Scalable Branding Solutions for Small Businesses
Vistaprint is an online printing company that provides a variety of customizable products and services, primarily aimed at small businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals. The company is well known for offering affordable, high-quality printing solutions for both professional and personal use.
Overview
Our team aimed to help small business owners launch quickly and easily. We started with a proof of concept to test the effectiveness of our technology, then I conducted in-depth user research, including interviews with VistaPrint customers, reviewing existing research, and performing competitive analysis. Our first task was redesigning the existing screens for a smoother user experience. After users created a free logo, we offered options to print the logo on merchandise, create a website, or connect with professional designers to continue their branding journey.
My Process
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User Research: Conducted 1:1 interviews with VistaPrint customers, collaborating with the UX researcher to gather valuable insights.
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Competitive Analysis: Performed an in-depth competitive analysis within the branding and marketing industry to understand how to help users create and advance their business identities.
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Collaboration with Technical Team: Regularly synced with the technical team to ensure alignment in thinking, design, and capacity.
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Data Analysis: Worked with the data analysis team to study trends and user behavior, enabling data-driven decision-making and strategic planning for the future.
Discovery
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Experience & Social Proof: Customers often rely on opinions from friends and family when making design decisions. Incorporating this social aspect into the experience can enhance customer confidence in their choices.
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Downloadable Aspect Ratios: Customers will value the ability to download aspect ratios, as it saves them time and effort in resizing for various uses. Tracking the most common formats (e.g., social media or websites) will provide valuable insights into their preferences.
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Brand Assets: By offering customers more customization options for brand assets, we can better guide them toward the products they need. Allowing them to save customized states for future use would improve the overall user experience and increase repeat engagement.
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Add to Cart Journey: In the current experience, customers lose their logo when adding products to the cart. They are forced to create a new template, which adds unnecessary steps. Additionally, the process of returning to the Offerings page is cumbersome. There are also two CTAs for each product performing the same action. Improving this flow will help customers find the products they need more efficiently, streamlining the overall journey.
Open questions
Should we create a shareable space for collaborative design?
Collaboration can be valuable, especially for small business owners who may want feedback from colleagues, friends, or partners. We need to assess if features like sharing designs or co-editing would enhance the user experience or complicate it. This could offer real-time feedback, but it’s important to determine if it aligns with our target users’ needs or if a more streamlined, solo design process would be better.
​What kind of feedback do customers want?
Customers may seek different types of feedback—some may want design advice (e.g., color schemes or logo balance), while others may prefer practical tips like ensuring readability or scalability. We need to identify whether automated, professional feedback, or a combination of both, is most valuable. Additionally, should feedback be offered throughout the design process or only at the end?
Can we provide actionable tips to help customers make faster decisions?
Quick, clear tips could guide users who lack design expertise, such as “keep your logo simple” or “ensure readability for business cards.” We need to determine how to deliver these tips effectively—whether context-sensitive, at relevant moments, or as a general guide. The goal is to support decision-making without overwhelming the user or limiting their creative freedom.
Design & Ideation
As a member of the triad team (comprising tech, product, and design), my role was to represent the design perspective, ensuring that the user’s needs and experience were at the forefront of our planning process. I worked closely with both the technical and product teams to align our strategies and goals. Our collective objectives for the project were as follows:
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Improved Engagement on the Offerings Page
We aimed to make the offerings page more engaging and intuitive, ensuring that users felt motivated to explore and interact with the available products and services. This meant optimizing layout, content, and navigation to capture user interest and guide them seamlessly through their options.
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Instant Access to What Customers Are Looking For
One of the primary goals was to streamline the user journey so that customers could quickly and easily find what they needed. By improving search functionality, categorization, and personalization, we wanted to eliminate frustration and reduce the time it takes for users to locate their desired products or services.
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A Stress-Free Customization and Branding Process
The customization and branding process should feel simple, intuitive, and empowering for users, especially those who may not have design expertise. We focused on creating an easy-to-navigate interface, reducing complexity, and providing helpful tools and guidance that would help users feel confident and in control throughout the process.
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Increased Conversions for Print Products
Our goal was to drive more conversions for print products, such as business cards, merchandise, and marketing materials. To achieve this, we aimed to make the path to purchase as smooth and seamless as possible, minimizing friction points that might prevent users from completing their transactions.
By aligning with these outcomes, our team worked to create an experience that was not only functional and efficient but also delightful and easy for users to navigate, ultimately driving better engagement and higher conversions.
Final solution
Based on our research findings, we identified key areas for improvement and devised a solution to address them. Below is a breakdown of the core issues and how we tackled each one.
