Rethinking Willhaben
An Austrian platform where people sell and advertise a wide variety of products, providing a user-to-user fast and easy exchange.
A personal project in which I present a redesign proposal to update the current website. I try to highlight the existing «ease of use» of the platform while keeping the original design guidelines.
Type: UX/UI/ Web Design
Tools: Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma
_2021
Analysis & Research
I started with an analysis of the current website. I first started with the existing information architecture, as well as the type of language in use and the general presentation.
After the first look, I started my desk research to see what was going on in similar environments in terms of style and formats. I browsed e-Commerces and exchange platforms where people exchanges comments and make reviews of different scopes, so I could gather information from diverse sources to create my own proper style guide.
Prototyping
After the research phase, I made some sketches to finally see my ideas on paper to picture the possible final product. Once I had the first rough designs, I did hall tests among a few users and so I got very valuable feedback about the way in which the customer interacts within that environment. Then I proceeded to iterate and make small testing again before going hands-on hi-fi prototypes.
Final Project Proposal
Functionalities
I followed the original design guidelines indicated in the CSS sheet for color and shapes. I kept the square aspect among the elements of the site and I decided to implement a complementary split color code for the CTAs from the current logo colors. I left the background white to favor clarity and breathing space.
The main challenge as well as the crucial goal was to keep the essence of the website but offer an improved user journey. The information architecture was established following my own criteria and the information collected when testing the prototypes among users.
Design guide
– Name and logo: #C22A2DC – #253D81
– Background color: #FFFFFF
– Font family: Alegreya sans (regular – bold)
– CTAs: #E8410C
Conlusions
Add instead of destroying
My personal aim when I decided to do this project was to learn how to add my touch to the existing work-frame instead of destroying and starting from scratch in the way I want things to be. I use Willhaben very often and it is obvious that it works perfectly, but how could small changes impact users’ interactions within the platform? The improvement of what we already have is actually one of the most interesting and challenging fields within the design business to me.
The value of real things
Some things we use in our daily lives have been somehow deprived of an aesthetical value. However, this doesn’t happen when we look at a piece of art. The piece was conceived to convey beauty. I find it very important to be aware of the potential beauty in everyday details because giving them an aesthetical worth, turns them into meaningful things, improving people’s quality of life. I really think designers have a lot to say about this.