Re-Qs

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TIMELINE

March - May 2024

ROLE

UX Designer & Researcher

TOOLS

Figma, Miro, Illustrator

DELIVERABLES

Web Design

OVERVIEW AND APPROACH

The Eco-Friendly Q-Tip That Keeps Your Ears and the Planet Clean, One Refill at a Time ♻️

This project involves designing a sign-up flow for Re-Qs, an innovative subscription-based company offering the world's first green reusable Q-Tip. Re-Qs consists of an ergonomic base and compostable Q-Tip ends. The product operates on a subscription model, delivering new tip ends regularly. While one-time purchases are possible, the design challenge is to create a sign-up process that prioritizes and encourages subscriptions, allowing users to choose their auto-ship frequency while subtly discouraging non-subscription options. The goal is to maximize subscription sign-ups and retention, blending sustainability with a recurring revenue business model. Focused on creating a user-centric website design that subtly guides visitors towards subscribing to Re-Qs' auto-ship service.

View Prototype

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Re-Qs aims to reduce single-use plastic waste by offering a reusable Q-Tip product, but faces the challenge of encouraging sustainable behavior while maintaining a profitable subscription model. The key problem is designing a user experience that prioritizes environmental impact, while subtly encouraging users to subscribe to monthly Q-Tip refills despite the option to reuse the product. This project navigates the tension between promoting sustainability and driving consistent revenue.

TARGET USERS AND DEMOGRAPHICS

Designed for the eco-conscious: A smart, sustainable choice for modern lifestyles 👤

The target demographic for Re-Qs includes environmentally conscious individuals aged 25-45 who prioritize sustainability and value convenience. These urban professionals or young families with moderate to high incomes are tech-savvy, socially aware, and actively engaged in eco-friendly practices. While motivated to reduce waste, they may need encouragement to consistently subscribe to product refills.

USER RESEARCH

The process began with thorough research into user preferences and needs. Conducted a survey to understand the importance of sustainability. Researched people's opinions about sustainable products and subscription services.

Primary Research

Our survey revealed that regular need and affordability are key drivers for subscribing to products. Sustainability is a high priority for respondents, though most are not currently subscribed to any products. These insights suggest a strong potential market for Re-Qs, with an emphasis on highlighting both the environmental benefits and cost-effectiveness of the subscription.

User Personas

To better understand and address the needs of our target audience, we developed two user personas for Re-Qs. These personas represent the key demographics and motivations of our potential users, guiding the design process to ensure the product and subscription model resonate with their values, behaviors, and lifestyle choices.

Affinity Map

MARKET RESEARCH

Focused on analyzing successful subscription models, particularly those of Amazon's subscription services and Curology. We studied their approaches to user retention, pricing strategies, and the balance between convenience and personalization. This comparison provided valuable insights into designing an effective subscription flow for Re-Qs.

DESIGN

Ideation first, Figma second 🎨

Low-Fidelity

Sketched out my ideas for possible screens before we moved onto Figma. I wanted to have a basic understanding of what types of pages and screens our website would have, so I scribbled a few lo-fi wireframes to better help my team and I visualize our ideas better.

Style Guide

We created a style guide highlighting our font style and primary colors. We chose green as it represents relaxation, calmness, and harmony. The Re-Qs style guide was created to ensure a cohesive and recognizable brand identity across all touchpoints.

SOLUTION

User-friendly design with subtle nudges towards subscription-based refills

First Iteration

We focused on translating initial ideas into tangible designs, creating low-fidelity wireframes and prototypes. This phase allowed us to explore the user flow, refine key interactions, and ensure that the subscription process was intuitive and aligned with our sustainability goals. Feedback from this iteration informed subsequent improvements, setting the foundation for a seamless and engaging user experience.

Second Iteration

In the second iteration of the Re-Qs project, we refined our designs based on feedback from the initial wireframes. This phase involved enhancing the user interface, improving the visual design, and optimizing the subscription flow to better align with user expectations and business objectives.

User Testing Outcomes

Felt visuals are appealing and helped convey the mission effectively.
Users felt it was too expensive.
They found unsubscribing and editing the order difficult.

DELIVERABLES and FAQs

A ton of research and 2 design iterations later 📝

Prototype and Report

Once we completed the research, prototyping and user testing phases, we compiled all our research and findings into a final report and presented to our class! Here's the link to the final presentation.

Here's the Figma Prototype!

Design Strategies Used

Emphasis was placed on intuitive navigation and clear calls to action, guiding users naturally through the subscription process. We emphasized the eco-friendly aspects of Re-Qs, highlighting the sustainability of the product in our messaging. Strategically placed popups were used to remind users of ongoing promotions, subscription benefits, and limited-time offers.

Reflections and Learnings

This project provided invaluable insights into the complex balance between business objectives and ethical design. Working on Re-Qs, I learned firsthand how easy it can be to slip into the use of dark patterns, such as making cancellations difficult or subtly pushing users toward actions that benefit the business more than the user. Through this experience, I became aware of the ethical implications of design decisions and the importance of transparency and user trust. It reinforced the need to prioritize user well-being while still meeting business goals. It deepened my understanding of how to create designs that are both effective and responsible, aligning with both user needs and my own moral standards as a designer. As Nir Eyal explains in his book, while habit-forming or other dark patterns can be powerful tools for creating value and improving user experiences, they should not be used to exploit users. This course, 'Dark Patterns,' taught me everything about ethical design while shedding light on unethical design practices. It taught me how to consider the long-term consequences of my design decisions and to advocate for ethical design principles in all my work.

One of the challenges I encountered with this project was that the product itself and the prompt we were given didn’t seem all that appealing or doable to me. But through the experience, I learned a valuable lesson about real-life work environments: as a UX designer, I won’t always love or fully agree with the ideas or products I will be working on. But it’s important to put my best effort forward, setting aside personal biases or preconceived notions to deliver the best results.

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