• Nike By You


    Problem solving a mobile app experience for customers to build and customize shoes.

  • Process


    1 - Research
    2 - Prototype
    3 - Reflection

  • Role / Duration


    User Research
    Interaction Design
    Prototype

    1 week

  • Overview


    Nike By You, formerly known as NikeiD, is a digital platform that allows users to create their custom colored and designed sneakers. The primary purpose of this UX project is to improve the user experience, making it easier, more intuitive, and enjoyable for customers to design and purchase custom Nike footwear.

    This project was meant to support "Nike By You" with the development of a mobile version of the platform.

  • Problem


    Nike By You allows customers to digitally customize and purchase their own pair of shoes. The existing app left users confused on differentiating and navigating components within the shoe builder. A product manager came to me with this problem expecting different prototypes to solve the problem.

  • Solution


    Show All Components: Enable users to effortlessly pick any component, be it the base, midsole, dubrae, or back-tab logo, without the need to repeatedly return to reset the view.

    Labels: Familiarize users with the different parts of a shoe, with labels appearing when the view is reset using the "eye" button in the top left corner.

    Carrot Indicator: Hint at the option to drag the dialog box downward, revealing all available patterns for user customization, with a slower animation for the dialog box to appear.

RESEARCH

How Might We

I need to understand what customers need in order to comfortably customize their own shoe on a mobile platform. Here are a few questions to help guide the direction of the design.

Make it easier for users to select and customize shoe materials and colors to feel confident in their design choices?
Streamline the navigation within the app to help users effortlessly switch between different shoe design elements, such as soles, laces, and patterns?
Improve the app's guidance and tooltips to help new users understand the design features and customization options?

Moderated Usability Study

The Nike team provided me with a prototype of the shoe builder which I used to conduct moderated usability test with five (5) users from ages 18-57. I conducted these tests with friends and family.

Each user was tasked with navigating the app and customizing the shoe to his, her, or their liking. After each study I asked a series of follow-up questions to better gauge their experience with the app.

Secondary Research

The Nike By You team also provided their own research which I took as secondary research. It shown a screen recording of a user who was testing the 3D builder. The task was to successfully navigate and customize six portions of the shoe: Backtab Logo, Midsole, Midsole "Air" Logo, Outsole, Base, and Dubrae. The short (<2 min) recording displayed the user struggling to figure out a way to go in and out of different shoe components.

PROTOTYPE

Show All Components

• Eliminates having to constantly “go back” to “reset” the view.

• Allows users to easily select any component no matter what view they are in: base, midsole, dubrae, or back-tab logo.

Labels

• Serves as a guide to those unfamiliar with the anatomy of a shoe.

• Labels appear when resetting the view with the “eye” button on the top left.

Carrot Indicator.

• Suggests an interaction or ability to drag the dialogue box down

• Uncovers all available patterns for users to customize

REFLECTION

After presenting these ideas to the product manager, Nike By You may consider adopting the slowed, animated window and added carrot to their 3D builder to solve their issue of users' trouble navigating in and out of components. This potential solution could significantly enhance the user experience, making it more intuitive and user-friendly.

This was a fairly short collaboration that I wasn't able to see through to the end with the NBY team. If I had more time, I would have liked to conduct more usability testing with the added features, involving a larger number of participants. Such testing would provide valuable insights into how these changes affect the user experience and whether they indeed address the navigation issues effectively.

I'd be interested to find out if the user experience would improve and provide the Nike By You team with tangible benefits. By conducting further research and gathering user feedback, we could refine the design and ensure that it aligns with the users' needs and preferences, ultimately contributing to the success of the custom shoe design app.

End.