Nick Huston Hair

Developed a responsive website to streamline Nick Huston's manual booking process and enhance brand presence. The new platform addresses last-minute cancellations, reduces manual booking time, and attracts new clients.

Background

Nick Huston Hair salon, a renowned hairstylist known for his personalized and empowering approach, approached me to revitalize their online presence. Their existing booking process was manual and inefficient, leading to challenges with last-minute cancellations and difficulty attracting new clients.

Nick's vision was to create a streamlined online experience that would not only simplify the booking process but also elevate their brand and reach a wider audience

Process

To address Nick's specific needs and align with his brand values, I employed a human-centered design approach. This involved:

  • User Research: Conducting in-depth interviews with existing and potential clients to understand their booking preferences, pain points, and expectations.

  • Competitive Analysis: Examining the websites and booking platforms of similar hair salons to identify best practices and potential areas for improvement.

  • Problem Definition: Clearly articulating the key challenges faced by Nick's clients, such as manual booking processes, last-minute cancellations, and difficulty discovering new services.

  • Solution Ideation: Generating and exploring various design concepts that would streamline the booking process, enhance the overall client experience, and align with Nick's brand identity.

Through this iterative process, I developed a comprehensive solution that would empower clients to easily book appointments, manage their schedules, and discover Nick's unique offerings.

Values & Pain Points

Values

  • Personalized and Intimate Experiences: Providing 1 on 1 sessions tailored to each client's individual needs and preferences.

  • Empowering Clients: Helping clients develop their sense of style, confidence, and self-image.

  • Streamlined Booking Process: Creating a convenient and efficient way for clients to book and manage appointments.

  • Client Retention: Nurturing long-term relationships with a loyal client base.

  • Effective Communication: Establishing clear and open communication channels with clients.

Pain Points

  • Appointment Abandonment: Addressing the issue of first-time clients not completing the booking process.

  • Time-Consuming Booking: Simplifying the booking process to free up Nick's time for styling services.

Vision

Nick Huston, a renowned hairstylist and industry leader, sought to create a salon that reflected his passion for providing personalized experiences and empowering clients. His vision was to establish a space where individuals could feel confident, inspired, and supported in their journey to self-expression.

Key elements of Nick's vision included:

  • Intimate Experiences: Creating a welcoming and personalized environment for clients.

  • Empowerment: Fostering a sense of confidence and self-worth in clients.

  • Team Development: Investing in his team of stylists to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to deliver exceptional service.

To bring this vision to life, Nick Huston Hair underwent a rebranding and developed a digital presence that was accessible and user-friendly on all devices.

This revised version provides a clearer focus on Nick's vision and highlights the key elements of his goals:

  • Personalized experiences: Emphasizes the importance of creating a welcoming and individualized environment.

  • Empowerment: Reinforces the desire to help clients feel confident and inspired.

  • Team development: Indicates the commitment to investing in his team's growth and success.

Research Focus

To gain a deeper understanding of our target audience and industry trends, we conducted the following research:

  • Client Booking Habits: Analyzed how clients typically book appointments, including their preferred channels and booking preferences.

  • Competitive Analysis: Examined the websites and booking platforms of competing hair salons to identify best practices, unique features, and areas for differentiation.

  • Target Audience Analysis: Identified the demographics, interests, and pain points of Nick Huston Hair's ideal clients.

This research provided valuable insights that informed the design and development of the new website, ensuring it met the specific needs and expectations of our target audience.

A thorough analysis of competing hair salons, combined with insights from our client survey, revealed a strong preference among clients for convenient online booking options. While many salons offer a diverse range of services, there is a notable lack of user-friendly booking platforms. These findings highlighted the opportunity to create a more accessible and intuitive booking experience for Nick Huston Hair's clients.

Competitive Analysis

Direct Competitors

Strengths

  • Global exposure.

  • Up to date on trends.

  • Offers a variety of services

  • Appealing design.

  • Professional atmosphere.

  • Has their own salon academy.

  • Online booking.

Weakness

  • $$$.

  • Frequent staff overturn.

  • Experience can feel inpersonal.

Strengths

  • Offers a variety of services.

  • Clean atmosphere.

  • Online booking.

  • Stylist bios.

Weakness

  • Uses a secondary business for booking.

  • Stylist are independent.

  • Salon feels disconnected.

Strengths

  • Huge celeb clientele.

  • Trend setters.

  • Offers a variety of services.

  • Chique atmosphere.

  • Online booking.

  • Passionate intimate team.

  • Stylist bios.

Weakness

  • $$$.

  • No walk-ins.

Strengths

  • Offers a variety of services.

  • Specializes in hair extensions.

  • Online booking.

  • One stylist offers personal interactions.

