Styled by simental

Date
2022
Design Type
Branding Design
Purpose
Client Services
A responsive website that represents the business' character through inclusive language and design.
MY ROLE
The entirety of this project was completed by myself with the guidance of my experienced mentor.
Ideation
Research & Analytics
Information Architecture
Wireframes
Usability Testing
Branding

Challenge

Styled by Simental is having issues managing their appointments. Currently, they are scheduling their appointments via text or phone calls. In order to plan out their day, they scan through their texts to see what times they have appointments and who with. They have a physical calendar in their salon space to help keep them organized, but it only gets updated when they have time. On rare occasions, some appointments end up getting rescheduled or canceled due to mismanaging appointments.

goals

- Give potential and existing clients the power to book their own appointments that align with their schedule while allowing the owner to keep her calendar organized.
- Reach new clients by utilizing updated SEO standards.

RESEARCH

secondary research

The most noticeable difference between the sites I viewed were the targeted audiences. Large companies such as Supercuts provide a very generalized layout, whereas smaller salons allow customers to engage with the stylist on a personal level prior to the appointment.

Finally, this research showed me how clients value their time with their stylist especially because a person's hairstyle plays such a large role in your self-confidence and mood.
"1 in 3 consider their stylist to be like a therapist."
Go to article

user survey

I wanted to gain a clear understanding of what travelers, specifically pet owners, expect throughout the process of planning out their trips.

Primarily, my goal was to acknowledge the struggles people go through when traveling with their pets in any form of travel.
go to survey
Insights
A number of participants claimed that the hardest part about going to a hairstylist was scheduling-related.
70% of participants said that booking an appointment online was the most important feature they desire on a salon’s website
Based on the user survey it is apparent that users prefer using an online resource to book their appointments. This aligns with my hypothesis.

user interviews

Since visiting a hair salon is such a personal experience, I had the opportunity to gather valuable feedback from users about their own experiences. These conversations played a significant role in shaping my ideas for potential solutions.

william

Graphic Designer
"A website would be very helpful to be able to see the stylist's schedule and book accordingly."

Jenn

Marketing Director
"I like a hairstylist who makes me feel welcomed."

Riley

Bank Teller
"I like to see what the stylist is capable of before I choose to trust them with my hair."
Insights
Most users prefer booking their appointments online so that they could align their schedules with their stylist’s.
When asked “what would make the salon experience better?” multiple participants responded with wanting to learn more why the stylist uses certain methods/products which opened up an idea to share with my client about doing informational videos on their Instagram that could be displayed on their website.
The persons who were uncomfortable with technology claimed that they would be open to access the phone number through the salon’s website as a way around interacting with their mobile device.

personas

To summarize my research, I produced these persona cards to reflect a majority of the client’s clientele which are folks aged between 20 - 35. These were constant reference points for design decisions. They helped me acknowledge the paint points and focus on the persona’s desires.

DESIGN

user flow

I created a user flow to acknowledge the pages and components that were necessary for the most anticipated feature of the website, booking an appointment.

Low fidelity wireframes

The goal was to design a wireframe that could keep the information users needed easily accessible while maintaining a simple, clean layout. These wireframes helped me decide where certain features would be placed within the product.
Home
Home ctd.
Services
Book appointment
Home ctd.
Sign in
Book appointment

branding

Brand Values
During our initial conversation, I asked the client to really focus on what their business goals were and what they believe are their core values prior to deciding on the brand's visionary elements. Understanding their values helped me decide what direction to go visually and helped the client establish their values to stay accountable.
CREATIVITY
HONESTY
SERVITUDE
Color
Based on their values and their vision for the company, I recommended using green as the primary color due to its association with health, renewal, and creativity. I also included gold in the palette to reflect the opportunity for success and affluence.
Logo
The logo shows the beginning letters of the company’s name with a thin line in the middle representing hair. I wanted to provide a logo that was distinguishable and easily associated with the company.
Typography
In order to create an approachable, friendly display I decided to make all of the text lowercase. Lowercase text also resembles the way people often communicate in casual conversations and provides a youthful element.

high fidelity wireframes

Once the client approved of the brand’s visual styles I was able to create the hi-fidelity wireframes. Generally, hair salons categorize their services on gender, but I wanted to use inclusive diction by categorizing the services based on action and length of cut.
Home
Home ctd.
Services
Book appointment
Home ctd.
Home
Services
Book appointment

TESTING

I produced an initial prototype for the product and conducted usability tests to address the good and the bad of my design so far. There were many aspects of this product that relied heavily on individual user experiences so I ensured diversity in my usability testing, and kept my notepad close by for proper detailed documentation. Here's what I learned:
Users found the color palette to be inviting, friendly, and playful!
"The colors make me feel like this stylist is easy to get along with..."
The buttons were easily accessible by participants, and they mentioned that they enjoyed having the "book now" button available at multiple points.
Users were initially confused with the booking process and did not understand where to click at first in order to begin the process.
The original logo on the landing page was not reading how I intended it to read. The scissors were supposed to read as the letter "y", but users said it was difficult to identify.

revisions

logo
I incorporated the brand's "S" logo into the landing page rather than utilizing the original logo since the scissors were not reading as intended. If I had more time to work on this logo, I could have made the original logo work with alterations made, but the client preferred the revised version overall.
Original
Revised
recent work section
On the homepage there is a section that allows the business to display their Instagram feed that updates automatically. I decided to include some text to encourage potential clients to explore their official Instagram page. The grid was also changed to mimic the Instagram layout.
Original
Revised
Booking appointments
Based on the comments made by the participants in the usability tests, I added numbers to the steps to encourage the user to complete the process. I also added checkboxes to provide the user with a sense of accomplishment and motivation to fill all of the boxes by completing the process.
Original
Revised

final design

process reflection
Although this design was for a relative, the process strengthened my experience in communicating with a client in a professional manner. I was able to confidently justify my solution to the client while allowing them to comfortably voice their opinion. It was an enjoyable experience establishing the brand identity with the client and expressing their personality onto a digital landscape. They ultimately decided to publish the final design using Squarespace which affected the layout and components of my design since Squarespace is restrictive to their product with the booking feature in particular.
go to live website