Project
Improving search functionality and creating a more cohesive user flow when searching across uscellular.com
Improving search functionality and creating a more cohesive user flow when searching across uscellular.com
Challenge
Because of the way the customer website was built, two different search tools were set up on uscellular.com for static and dynamic areas of the site, resulting in a disconnect in the look and experience when searching from within either informational or shopping pages. One of these tools needed improvements that could help to unify the appearance and user flow, and make the search experience more seamless site-wide.
Role
My role in this project was to create pixel-perfect visual designs, which would provide styling specs for the development team, while also serving as a visual reference for the project team as user experience needs and functional requirements were established.
I collaborated closely with the UX architect, gathering data on the common requirements and user expectations for search engines, while also considering the unique mindset of our site visitors.
I collaborated closely with the UX architect, gathering data on the common requirements and user expectations for search engines, while also considering the unique mindset of our site visitors.
While designing the user interface, there were a number of factors to consider, including designing for multiple screen sizes and meeting accessibility standards. Additionally, to align with the company's recent rebranding, new visual styles needed to be integrated as they were rolled out onto the rest of the site.
Process
As the project team collaborated to assemble requirements for the project, the UX architect and I researched search experience user flows and UI patterns, gathering inspiration from on-site search engines used by eCommerce sites both within and outside of our industry. Beyond the baseline functional requirements, our research helped to inform important recommendations for the user flow, such as organizing results in an intuitive way, predicting the user's intention, and determining the most useful content to include in a search result, while also working within any technical limitations of the tool and available site data.
Sample search UI, demonstrating autocomplete function once 3+ characters are entered into the search bar.
Sample search results page. When a user enters an incomplete search term, the system is designed to default to product-based results, with shopping being the most common use case for search within our eCommerce site.
Keywords: UX, UI, user experience, user interface, responsive design, branding, ADA, WCAG, accessibility