Urban Poppy

This is a group project covering Service Design and UI/UX Design to improve the Savannah local business called "Urban Poppy" in both online and onsite service, to provide a more convenient and satisfying experience for the customers.

Project Overview

Urban Poppy, established in 2011, is a renowned botanical boutique and flower bar located in the heart of the Historic District in Savannah. This charming local store has carved a niche in offering an exquisite array of flowers, fragrances, and bath products, alongside its unique floral design and beauty offerings. Initially focused on providing flowers for events, Urban Poppy has recently shifted its business strategy to emphasize retail sales of its diverse product range. A key aspect of this transition has been its collaboration with companies like Bloomnations, enabling it to offer same-day flower delivery services, thus broadening its customer reach and service capabilities.

At the forefront of this transformative journey is Team O.O, comprising three dedicated students from the Savannah College of Art and Design: Wendan Guo, Xier Che, and Zehong Chen. Partnering with Urban Poppy, Team O.O's mission was twofold:

1. To enhance the overall service experience;

2. To undertake a comprehensive redesign of the boutique's website.

This initiative aims not only to amplify Urban Poppy's digital presence but also to align it with the evolving needs and expectations of its clientele, thereby ensuring a seamless and engaging customer experience both in-store and online.

Understand the problem: Research

The current problems with the Urban Poppy website

Problems:

1. Too many products with a wide range. 2. A lot of repetitive information, such as types of flowers. 3. There isn't much detail about wedding planning (could be a dedicated section, a separate website)." 4. The color scheme is too monotonous." 5. Too many and too chaotic images on the website, making it unclear to customers what the main products for sale are (avoid unrelated images). 6. Background uses marble texture, but let users think of their screen dirt.

Website screenshots

Current sitemap

Scent blockers in the website: Camouflaged link, missing words, cute link names and misplaced links.

Shop at Urban Poppy: Observation and Experience

Images of Urban Poppy Stores

Problem and Observations

1. Both stores sandwiched between them (river st is between two hotels, bull st is between a bridal shop and a barber shop), it's hard to find and notice.

2. Once in the store, we did not immediately find their characteristics (flowers or wedding decorations), but the bath products (bath balls bath salts) are more prominent.

3. The summer collection on the website is actually the main feature in the store.

4. Flowers are usually placed at the cash check, where customers can pick their flowers and have them wrapped by an employee.

5. The main business is selling flowers and opening studio. workshop activities’ information will be updated on Instagram.

6. Wedding plans are no longer the main business.

Stakeholder Map

• Green for Advocators, who support Urban Poppy's development and operation.

• Yellow for Neutral, which acts the role as a platform to provide resources to local businesses.

• Red for Blockers, who are the competitors of Urban Poppy.

Competitor Analysis: for the RED in the stakeholder map

Insights:

1. Urban Poppy (UP) has a wide delivery zone and same-day flower delivery service.

2. UP provides unique boutique design.

3. UP and Terra Cotta have clear market positioning.

4. The social media engagement of UP is not strong.

5. UP has a relatively high range of products and services.

6. UP has a relatively good location.

7. UI: Similar color palette.

Contextual Interview & Observation

Hold in the Urban Poppy Store, asking for the customers about the atmosphere and shopping experience.

Interviewees number: 10

Observation number: 9

Insights

1. There is a couple who enter the store, the wife entered while the husband was sitting outside. The wife only stand at the diffuses area and stared them for a while, then go out and haven't bought anything. 2. A young lady wearing a sport outfit, enter the store with a strong purpose, and ask about the flower with the employee, the employee go out the cashier check and help her to pick and wrap the flower. 3. Two young ladies (they are friends) went pass the store, but they found this store and hesitated about whether enter or not, but finally they entered. They go around the whole store and looking the bath goods for a while and multiputely. Then they get the soap. 4. One young lad go to the store and stand at the flower area to ask for the employee to pick some flower (put these flowers into a glass vase). During the employee picking he still stand at the check place.

User Persona

Service Blueprint for current stage Online Service for UP

Insights: To improve the website, Urban Poppy needs to focus on:

1. Intuitive search function / Local store directory

2. Recognizable call-to-action button

3. Clear categorization system

4. Streamline the order fulfillment process

Experience Map for the current stage Onsite Service in UP

Focusing on Urban Poppy's new branch in the Bull Street in Savannah, finding that its existing problems on: Navigation, Space, Products quantity, layout, and flower quality.

Design a Solution: Outcome Applying

Current Store Layout in Urban Poppy (Bull St. store)

Analysis

Problem with the Current Layout:

1. The workshop behind took too much space;

2. People are not aware there is a workshop behind it.

3. The store does not have enough space to display merchandise.

Moodboard

Font for title: Marcellus

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Font for text: Lato

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

1234567890

Redesigned Sitemap

Redesigned Website wireframe

Design 2 version of Homepage and Product Page

User Testing: Examine wireframe

Test 10 users in the product pages V1 & V2.

Documentary image

Summary:

Part 1

1. The Navigation Bar of V2 is clearer, it shows which option the user selected more clearly.

2. The angle of the button design of V2 is too round.

3. V1's introduction page has too much text.

4. The “Make it extra special” option is confusing.

5. Information Architecture in the product intro page is not clear.

6. Additional flower selections should also show the price.

Part 2

1. V2 Reviews should be the last part of the product page.

2. V2 Reviews should include more pictures.

3. V1 “You may also like” page should let the user know how to scroll to the next page.

4. V2 “You may also like” Font is hard to read.

Part 3

1. V2 text on the image is not clear, but the position is good.

2. V2 image should be lighter or blurry.

Final Design

Storyboard on shopping at Urban Poppy

Final Layout design

Final Website Design

Homepage and product page and mock-up, with the poster and lookbook for promotion.

1 minute promotion video

Reflection

1. Intuitive navigation is essential, ensuring customers can easily find bouquet designs, candles, aromatherapy products, and gifts.

2. Clear categorization and a search function. Engaging content is needed to enhance the emotional connection between customers and our products.

3. Responsive design, understanding the various devices used by customers, the website has been optimized for both mobile and desktop views, ensuring a smooth browsing experience.

4. Visual harmony is key to reflecting the boutique's theme, with the choice of color palette and layout designed to evoke a sense of calm and elegance.

5. Consistent branding is maintained throughout the site, which helps in reinforcing the Urban Poppy brand identity, leaving a memorable impression on visitors.

Future Opportunities

1. Combing the online and onsite service, applying e-workshop on the website to expand the users who live far from the store.

2. Strengthen the navigation on the store to attract customers, adding the guide board to guide people to enter the store.

3. Build Urban Poppy’s own flower plantation to achieve produce and market all by Urban Poppy itself.

4. Adding more employees on workshop, also adding more workshop in the schedules.

5. Simplify the order process, adding more ways to pay.