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The Challenge
To create a platform that provides personalized hair product recommendations and services to people based on their hair type.
Discovery
Survey
To better understand potential users, I conducted interviews and surveys to gather information regarding their needs, desires, and frustrations.
Tester Insights
3 out of 4 participants have difficulty finding a natural hair stylist in there area
Due to not being able to find a stylist almost all users never book appointments online
Only 1 out of 4 participants find it hard to find hair products that work for their hair type
Competitive Analysis
The discovery stage began with market research for apps that target users with natural hair.
Although Tresse Noire and Mayvava Hair Journey offer product recommendations based on the user's hair type, they cannot purchase products and services directly on the platform. The addition of this feature would enhance the user's experience. See full analysis
Define
With the information gathered from surveys and user interviews, I created an affinity map to focus on the pain points.
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Persona
Jasmine is a 20-year-old full-time time student in Washington, DC. During school, she plays basketball and struggles to find a solution for maintaining her thick curly hair. Jasmine is looking for advice on products and a stylist that has experience with her hair type.
Pain Points
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Is fustrated with wasting time and money on
products that dont work for her hair
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Is tired of going to stylist that charge more because her hair is natural
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Is tired of going to stylist that charge more because her hair is natural
Needs & Goals
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To find products that work for her hair type
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Needs to find better solutions to maintain hair
Behaviors
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She is active and typically wears her hair in protective styles
Empathy Map
Further Context
Definition of Natural Hair
Gathering insights from the empathy map, I created a story board to illustrate the users journey.
Wireframing
Low Fidelity Sketches
When I first started to ideate the design, I used paper wireframe sketches to establish a user flow.
User Flow
The lofi fi screens helped to establish the user flow and how tasks are completed.
Mid Fidelity
After the initial user test and iterations to the lofi paper sketches, I developed the mid-fidelity wireframes. The mid-fi was designed in four iterations based on the task the users would complete.
UI Design
Moodboard
Before building out the Hi-Fi wireframes, I created a mood board to flush out the overall design aesthetic. I was inspired by earth browns, blush-colored pink hues, and rich golds.
Typography
I paired the delicate colors with Roboto typeface for its sophisticated look and its ability to render well on high resolutions mobile phone screens.
Illustrations
Components
Buttons
Prototyping
The prototype below demonstrates the user flow based on-task completed.
The prototype below demonstrates the user flow based on-task completed.
Determining their hair type based on successfully completing the hair type quiz
Finding and adding recommended products to their subscriptions list
Adding shipping address and credit card information to profile page
Testing
Usability Testing
During usability testing, I discovered three things that tested favorably
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The navigation was clear and easy for the users.
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The imagery was important to users to establish a sense of credibility and provide clarity.
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User really appreciated having options easily recommended to them from products to salon services
Users also recommened the following improvements to Hair Therapy
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Add a pinch zoom feature to products on shop page
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Add a larger indicator or animation to favorite a item added to subscritions
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Reconsider navigation carousel view for hair choices on the hair quiz
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Increase the size of the add +/- minus from cart icons
Results
For the most part, users gave positive feedback on the overall aesthetic of the app. Participants enjoyed the ease of navigation and the ability to purchase products, book appointments, and generally learn about their hair from one platform.
Takeaways
For Perspective
The hair care industry is a $69 Billion Industry and continues to grow at a rapid pace. Women of color specifically, African Americans, are the largest consumers of hair care products and salon services. Yet are often ignored in the representation of natural hair products.
“The afro hair market is hugely under-served. It is pretty much ignored,” said Rachael Corson, co-founding director of Afrocenchix.
The Conception
Hair Therapy is a very niche app and with that came specific challenges. At initial conception this app was designed for women of color but, as more men are connecting to their natural hair I wanted to make the design inclusive for them as well. Designing the app has been challenging, exciting and at times frustrating, but overall a rewarding experience.