EITHER/OR
In a time when people are reconsidering the way they consume goods, Either/Or created a line of footwear that is sustainably sourced, ethically produced and environmentally aware. The brand was launched in the U.S. in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic. As a result, it has had to be adaptive and innovative from the beginning.
MY ROLE
This project took place between April and May 2020. I worked on this project as a UX researcher, including conducting usability tests. I also contributed by providing research on social impact metrics and transparency standards.
I worked alongside information architect and visual designer, Deborah Yates.
THE CHALLENGE
DESIGN with intention
Either/Or wants to have a clearer understanding of its audience’s needs and expectations from the start. Because they are launching their company during the COVID-19 Pandemic, traditional ways of connecting with clients and doing business are very limited.
Unconventional approaches and creativity are key, while also following social distancing guidelines and founding the company in the middle of an economic downturn.
Our challenge is to gain an in-depth understanding of the audience and translate our findings into a holistic content and branding strategy.
the plan
Start broad & Progressively Focus
To understand the needs and expectations of users, we took a foundational approach. Deborah, the designer, has a background in fashion, so our strategy was more focused as a result.
Paige Sandilands, Either/Or’s founder and CEO also wanted to be very involved in the process, which we gladly welcomed.
research rationale
To make the most out of the research, we dedicated a lot of time to understanding users, their expectations, and how those needs are currently being met. We utilized the following methods:
- Market research to understand industry standards and identify opportunities to do better. This includes competitive/comparative research, literature review, and others.
- User research to identify needs and values, and develop personas to represent user types. Activities include user and expert interviews, and literature review.
- Usability testing to evaluate Either/Or’s website performance. This includes a heuristic evaluation.
the audience
Since the company is just launching, speaking with its clients was difficult. To access prospective users, we looked at our personal and professional networks.
We identified people who:
- Shop intentionally – they want to support sustainable fashion
- Use social media – use Instagram or Facebook to shop or learn about brands
- Are geographically dispersed – to understand if there were meaningful similarities or differences
the discovery
exploring expectations
To grasp people’s attitudes and behaviors about sustainable and ethical fashion brands, we considered current offerings, user needs, and researched Either/Or’s current usability.
Market research
We conducted market research to understand consumer needs and preferences. Through quantitative and qualitative date, we analyzed how brands in general are meeting user needs.
We interviewed consumers of competitor brands to understand their expectations and mental models.
competitive & Comparative analysis
We conducted competitive and comparative analysis to understand how Either/Or compared with direct and indirect competitors respectively.
This allowed us to have more comprehensive data about the marketplace and understand how existing brands are meeting consumer needs.
literature Review
To comprehend how people defined sustainable and ethical fashion, I reviewed academic articles and other articles. I also looked into organizations that oversee these practices.
I researched attitudinal data about ethical shopping and how companies have met those expectations, well and not so well.
We also looked at the social era that gave rise to this movement.
user research
We interviewed different types of users from novice to expert shoppers in sustainable and ethical fashion.
Our intent was to get a feel for what they look for in terms of evidence and data. We also wanted to know what they look out for.
User interviews
Through the interviews, we wanted to understand behaviors and attitudes related to:
- Types of products, in this case, sandals
- Shopping process, including how they learn about brands
- Intentions when shopping
- Deciding what to buy and from where
- Branding
- Social impact
- Sustainability and ethics, specifically related to transparency
usability testing
Because Either/Or had already launched their brand, we also evaluated their current site, messaging, and format.
We conducted 4 usability tests to also have a baseline to compare our redesign to.
the synthesis
uncovering needs
Once we had completed our research, we collected and reviewed our notes, observations and data to make sense of what he had learn and gather actionable insights.
We identified the following insights and created the persona by utilizing Affinity Mapping to identify user needs.
insights
Awareness of practices varies
We uncovered that levels of awareness related to ethical and sustainability practices vary depending on user values and behavior. This impacts how much information they expect and how far they go to find it.
early adopters buy differently
We learned that most people who shop for Either/Or and its competitors go out of their way to support brands that reflect their personal values. They’re also forgiving if/when things don’t go according to plan, as long as trust is not broken.
sustainable vs Ethical Fashion
Although these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they represent different values. Companies that meet both, sustainable and ethical standards, are preferred by users.
Ethical and sustainable fashion is an approach towards sourcing, manufacturing and designing clothes which maximizes the benefits to the industry and society at large, at the same time minimizes the impacts on the environment. Ethical means something that is morally right and acceptable [...] Sustainability is a way of doing business rather than just a concept.
Fairness first, sustainability second
People prioritize labor fairness over sustainability. They both matter, but a sustainable product made using unfair labor is not desirable.
transparency builds confidence
Transparency helps users feel connected with the brand. They want to support brands that share their values. As a result, any brand behavior that isn’t consistent with their values leads to suspicion and rejection.
social justice issues matter, too
Informed shoppers are aware of cultural appropriation, lack of racial representation, ethnocentrism, wage disparities, etc. in the fashion industry.
