Comprehensive UX Case Study: White Cloud Decor Event Planning
Project Overview
White Cloud Decor, a distinguished event planning and party rental company based in Metro Atlanta, sought to make its first foray into the digital world. Renowned for transforming special occasions into unforgettable memories, White Cloud Decor offers a wide array of services from customized decor to unique party rentals, catering to a variety of events such as proposals, baby showers, birthdays, and more. The objective was to translate their offline reputation into a captivating online experience that communicates the magic of their services to a wider audience.
The Product: White Cloud Decor’s digital platform is envisioned as a comprehensive website showcasing their bespoke event decor, balloon decorating services, and party rentals. Each service aims to be presented in a way that not only illustrates the possibilities but also inspires users to envision these decorations at their own events.
Project Duration: The project was allocated a 2-month timeline, strategically planned to cover user research, website design and development, and user testing phases to ensure the platform is both visually appealing and user-friendly.
The Problem: Without a pre-existing digital presence, potential clients had difficulty discovering White Cloud Decor’s offerings and understanding the extent of customization available. The challenge was to create an online platform that effectively conveys the uniqueness and personalization of their services, encouraging user engagement and conversion.
The Goal: To design and launch a user-centric website for White Cloud Decor that showcases their services in an inspiring and informative manner, ultimately increasing visibility, engagement, and customer bookings.
My Role: As the UX Designer for this project, I was responsible for crafting the user experience from the ground up — focusing on making White Cloud Decor’s services easily discoverable, understandable, and engaging through their first digital platform.
Responsibility: My responsibilities encompassed conducting initial user research, creating the website’s design and structure, implementing user feedback into design iterations, and ensuring the final product aligns with the users' needs and business goals.
Understanding the User
User Research
User research was pivotal in this project due to the lack of existing online user data. I employed surveys, interviews, and competitive analysis to gather insights into potential users’ expectations, preferences, and behaviors when planning events and seeking decor services online.
Summary
Our target users are individuals and event planners looking for unique, customizable event decor and rentals. They value creativity, ease of use, and clear communication of services. The primary challenge for users was finding a reliable provider that could clearly demonstrate a range of services and customization options online.
Pain Point
The main pain point identified was the difficulty in finding a single platform that offers comprehensive, customizable event planning and decor services, which limits users' ability to efficiently plan and visualize their events.
Personas
Persona: Julia Martinez, 28, Engaged and Planning a Wedding
Julia is actively seeking unique and personalized decor for her wedding. She values transparency, the ability to customize services to fit her vision, and visual examples of previous work to ensure her choices will make her day truly special.
Problem Statements and User Journey Map
Problem Statement: Potential clients need a way to discover White Cloud Decor’s services and visualize how these can be tailored to their unique event, which is currently hindered by the absence of an online presence.
The user journey map developed showcased the path from discovering White Cloud Decor online to engaging with their services. It highlighted essential interactions such as service exploration, customization options, and booking inquiries, guiding the website’s structural design to address user needs effectively.
UX Structure
The website’s UX structure was designed with a focus on simplicity, inspiring content, and interactive elements. Features such as a virtual tour of services, a customizable decor visualizer, and clear call-to-actions were incorporated to guide users smoothly from inspiration to booking.
Impact and Learnings
The launch of White Cloud Decor’s website marked a significant milestone in their business, broadening their reach and significantly increasing engagement and bookings. The project underscored the importance of a well-structured digital presence in showcasing services and facilitating user decisions. Key learnings included the value of understanding user needs in the absence of direct feedback and the impact of interactive tools in enhancing service visualization.
