Custom Website Design for Thomas That Barber
Overview:
Thomas Murray is a renowned barber based in South Carolina with over 20 years of experience in providing services not only in his hometown, but across the country! While Thomas Murray has made a name for himself with his growing clientele, Thomas has become very busy and has found staying on track of appointments has become overwhelming.
Digitalizing the booking experience with a local barber.
Roles and Responsibilites:
I conducted initial qualitative user research and was able to develop user personas.
Thomas currently has an Instagram account but his business gets overshadowed with other business ventures Murray is pursuing. This can leave clients feeling confused about how to check availability to book an appointment. I, thus set out to develop a clear and cohesive website to implement an online booking system for clients looking to make an appointment that fits within their schedule. Plus, this will reduce wait times (unless you appreciate shop talk!)
Problem Statement:
I spent the first two weeks of utilizing design thinking processes that includes the following steps: empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test. We were able to produce a fully-functional website where clients can check availability, book their appointments, and pay online.
Users and Audience
By conducting a Census Bureau report search, it was discovered that Murray’s barber shop is located in Charleston County. This a residential community of demographics of 70% African American, 25% White based off the 2021 Census report.
Who Are They?
Male church goers of Promised Land Church, may go to bible study throughout the week, barber shop is within walking distance.
Residents within the community. May be homeowners, family-oriented and have sons of age that may need to receive barbering services as well.
Male employees of commercial buildings in area within 3-10 minutes of driving time.
Scope and Constraints
User Research
To get a better understanding of how to resolve Murray’s booking structure, I interviewed up to 3 working class men, ranging in ages 21-45 about their ideal barber shop experience. I attempted to gather information about frequency of visits, their thoughts on wait times, and how having a website to book their appointments would affect their experience. Upon having these conversations, I was able to define their problem into 3 pain points.
Lengthy wait times from walk ins, especially on the weekends.
Trying to fit appointment in through weekly schedule.
Limited payment methods.
User Personas
In conclusion, I was able to create a user persona. Allow for me to introduce Wayne. Wayne is a 35 year old local in the neighborhood. Working to provide for his family of 4, Wayne attempts to maintain his upkeep during the week when he can find the time to. Walking into Murray’s barber shop, Wayne may have limited time to wait due to still committing to spend time with his family after a long day of work and preparing for the next day.
User Journey(s)
With keeping Wayne’s objectives in consideration, I developed a user journey to get more insight on how the user would interact with scheduling an appointment online. This resulted in me getting a deep understanding of user interaction while discovering ideations to improvise the booking experience.
User Flow(s)
Moving forward, I designed a user flow to determine how the user would be able to navigate through the booking experience.
Wireframing & Prototyping
Once the user flow was constructed, I was able to ideate each page for the website. I created 2-3 layouts for every page before determining which style would be the best fit. Both low-fidelity wireframes and high-fidelity mockups were created using Figma and were prepared to start usability testing.
Design Process
Due to being a private client, I was 100% responsible for the design process, which included analyzing user research and personas, sketching wireframes, prototyping, and testing.
Testing Process
While I was able to conduct remote unmoderated usability testing, I was able to accomplish
responsiveness on multiple devices and operating systems, find and connect with target personas,
reduce costs and time on usability testing.
Outcomes and Lessons
We progressed in Murray’s visibility and growth of business by increasing brand awareness and positioning for both male church goers and essential workers that worked in the commercial properties in the area. This became the result of having a fully-functional website, organic lead generation, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, online appointment scheduling and payment portals.
We encourage growth in business by delegating every client as a walking billboard to share their feedback on their experience with Murray. Either action will result in receiving an incentive such as a discount or loyalty system (free cut on the 5th visit) on their next appointment.
Increasing profit and visibility by adding a product line for hair shave aftercare. I have established an e-commerce solution to keep an inventory of products distributed by Murray and relevant partners.