Start Stitching
Learn by doing
School of Visual Concepts UX Writing and Content Design solo e-commerce project.
Problem
Users interested in garment sewing need to visit many different resources to learn the hobby.
Solution
Group products into kits for purchase, and add contextual information to empower users to make informed choices.
Time
7 months (part time)
My role
Content strategist
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UX research
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Content design
During the 2020 pandemic, I got into sewing and taught myself how to sew my own clothes. As I was learning, I observed that garment sewing is full of jargon. Instructions were filled with names of stitches (zigzag stitch), machine parts (walking foot), and other terminology (drape, notions).
What if a site existed that taught the new user these unfamiliar terms and gave them an opportunity to apply it immediately in choosing components for a project?
Research
Competitive analysis
I spent some time on craft sites to find out what resources were made available for new sewists. Larger craft sites such as JOANN or Michael's offered plenty of supplies, but not as much in the way of education. Smaller, specialized craft sites such as Sew Liberated or Seamwork offered educational resources, but are not aimed at beginners. Additionally, many resources exist behind a paywall.
Interviews
From my own experience, I knew that sewing clothing sounds fun, but it also sounds intimidating. When looking at patterns for garments or for fabrics I might use, I kept coming across terms I didn't know, or would come across information that was more important than I realized. This was confirmed by interviews with participants who were familiar with basic sewing and mending.
"I didn’t realize that there was [a difference between cotton fabrics]. That’s one of the most overwhelming things. Why would you pick one over the other? It’s not just how if feels, but can it go in the washer and dryer? Why you would choose one over the other? And how do you care for the garment?” -O, interview participant
User goals
Learn the basics of sewing.
Get familiar with common sewing terminology.
Feel equipped with enough information to tackle a project.
Content design strategy
Based on my research, I developed guiding principles for the site:
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Keep decision-making simple.
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Teach new terminology in context whenever possible.
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When jargon is used, make definitions clear.
1. Keep decision-making simple.
One of the appealing things about creating your own clothing can be the opportunity for creativity and self-expression, Because getting started with sewing clothing can be intimidating, To lower cognitive load, I focused on simplifying decision points. Each pattern is presented with a limited number of project-appropriate fabrics, making a choice is easier to make with confidence.
2. Teach terminology in context.
When jargon is used, definitions should be easily available. Each time a Along with providing definitions of terms along the way, I designed a support section to give customers more assistance once they received their purchases.
Start Stitching mid-fi prototype
Final user testing and results
For the final round of usability testing, participants were asked to complete two tasks:
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You want to buy a garment kit. Purchase the Estuary skirt, choose fabric, and add it to your cart.
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You have opened your order and an expected item is missing. How would you go about resolving the problem?
100% of participants were able to complete the task as requested, validating my content organization approach.
Learnings and additional content recommendations
The key learning from this project is that audiences are better able to engage with content groupings when they are easy to filter, are presented in bite-size pieces, and enhanced with interactive content.
Additional opportunities exist for PETA to improve their no-kill shelter content, as well as similar topic pages. I recommend considering:
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Consolidating content from similar pages into a single destination.
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Leverage cross-linking opportunities with related topic pages to deepen understanding.
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Increase engagement opportunities on related topic pages by adding multimedia elements such as additional interactive features and video.