Weakness

  • Site hard to navigate.

  • Booking is confusing.

  • Doesn’t have a gallery page.

  • Site lacking a professional feel.

Competitive Analysis Findings

  • Client Preference for Online Booking: Clients overwhelmingly prefer convenient online booking options.

  • Diverse Service Offerings: Most salons offer a wide range of services to cater to various client needs.

  • Limited Online Presence: Many competitors lack a robust online presence, particularly in terms of user-friendly booking platforms.

Salon Survey

SWOT Analysis

A comprehensive SWOT analysis was conducted to identify Nick Huston Hair's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. As illustrated in the diagram below, key findings include:

This analysis revealed a clear need to improve online visibility, booking capabilities, and service offerings to address the salon's weaknesses and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

How Might We…

  • Enhance Client Discovery: How can we increase awareness of Nick's hairstylist services and make it easier for potential clients to discover and book appointments?

  • Streamline the Booking Process: How can we simplify the booking process for both Nick and his clients, reducing confusion and improving communication?

  • Personalize the Client Experience: How can we tailor the booking process and client interactions to meet the individual needs and preferences of each client?

Lo-Fi Wireframes

To visualize the proposed design solutions, I created low-fidelity wireframes that focused on the core functionalities of the booking process. These wireframes incorporated insights from user research, competitive analysis, and the "How Might We..." statements.

The primary goal was to streamline the booking process, making it intuitive and efficient for clients. Key elements of the wireframes included:

  • Clear and concise navigation: Ensuring users could easily find the information and features they needed.

  • Intuitive booking interface: Designing a user-friendly calendar and appointment selection process.

  • Personalized client information: Allowing clients to save their preferences and details for future bookings.

  • Secure payment processing: Implementing a safe and reliable payment gateway.

Solution

To validate the design concepts and gather user feedback, I created a high-fidelity prototype based on the lo-fi wireframes. This prototype focused on the core booking journey, allowing potential users to experience the process firsthand.

Through usability testing, I identified and addressed any pain points or areas for improvement. The final prototype incorporated the following key features:

  • Intuitive booking interface: A user-friendly calendar and appointment selection process.

  • Personalized client profiles: A space for clients to save their preferences and details.

  • Secure payment processing: A reliable and secure payment gateway.

  • Clear and concise navigation: Easy-to-use menus and navigation elements.

By focusing on these essential features, the solution aimed to streamline the booking process and enhance the overall client experience.

Hi-Fi Wireframes

Usability Test Planning

To evaluate the effectiveness and usability of the design, I conducted a series of usability tests with four participants aged 18-43. The participants were asked to:

  • Navigate the website: Assess the ease of finding information and completing tasks.

  • Book an appointment: Evaluate the intuitiveness and efficiency of the booking process.

  • Provide feedback: Share their thoughts and suggestions for improvement.

Usability Test Findings & Iterations

The usability testing revealed valuable insights that informed the final iterations of the design. Key findings included:

  • High Completion Rate: All participants successfully completed the booking process, indicating a positive user experience.

  • Positive Design Perception: Participants unanimously praised the professional, cohesive, and well-organized design.

  • Areas for Improvement: Minor refinements were identified to further enhance usability.

Based on these findings, the following iterations were implemented:

  • Calendar Refinement: The calendar interface was redesigned for improved ease of use and navigation.

  • Sign-In Page Addition: A sign-in page was introduced to allow clients to create accounts, manage their appointments, and track promotions.

  • Calendar Integration: An option was added to allow clients to directly add appointments to their personal calendars.

These changes aimed to further streamline the booking process and provide a more personalized experience for clients.

Mobile Designs

To ensure a seamless experience across devices, the design was optimized for mobile users. The mobile version incorporated the same core features and functionality as the desktop version, while adapting the layout and interactions to suit smaller screens.

Key considerations for the mobile design included:

  • Responsive layout: Ensuring the website adapts to different screen sizes and orientations.

  • Touchscreen optimization: Designing intuitive touch-based interactions.

  • Simplified navigation: Streamlining menus and navigation elements for easier use on mobile devices.

The mobile version was designed to provide a consistent and user-friendly experience for clients on the go.

Next Steps

Key Learnings

  • Collaborative Design: Working closely with stakeholders to ensure their needs and preferences were reflected in the design.

  • Responsive Design: The importance of creating a consistent and user-friendly experience across different devices.

Future Directions

  • Further Refinements: Continue to iterate and refine the design based on ongoing user feedback and evolving needs.

  • Additional Features: Develop additional features, such as a "Salon Details" page, "Gallery" page, and "About" page, to enhance the overall user experience.

  • Continuous Testing: Prioritize ongoing usability testing to identify areas for improvement and ensure the product remains relevant and effective.