WELCOME TO YOUR STL HOARD
MiniHoarder
SCOPE OF WORK
UI/UX Design, EDM's
TIMELINE
Jul ‘21 -> Aug ‘21
TEAM
Han Solo
TOOLS
Figma, Photoshop
In late 2021, coming of the back of working with an incredible miniature sculptor & 3d print vendor, Embersmith, on both product & branding, I became linked up with the owner of 3d print marketplace, MiniHoarder and from there began a discussion of how I could assist the platform in achieving greater success moving into the future.
MiniHoarder had enjoyed another successful year yet there was a desire to understand what kind of design work was needed to help draw in new vendors as well as well as to increase customer retention. This began a journey of learning to better understand the landscape, the needs of customers & creators and to ultimately provide MiniHoarder with a new NorthStar for design success.
MiniHoarder had enjoyed another successful year yet there was a desire to understand what kind of design work was needed to help draw in new vendors as well as well as to increase customer retention. This began a journey of learning to better understand the landscape, the needs of customers & creators and to ultimately provide MiniHoarder with a new NorthStar for design success.
The Process
Research
Reviewed contemporary platforms and interviewed both customer and vendors to understand their needs.
Define
Conducted customer journey mapping to define success with respect to both goals & constraints.
Ideate
Starting out with just a pen and pad the moving into FIGMA I generate low level wireframes.
Design
Create mid & high fidelity wireframes for the platform with an eye to establishing a clear identity.
Research Outcomes
From speaking with a combination of vendors, consumers and also the platform owner it became clear that the biggest hurdle for success was the platform did not present to customers as they are accustomed too for a traditional marketplace.
Ultimately MH had built a great set of tool for creators to manage their assets, preview them in 3D and backup files yet the core feedback was that vendors were doing well on MH, yet better still on competitor platforms with a lower offering of tools.
Why though? Well speaking to customers and competitor analysis made on thing clear, MiniHoarder needed to present with a customer first focus, following the blueprint laid out by successful ecommerce platforms.
So that's what we did.
Ultimately MH had built a great set of tool for creators to manage their assets, preview them in 3D and backup files yet the core feedback was that vendors were doing well on MH, yet better still on competitor platforms with a lower offering of tools.
Why though? Well speaking to customers and competitor analysis made on thing clear, MiniHoarder needed to present with a customer first focus, following the blueprint laid out by successful ecommerce platforms.
So that's what we did.
Style guide
Aa
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Commissioner
Commissioner is a neutral, modern sans-serif typeface that is highly legible and versatile, making it an excellent choice for an eCommerce marketplace for fantasy and sci-fi miniatures.
Commissioner's neutral design is particularly useful, as it allows product images and descriptions to be the focus without the distraction of a typeface that is too stylized or flashy.
Commissioner's neutral design is particularly useful, as it allows product images and descriptions to be the focus without the distraction of a typeface that is too stylized or flashy.
Aa
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
Spectral SC
Spectral SC is utilised for CTA headlines due to its modern take on classical serif typefaces whilst large x-height and high legibility make it ideal for CTA headlines.
Its sharp, clean serifs and slightly curved stroke endings give it a distinctive look. that evokes a sense of elegance and sophistication, which is in line with the fantasy genre's stylings.
Its sharp, clean serifs and slightly curved stroke endings give it a distinctive look. that evokes a sense of elegance and sophistication, which is in line with the fantasy genre's stylings.
Imagery
For the hero imagery I utilized renders from the aforementioned Embersmith and created a background in photoshop tied them into the brand colors through lighting.
The goal was to create theming that could be updated with featured artists work, provided they used supplied render templates.
This way the platform could hero the artwork of it's vendors seasonally.
The goal was to create theming that could be updated with featured artists work, provided they used supplied render templates.
This way the platform could hero the artwork of it's vendors seasonally.
Colors
For colours I largely used tailwind colour palettes for their tried and tested nature.
I paired the neutral palettes with an orange palette generated from the brands primary colour, with some slight adjustments. Meeting accessibility contrast guidlines was a priority wherever necessary and the orang pair well with the darker palette in this sense.
These colours are reflected throughout hero imagery to help provide a sense of cohesion to the platform.
I paired the neutral palettes with an orange palette generated from the brands primary colour, with some slight adjustments. Meeting accessibility contrast guidlines was a priority wherever necessary and the orang pair well with the darker palette in this sense.
These colours are reflected throughout hero imagery to help provide a sense of cohesion to the platform.
Desktop Views
A selection of desktop views designed to help guide the future of MiniHoarder
Responsive Views
Responsive views across multiple breakpoints, XL, LG, MD & SM were provided, find some tablet examples below.
EDM's
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Wireframes
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Thanks for scrolling ;)
Thanks for taking the time to view this case study, MiniHoarder was a great project and the platform owner was a delight to collaborate with. I'd be happy to tell you more about this project in greater detail, just get in touch.