They expect brands to acknowledge these issues and address them in their branding and practices.
persona
We identified one persona: Sara. Although there is only one persona, she represents the needs and expectation of an expert shopper. Our hypothesis is that by designing for her as an extreme user, we are also designing for mainstream users.
The persona we developed helped us ground our design and inform our decisions. It was also helpful for our client to have ‘someone’ to empathize with.
reframing the problem
how to be transparent?
Although it is too soon to have longitudinal information about Either/Or’s audience, there has been consistency in expectations.
Consumers’ reception of Either/Or have been positive from the beginning. Our goal continues to be that of improvement, but recognizing that the site is quite effective already.
However, to meet the needs of its users, we will focus on providing enough evidence of labor and production practices to meet the needs of our expert persona. Therefore, our challenge is:
How might we improve Either/Or's strategy so that expert users feel confident about its values & practices?
From there, our focus became the features and elements that let the user know how the company does business and what it stands for.
the vision
A site that values business & society
Either/Or’s virtual presence has been well received from the beginning. As a result, our vision is to improve upon the current design and seek ways to meet the needs and expectations of its users in more specific ways.
Design for experts (and everyone else)
Providing transparency information for extreme users (a.k.a. experts) will also meet the needs of most users.
Fulfill transparency expectations
Share the business model, its social impact and how it contributes to the lives of artisans authentically.
demonstrate commitment to sustainability
Sharing data and results of Either/Or’s efforts to be sustainable builds trust and demonstrates congruency.
the framework
Start with the basics
To provide clarity to our work, we first looked at Either/Or’s value proposition. From this perspective, we determined which artifacts to update and which to create from scratch.
Deb led most of the information architecture work, while I acted as a contributor.
Value map
The value map below gave us a visual representation of what needs the product addresses and how to match the products with customer expectations.
Business Model
Like other sustainable and ethical brands, an infographic depicting the company’s business model is expected to meet transparency needs.
Either/Or had a business model infographic already, but it was redesigned to include more information that users expected.
Website & Social Media Alignment
Because Either/Or reaches its audience through social media, congruence between the website and its social media profiles is essential.
We recommended the addition of social media posts that not only showed the product, but also showed leather tanning processes, transparent pricing, etc.
We maintained most of the site’s architecture because it was easy to access and navigate to begin with. The changes above were improvements to what was already there.
DETailed design
A transparent experience
The initial design already contained most of these elements. In the redesign, we tried to improve upon them. The current design reflects user needs and priorities, along with helpful information about sourcing, maintenance, and social impact.
Note: Some of these artifacts were created after my involvement in the project had ended, but they are based on the research findings.
PROVIDE supplier INFORMATION
Based on user research, people wanted to have more information about the social impact that the company is having and how that impact is being measured.
This also applies to the suppliers. In this case, customers wanted to know about the processes used for tanning the leather and who was creating the designs.
The concern was related to the pollution caused by the leather suppliers and to avoid unfair labor, which tends to be an ongoing issue specially in weaving processes.
share social impact
Either/Or’s commitment to social impact started by contributing $10 from each sale to City Harvest in Brooklyn, NY. Sharing posts like the one below help people see the impact of their purchase.
Share the process
Creating artifacts for Instagram like these provide more ways for Either/Or to expand its audience. It also provides information that expert shoppers would look for anyway.
pandemic limitations lead to open source product photography
During our usability tests and through social media reviews, we learned that people wanted to see more skin colors represented in the product pictures. However, this was difficult to do because of the pandemic.
Paige Sandilands had already planned to have more photo shoots with diverse models, but it became impossible to do in the current situation.
As a result, photos of the products worn by a variety of people from different ethnicities were sourced from social media.
THE IMpact
even more transparency
The design changes to Either/Or’s website and strategy has had an immediate positive impact (1.5 months since the changes were made). However, the data is limited and it is difficult to determine the strength of the correlation between these improvements and our work. As time progresses, we might be able to have a clearer picture.
month over month sales increased by 41%
sessions converted increased by 83%
new customers increased by 70%
returning customers increased by 600%
For confidentiality reasons, I have omitted the actual values for these metrics.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
PRIORITIES VARY - GET TO KNOW THEM
Understanding the needs and expectations of target users provided clarity when deciding what things to change and what has a higher priority. This can even apply to other business-related decisions not involved in improving the user experience of a site.
INSTAGRAM AS AN E-COMMERCE TOOL
This project gave me the opportunity to combine social media and e-commerce in a new way. The customer journey as they purchase the products is largely influenced and initiated in Instagram.
UP NEXT
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