Building Tools of the Future
Scaling a 3D web app to design and purchase custom perforated metal.
Background
ImageWall's online platform to design and purchase perforated metal walls was growing, but sustaining the growth required an infrastructure upgrade.
C1
Overview
We partnered with the ImageWall team to prototype, develop and launch a completely rebuilt 3D web experience that focused on streamlining the customization and sales process, so they could scale their product without hiring more staff. The collaborative effort resulted in a faster, more intuitive user experience tightly integrated with secure online payment options so a customer could go from design to purchase completely online–no humans required.
Scope
Strategy
Prototyping
UI/UX
Design
Development
C2
Divide and Conquer
With a short timeline we elected to split into groups and work in tandem. Part of our team tackled the marketing website, custom CMS and user authentication while the rest jumped into prototyping the 3D web app's UI and customization interface. We held weekly video chats with the ImageWall team to discuss design decisions and feedback on the working prototypes, folding new ideas and directions into the following week's mockups.
C3
Iterative Process
Creating an intuitive user experience was a priority; the further a customer could take their design to completion the less they would need to engage with the sales team. We drilled down into every detail, iterating and testing interactive prototypes with users and teammates unfamiliar with the project to understand behavior patterns and common questions.
C4
Fast Customization
The editor's final layout was informed by a desire to make sure every customization was, at most, a single click away. Grouping similar options and surfacing the most important ones let us create an elegant hierarchy that guided user's actions and exposed the power of ImageWall's editor as quickly as possible. Live pricing updates offer instant feedback and key users into the next part of their journey: payment.
C5
Instant Invoicing
We opted to integrate two purchasing methods: credit card payments via Stripe, and a more traditional emailed invoice. Upon purchase completion the new system programmatically generates a PDF invoice and emails it to the customer along with a service agreement–offloading the manual follow up process to save time and increase reliability.
C6
All Together Now
While a major focus of the project was the 3D experience, the
ImageWall platform encompasses much more. The marketing website,
CMS, user profiles, and administrative area all contribute to
powering ImageWall's growth, and streamlining its management.
While it's still early we've received great feedback from the
team, and the metrics look promising.
See it live at
imagewall.com