Simplifying Product Discovery
The existing page featured a long, endless scroll of products, making it difficult for customers to find what they were looking for. We implemented a search and filtering system to streamline the browsing experience, allowing users to quickly narrow down their options based on product type, category, and other relevant attributes. This not only improved usability but also enhanced the overall shopping experience.
Highlighting Key Features
Important features, such as website creation tools and designer connection services, were being lost in the clutter of the long page. To address this, we redesigned the layout to give these services more prominence, featuring them in dedicated sections with clear, attention-grabbing visuals and copy. This ensured that users could easily spot and understand these offerings.
Strengthening Brand Identity
The brand’s logo and identity were not being adequately showcased on the page. In our redesign, we made sure to celebrate the creation of a new logo and other elements of the brand’s visual identity. We integrated these elements more prominently, creating a cohesive and visually appealing experience that reinforced the brand’s values and messaging.
Through these changes, we were able to create a more user-friendly, visually engaging, and brand-focused experience that resonated with the target audience.
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​The final solution focuses on refining the user experience by enhancing navigation, celebrating brand identity, and showcasing key features that align with user interests. Below is a detailed breakdown of the strategies we implemented:
Banner Celebrating the New Logo and Enhancing Brand Navigation
One of the primary goals was to emphasize the brand’s new identity and make it easy for users to explore the brand's offerings further. We redesigned the website’s hero banner to serve as both a celebratory space for the new logo and a gateway to deeper brand exploration.
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Brand Identity Reinforcement: The banner prominently features the new logo in a dynamic and visually appealing way, ensuring it immediately catches the user's attention. The design emphasizes the freshness and vitality of the rebranding, helping the logo stand out as a core element of the website experience.
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Old design
New design
Enhanced Navigation: We included clear, visually distinct navigation options within the banner, allowing users to explore the brand space easily. By placing links to essential sections like “About Us,” “Our Story,” and “Explore Our Brand,” users are encouraged to dive deeper into the company’s values, history, and products. This makes the journey seamless and inviting, driving engagement with the brand.
Dedicated Tab for Key Features
and Offers
Understanding that users may be drawn to specific offerings, we created a tab system that highlights the key features and services available on the platform. This enables users to quickly access the information they’re most interested in, improving the overall navigation experience.
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Direct Access to Features: The tab presents an easily accessible overview of important services such as website creation tools, design collaboration, and other unique features. This allows users to quickly jump to the areas that are most relevant to their needs, reducing friction and improving usability.
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Highlighting Offers and Updates: In addition to functionality, the tab also serves as a place to showcase any ongoing offers or new features on the page. By keeping users informed of promotions or updates in real-time, we ensure that they are always aware of what’s new and can act on time-sensitive opportunities without hassle.
Customized Website Preview
in the Banner
To further personalize the experience and engage users, we incorporated a customized website preview directly within the banner. This feature allows visitors to visualize what their future website could look like based on the available templates and options.
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Interactive and Engaging: Users can interact with a dynamic mockup of a sample website, showcasing how their brand could be represented online. This not only demonstrates the capabilities of the platform but also serves as a powerful call-to-action for users to start building their own site.
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Personalization: By offering a tailored preview, we add a sense of ownership for the user. This helps users feel more connected to the process and excited about creating a personalized experience, increasing the likelihood of conversion and engagement.
Screenshot of the design
Screenshot of the screen in use
These strategic updates ensure that users have a smoother, more engaging experience while navigating the site. From celebrating the brand’s refreshed identity to offering intuitive navigation and interactive features, each element was designed to enhance user engagement, improve ease of use, and guide users toward meaningful interactions with the brand.
Validation
This project was launched as an experiment in two locations to assess its impact on usability, user engagement, and conversion metrics over three months. The results validated the success of the redesign across several key areas:
100% Increase in Usability
The changes made the site significantly easier to navigate, leading to a 100% improvement in usability. Users were able to interact with the site more effectively, reducing confusion.
Greater Confidence in Next Steps
The new design provided users with well-defined pathways, making them more confident in their next actions, from adding to the cart to exploring features, leading to higher engagement.
Overall Success for Customers and the Team
The project proved successful, as evidenced by the positive results over three months. The improvements benefitted both users and the team, providing valuable insights and a stronger foundation for future enhancements.
Better Insight into Customer Needs
Clear navigation also helped us better understand user preferences. This insight allowed us to refine our OKRs and align our efforts with customer expectations more effectively.
Improved Awareness of Available Options
Customers gained a clearer understanding of available products and services, thanks to improved visibility and organized navigation, encouraging more exploration.
In short, this experiment not only enhanced the user experience but also offered actionable data that guided strategic planning and led to increased customer satisfaction.