Patrick Purdy
experience | interaction | design
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Mobile Music Player
Wedding Vows Mobile App
Zeitgeist
Saving The News
Microsoft Studio
Uniquity
bullsmadtown.com
Online clothing retailers for men approach item selection in one of two ways, quick unencumbered access to all items or a quiz that determines a mans style, then offers suggestions based on that style. The first works best when the customer knows exactly what he needs, the second when he does not.

Our solution involved a single, unified solution facilitating both styles of clothing selection. This is done in a manner that is equally appropriate for either situation and draws upon the brick and mortar shopping experience to create.

Download the final presentation
Our research included Directed Storytelling, Expert Interviews, Retail Observations, a Competitive Analysis and a Literature review. Through these methods we confirmed our suspicions that men wanted the shopping experience to be brief and streamlined when they knew what they were looking for.

Men were very willing to spend the time to learn from others when the situation came up. Successful methods educated the consumer tactfully without making embarrassing assumptions and included terminology from the brick and mortar experience.

Our literature review uncovered Scenario-Oriented Recommendation. This technique, from the MIT Media Laboratory, incorporates characteristics of events before making style suggestions.
We set out to create an online experience that reflected what men would expect from a brick and mortar retail store. Specific goals would be to include familiar terminology, provide a way to access clothing items in a streamlined way and offer selection advice when necessary.

A challenge was in developing a recommendation method that successfully educated men while also providing style suggestions that were event appropriate.
To mirror the recommendation process found in a brick and mortar retail experience, we created seven valets which represent a fashion archetype and function as your personal shopping guru. These valets could be selected directly or through an optional multiple-choice quiz and would be used for style-specific browsing of items.

Valets may also be combined with eight pre-determined styles in our style matrix. This would be used to guide the customer toward clothing recommendations that incorporated their desired look and any situational requirements.
Using brick and mortar inspired terminology we created an experience that is comfortable and fits with user expectations. Valets provide situational recommendations giving men the freedom to explore their clothing options before they buy. A flexible navigation style allows both experts and novices to shop for clothing in a way that is appropriate for their needs.
In our final design, valets represent a fashion archetype and function as your personal shopping guru
Our competative analysis revealed a lack of flexibility in online clothing retailers
 
Knowledge gained from brick and mortar observations played a strong part of our final strategy
Uniquity needed to be flexible enough to support the shopping needs of many different kinds of customers
 
Research inspired our use of familiar terminology and visual language
Our Style Matrix allowed for unique clothing options while maintaining a unified overall look
 
Highlighted in our site architecture are two navigational paths, one for the novice, one for the expert
Each week a new Style Guide Tip would be featured on the landing page
 
(Click image to start) Flash prototype (completed in one day) to demonstrate in-changing room touchscreen concept
© Patrick Purdy 2011
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