issues at hand:

Eyrievinyards.com is a website providing scores of information about the Lett family and their legacy. Visitors looking to purchase wine may have difficulty navigating through the site due to the vague language of the navigation headers.

the plan

I sought to redesign the site with a simpler layout, clear choices, and a way of representing their products in a more organized manner. I also decided to explore the brand’s tone and how they reflect it in the website.

Discovery and Research

history (DEDICATION TO QUALITY WINE)

The website includes valuable information on family history, the winemaking process, and their commitment to an organic wine. They follow a 21-step cellar certification process that highlights their dedication to delivering high quality wine.

original impressions (BRANDING)

Most of the photographs on the site are presented in black and white conveying a minimalist style that showcases their history.

competition

Ceja Vineyards's navigation is clear and easy to navigate; you can immediately check your cart in the top right corner. The product page shows the product with a textbox of its label, image, description, and price in a clear, concise, and orderly manner.

Caduceus's site has an immediate call to action; the red scheme starts at the top and leads the eye to the "Buy Wine" button in the bottom center. The market location for Caduceus is Arizona so the demographics may be a little varied. The layout for the site limits the amount of text, and includes general merchandise; the information is presented in a hierarchical manner and the user is not overwhelmed by less important details.

Meet Daniella

Layout and Structure

site map

affinity diagrams

revised sitemap

user flow

sketching

Testing Phases

wireframes

usability testing

1. You want to learn more about the Eyre family heritage because you are new to the brand.

2. You want to see more information on their locations because you want to schedule a tour.

3. You would like to order a bottle of wine but would like to check to see if there are any distributors. It would be good to gather some details about the product you are thinking of ordering.

Hi-Fi Mockups

prototype

Next Steps

If given more time I would:

• Perform more usability tests to find any patterns or general issues that may have been overlooked previously

• Perform a visual competitive analysis to explore different ways in conveying the brand image

• Create a secondary persona more involved in the wine industry (someone knowledgeable or even a wine connoisseur) to test whether the redesign meets their needs

conclusions

Through the content strategy used in my process, the navigation links are clearer, the sitemap is simpler, and the products are limited to the product list and product detail pages. These changes make for a more organized website.

Final Thoughts

reflections

Time management was one of the first challenges I experienced while working on this project. I was given two weeks to complete starting from the research stage to generating a prototype ready for testing. I needed to be cognizant of how much time I allocated to each stage of the process. Without direct communication with the client, I found it difficult to narrow the scope and implement changes within such a short amount of time.

Branding was also an issue in that it was unclear whether the images conveyed on the site was intentional or a result of the medium. For example, the black and white images appear grainy; I found myself at a loss to determine whether the company wanted to portray a sense of nostalgia or if it was simply due to the quality of the photos.

The persona was used to represent new users to the site and those who are not well-versed in the varieties of wine (such as myself). At times during the process, I questioned the way in which she discovered the site and whether it was likely that she would visit. As time went by, I looked to explain these concerns through the user flow.

Lessons learned were:  

• In a feedback session, I discovered that by providing more information about the company and its motivations could better demonstrate the strategy I took in developing the UX design process.

• Exploring more of what design elements affect Daniella would provide a more realistic picture of not only the key user flows but also the persona herself.

• The wireframes could have been more lower fidelity; focusing too much on aesthetics in the middle of the design process slows down the work flow.

about the eyrie vineyards

The Lett family has been delivering natural, organic wine based on family commitment to quality since 1965. They also offer tours of the original site where winemaking in Oregon started.