Portfolio
POSY – A New Mobile Marketplace For Florists & Flower Farmers
Portfolio
Overview
About POSY
POSY is a fictional app, aimed to help connect florists and flower farmers to wedding and event planners. It's a marketplace specifically for those selling and buying floral arrangements and/or bulk flowers.
About
Project Summary
My goal was to design a mobile app to help florists and flower farmers save time promoting their businesses and ensure they are reaching most of their potential customer base more efficiently.
My approach began with creating user journey maps and a competitive analysis to pinpoint any problems the industry faces and fine-tune a target user to design for. I used this preliminary research to help define improvements that meet the needs of this user.
My involvement included creating journey maps, ideating a user to design for, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing, and creating high-fidelity designs.
Project Goals
The proposed outcomes of my design included:
- Helping streamline/eliminate the process of cross-posting promotional material to multiple social media platforms
- Create a dedicated space for customers looking for floral arrangements and florists/flower farmers who sell them; so both buyers and sellers don't have to spend time scrolling through general marketplaces or Google searches
- Make it easier for buyers and sellers to connect and meet virtually or in person
My Role
Roles & Responsibilities
Journey Mapping | User Flows | Competitive Analysis | UX/UI Design | Wireframing | Prototyping | Usability Testing High-Fidelity Designs
Tools Used
Figma | Adobe Photoshop | Adobe Illustrator
Research
Research Summary
Beginning with a user journey map and a competitive analysis, I pinpointed Cady, The Busy Solo Flower Farmer, as the main user for this design.
Findings
Target Audience
Cady is a local flower farmer living just outside Grande Prairie, Alberta. As a solo farmer, her workday involves farmwork, business administration, and social media marketing. She works long, sporadic hours. Cady is tech-savvy but is self-taught when it comes to social media marketing. She often spends a lot of time cross-posting on multiple platforms without knowing if she’s reaching the right audience with her content.
User Story
As a local flower farmer wanting to break into the wedding industry, Cady wants to be able to post sample arrangements and prices where potential clients are looking so that she can streamline her marketing efforts while optimizing her audience reach.
User Behaviours
Motivations
• Promoting her floral business to get as many new clients as possible
• Wants an easy-to-use platform that works similarly to the social media apps she's already used to so she doesn't need to learn a new app
User Pains
• Spends lots of time cross-posting on various social media platforms
• City clients hesitant to drive 1 hour out of the city for consultations
• Unsure if potential customers are even seeing her posts
User Goals
• Quickly post about her business so that she can reach her potential clients the most
• Message potential clients and book virtual consultations
• See what others in her industry are doing and connect with them
"I know the internet is the best way to promote my business, but I'd like to spend less time posting and more time doing what I do best - growing gorgeous flowers!"
- Cady, The Busy Solo Flower Farmer
Competitive Analysis
My competitive analysis included analyzing two direct competitors and one indirect competitor. These were other websites and businesses that Cady's customer base could likely use.
Competitor 1
The Floral Fixx
Direct Competitor
The Floral Fixx is a small florist shop specializing in wedding/event bouquets and floral centerpieces. They offer both silk and real flowers which is unique to the local market. They have a stylish and trendy look for their shop and the bouquets they make.
Strengths
• Very trendy high-quality floral arrangements
• Offers silk or real flowers
• Bouquets are very photogenic and match the overall soft aesthetic that matches current trends
Weaknesses
• Very narrow styles/colour palettes
• They have multiple businesses under similar URLs, making their website information architecture hard to navigate
• Offer event rentals as well, which can divide their attention and time (not focused solely on florals)
Competitor 2
Bloomex
Direct Competitor
A larger ecommerce site offering bouquets at a low price for customers in several different countries. They have a large variety of bouquets overall.
Strengths
• They offer Canada-wide service and delivery
• Their specialty is lower priced bouquets
• There is a lot of variety in their types of bouquets available
Weaknesses
• Website is hard to navigate and very busy
• Floral images on their site don’t necessarily showcase the flowers well
• Popups that don’t go away (overall UX issues)
Competitor 3
Etsy
Indirect Competitor
Etsy is a worldwide marketplace app where small floral shops can sell their bouquets. Their target audience is young/middle-aged professionals looking to buy floral arrangements for a smaller price. They sell more than just flowers but they do have a large range of small floral shops.
Strengths
• Offers a wide selection of local florists
• Promotes artisans/handmade goods and shops
• Includes shops that accommodate lower or higher budgets/price ranges
• Well established app/brand overall
Weaknesses
• Huge catalogue of items for sale
• Might be overwhelming for customers looking to buy from businesses in their own city/area
• You can only filter searches by country, so it may not be easy for users to find shops within their city
Design
Design Thinking Summary
The proposed design aimed to address Cady’s pain points she's experiencing because of the absence of POSY:
- Having to spend a lot of time cross-posting her promotional material to multiple apps and social media accounts
- Having to check multiple social media apps and email inboxes to see if any potential clients have reached out
- Losing out on potential clients who don't have the time or means to meet her in person for consultations and floral planning meetings
UX/UI HIGHLIGHTS
Problem Statement
Cady is a busy solo flower farmer who needs an easier and streamlined way to post and promote her floral arrangements and flower business because cross-posting to multiple social media accounts is time-consuming and doesn’t guarantee she’s reaching the right audience of potential clients
UX/UI Highlights
- Marketplace specifically for florists/flower farmers and wedding and event planners looking to buy floral arrangements in their city
- In-app messaging to eliminate the need to check multiple apps or inboxes
- In-app virtual consultation booking
- Organized homepage/dashboard for easy access to most-used elements
- Blog section to give users tips and prompt user retention by providing frequently updated content
Iterations
Wireframing & Usability Testing
Digital wireframes were created to present overall ideas and ideate several iterations. Wireframes were also presented by a select test group to gauge functionality feedback.
Usability Feedback
- Utilizing a bottom nav bar instead of a pop-out menu so important elements are always accessible
- Making the catalogue summary the first element on the homepage, as it is likely the most important section for the user
- Blogs are to be moved under the catalogue, as it's not as important
Conclusion
Final Thoughts
Through creating user journey maps and conducting a competitive analysis on online floral businesses, I pinpointed several areas where POSY could help floral farmers streamline their process for promoting their business and connect them with potential customers quickly.
I defined a clear target user for the app – Cady, The Busy Solo Flower Farmer. Putting myself in Cady's shoes, I created an app design to address Cady's needs and propose a new avenue for serving this subset of customers.