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Black Beauty Finder


My Role

UX UI | Visual design | User research

Team

Black Beauty Finder

Timeline & Status

2024, 3 months

Overview

Black Beauty Finder, a platform dedicated to connecting users with Black-owned beauty stores in their area and enabling seamless online purchases. The platform also celebrates and promotes these businesses, fostering a deeper sense of community and supporting economic empowerment.

My mission was to create an intuitive and delightful user experience. I focused on designing a platform that caters to beauty enthusiasts of all backgrounds, whether they are discovering Black-owned beauty brands for the first time or are loyal supporters looking for convenient shopping solutions.

The goal was to provide users with a visually appealing, user-friendly, and secure platform that redefines the online beauty shopping experience, setting a new standard in the industry.

The goal was to provide users with a visually appealing, user-friendly, and secure platform that redefines the online beauty shopping experience, setting a new standard in the industry.

Discovering the need

To provide insight into how I solve problems and approach design as a discipline, I have documented the process of designing Black Beauty Finder, a platform that connects users to Black-owned beauty stores near them and enables online purchases.


I conducted user research to uncover pain points related to discovering and supporting Black-owned beauty businesses. Through iterative design, I developed a user-friendly platform that helps users locate nearby stores, browse products, and make purchases seamlessly. The solution not only meets immediate user needs but also builds a foundation for expanding features like product reviews and loyalty rewards in the future.

By conducting extensive surveys to gain insights into user preferences, pain points, and shopping habits. These surveys helped us identify the features users valued most to keep using the app, such as hair goals tracking, pricing, and personalized recommendations.

By conducting extensive surveys to gain insights into user preferences, pain points, and shopping habits. These surveys helped us identify the features users valued most to keep using the app, such as hair goals tracking, pricing, and personalized recommendations.

Framing the Challenge

My research into existing platforms revealed that several solutions already address local business discovery. Competitors like Yelp and Google Maps provide location-based searches, while niche apps such as WeBuyBlack and Black Wall Street focus specifically on Black-owned businesses.

While benchmarking these solutions gave valuable insights, I recognized key areas for improvement. Many platforms focused heavily on providing listings without integrating seamless purchasing experiences. Others lacked a personalized touch, making it difficult for users to feel connected to the businesses they were supporting.

Design Philosophy and Goals
Although competitor benchmarking provided potential directions, I aimed to create a solution that was intuitive, engaging, and tailored specifically to beauty consumers. My focus was on building a user experience that:

  1. Bridged Discovery and Action: Users could not only find Black-owned beauty stores but also purchase products directly within the platform.

  2. Streamlined the Journey: Avoided overwhelming users with unnecessary features or complex interfaces, keeping the experience lightweight and straightforward.

  3. Fostered a Community Connection: Highlighted the stories behind each store to deepen the emotional connection and encourage ongoing support.

How to simplify it

Developing an intuitive design for the mobile shopping app required a thoughtful approach to ensure users could effortlessly find and engage with products and services. From defining the information architecture (IA) to crafting seamless navigation and visually appealing interfaces, every step was focused on enhancing the user experience. Below is an overview of the key steps in the design process.

Outcome

The outcome is a modular platform, allowing for seamless integration of new features as user needs evolve.

To achieve the goal of streamlining the shopping experience, incorporating curated store recommendations and product categories that users can access with minimal effort was vital. It significantly increased user engagement and adoption rates.

From a business perspective, Black Beauty Finder provides a strategic advantage by fostering a direct connection between users and Black-owned beauty businesses. By offering a dual experience of discovery and shopping in one place, the platform enhances visibility for small businesses and drives sales. Additionally, the modular design allows for future scalability, such as integrating user reviews, loyalty programs, or personalized beauty recommendations.

This design not only delivers value to the users by simplifying their journey but also empowers Black-owned businesses to reach a broader audience. It serves as a compelling example of how technology can support community-driven growth and align with the mission of promoting inclusivity in the beauty industry.

Adopted a user-centered design approach, focusing on the needs and preferences of your target audience. This involved conducting user research to understand their behaviors, preferences, and pain points.

Adopted a user-centered design approach, focusing on the needs and preferences of your target audience. This involved conducting user research to understand their behaviors, preferences, and pain points.

Like what you see?

Feel free to contact me at: harvey.l.soph@gmail.com

Sophia Harvey

Georgia

harvey.l.soph@gmail.com

Sophia H

Sophia Harvey

Georgia

harvey.l.soph@gmail.com

Sophia H

Sophia Harvey

Georgia

harvey.l.soph@gmail.com

Sophia H