gentle blob

An e-commerce website concept designed to create an intuitive and joyful shopping experience that perfectly mirrors the adorable and delightful nature of the products that are offered

Timeline

3 months

Role

UX Designer

Tools

Photoshop

Figma

Context

I started my own small online business called gentle blob because I wanted to use my artistic creativity to design cute and lovely stationary and everyday products. My goal was to create an e-commerce website that is enjoyable and easy to navigate, while capturing the adorable essence of the brand.

The Challenge

Creating the Gentle Blob website presents a unique design challenge: to harmoniously blend an adorable aesthetic with the robust functionality and trustworthy user experience required of a successful e-commerce platform.

Specifically, this involves:

Balancing Whimsy with Usability: The primary challenge is to ensure that the "gentle blob" character, soft colors, and playful micro-interactions enhance, rather than detract from, core e-commerce usability. We must design a navigation system, product display, and checkout process that is intuitive, clear, and efficient, preventing the "cute" elements from causing visual clutter or confusion. The goal is delight, not distraction.

Maintaining Consistent Brand Personality and Trust: While the brand is playful, the website must still convey professionalism and security for transactions. The challenge lies in consistently applying the "gentle blob" personality across all touchpoints – from product imagery to error messages – in a way that reinforces brand identity without undermining user trust or making the site feel juvenile.

Scalability of Cuteness: As the product catalog grows, the design needs to accommodate a diverse range of stationery and other products without losing its curated, charming feel. The challenge is to create a flexible design system that can scale gracefully, allowing for easy product discovery and organization, while preserving the intimate and delightful browsing experience that defines Gentle Blob.

Research

I took inspiration from the soft colors and “cute” aesthetic from the gentle blob personality and products, and I referenced some of the core functionality from successful e-commerce websites.

gentle blob Products

Website References

Ideation

To get a clearer vision of content and information layout across various screens, I started off with a few sketches to explore the overall composition and refine my design direction.

Wireframe

Focusing on core functionality, I created a collection of low-fidelity wireframes, intentionally deferring detailed color application until the visual design stage.

Final Design

Utilizing Figma, I translated my wireframes into high-fidelity designs, bringing the user experience to life. My goal was to create a visually harmonious interface, establish coherence across interactions, provide effortless navigation and a delightful checkout process.

Check out the gentle blob website!

Reflection

While creating this website concept for gentle blob, it offered a rich learning experience in product design. My primary objective was to create a harmonious blend of strong, playful brand aesthetic with the robust functionality and user trust essential for an e-commerce platform.

Realized the importance of prioritizing clear navigation, intuitive product displays, and a straightforward checkout flow before layering on the visual delight in order to prevent user frustration.

Gained a deeper appreciation for how subtle micro-interactions and consistent visual language can build brand personality without sacrificing clarity.

Exploring this niche market highlighted the importance of designing for a specific emotional experience. Gentle Blob isn't just selling products; it's selling joy, creativity, and a touch of playfulness.

After seeing the final design, here's what I could have done better:

Make the font bigger for the menu and product description for better readability.
Using a different color for the text that would still complement the pink theme in order to differentiate the heading and subheading.
Adding a wishlist functionality so that users can save their favorite products as the catalog expands.

In conclusion, while the website design could use a few improvements, I learned that true delight in product design comes from a thoughtful integration of captivating aesthetics with uncompromising usability, ensuring the user's journey is not only functional but also consistently enchanting.