.

Solving the Lack of online and offline coordination
Solving the Lack of online and offline coordination

Hick’s law; Minimal Effort

Design interfaces that require minimal effort, streamlining tasks to make budget management easier to select curtain.

Hick’s law; Minimal Effort

Design interfaces that require minimal effort, streamlining tasks to make budget management easier to select curtain.

Zeigarnik Effect

Keep users engaged by highlighting complete tasks, to showcase next goals or motivating them to take action.

Zeigarnik Effect

Keep users engaged by highlighting complete tasks, to showcase next goals or motivating them to take action.

Choice Architecture

Guide users toward the ideal mood board for their home by structuring choices that align with their preferences and behaviors, encouraging positive decision-making.

Choice Architecture

Guide users toward the ideal mood board for their home by structuring choices that align with their preferences and behaviors, encouraging positive decision-making.

Solving Busy Lifestyle & Procrastination
Solving Busy Lifestyle & Procrastination

Anchor effect

Provide reference points for good budget behaviour, such as savings goals or budgeting targets for online order.

Framing Effect

Influencing user decisions through structured steps and visual hierarchy, the budget slider pre sets a range, subtly guiding choices.

Emotional Recognition

Present the colors psychology to encourage positive action to choose their emotional color

Anchor effect

Provide reference points for good budget behaviour, such as savings goals or budgeting targets for online order.

Framing Effect

Influencing user decisions through structured steps and visual hierarchy, the budget slider pre sets a range, subtly guiding choices.

Emotional Recognition

Present the colors psychology to encourage positive action to choose their emotional color

Solving Emotional Home Attachment
Solving Emotional Home Attachment

Design Enhancement; UX Psychology

I have curated a refined collection of UX psychology and design principles that guide our solution while harmonising aesthetic appeal with functionality, this design-driven approach addresses user needs and business objectives, visually compelling, and impactful experience.

Design Enhancement; UX Psychology

I have curated a refined collection of UX psychology and design principles that guide our solution while harmonising aesthetic appeal with functionality, this design-driven approach addresses user needs and business objectives, visually compelling, and impactful experience.

Hick’s law

Reducing cognitive load is essential. A simple QR code and PIN-based system minimises decision fatigue, making the process in the online browsing to an in-store visit effortlessly.

Anchor effect

Provide reference points for good budget behaviour to online commitment to visit offline store.

Solving the Lack of online and offline coordination

Hick’s law; Minimal Effort

Design interfaces that require minimal effort, streamlining tasks to make budget management easier to select curtain.

Zeigarnik Effect

Keep users engaged by highlighting complete tasks, to showcase next goals or motivating them to take action.

Choice Architecture

Guide users toward the ideal mood board for their home by structuring choices that align with their preferences and behaviors, encouraging positive decision-making.

Solving Busy Lifestyle & Procrastination

Anchor effect

Provide reference points for good budget behaviour, such as savings goals or budgeting targets for online order.

Framing Effect

Influencing user decisions through structured steps and visual hierarchy, the budget slider pre sets a range, subtly guiding choices.

Emotional Recognition

Present the colors psychology to encourage positive action to choose their emotional color

Solving Emotional Home Attachment

Design Enhancement; UX Psychology

I have curated a refined collection of UX psychology and design principles that guide our solution while harmonising aesthetic appeal with functionality, this design-driven approach addresses user needs and business objectives, visually compelling, and impactful experience.

Crafting a User Interface Compatible Across Screens

Though desktop engagement was minimal, ensuring compatibility with iPads was key, early iterations focused on reducing clutter and refining hierarchy with clear headings, while adapting for iPads through brand-specific typography, colors, and illustrations.

I learned that users play a key role in defining a problem's specificity, a precise problem statement encourages diverse brainstorming, enhances creativity, and improves the chances of finding effective solutions.

Evaluating user multimodal interactions in AI design taught me valuable lessons, analyzing engagement with chatbots and voice assistants highlighted the importance of tailoring intuitive interactions to diverse user preferences and behaviours.

Feedback loops are essential in conversations, real-time user feedback highlighted the need for dynamic interfaces, helping refine designs and enhance user experiences through meaningful dialogue.


Next project:
EFF Application: real-time data, smarter decisions for pilots

Reflection

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Back to work page