ux case study

brass antics

Stylish & Practical Antique goods

website redesign

DESIGN Challenge

Brass Antics seeks to streamline its sales process by transitioning from manual Instagram transactions to a self-sustaining Shopify-based platform. This shift aims to improve efficiency, reduce time-consuming tasks, and enhance long-term consumer engagement.

What is brass antics?

Marcela Morales, the founder, sparked the idea for Brass Antics with her deep love for vintage and mid-century home decor, particularly brass items, which evolved into a business. Its mission revolves around mindful consumption, thoughtfully sourced, one-of-a-kind pieces that are both stylish and practical.  
Figma
Figjam 
ChatGpt
Adobe Suite

Tools

team

Neil Hedlund
Sharon Hechtenkopf 
Vivian Loh

Role

UX Design Interface Design

time

Winter 2023 
2 Week Sprint

deliverable

Website redesign

problem :

Vintage enthusiasts are driven by the thrill of discovery of high-quality antique items with a history  — a story they can share. However, when shopping online platforms:
● Lack updated inventory which demotivates users to return. 
● Lack detailed descriptions & pictures 
● Lack photos displaying true conditions of items.
This lack of transparency leaves users feeling insecure when making a purchase online.

Solution:

Brass Antics is a website that offers vintage enthusiasts the ability to discover a vintage item’s craftsmanship & flaws through:
● Enabling broad filtering categories (price range and availability)

● Capturing detailed pictures (showing scratches, chips, wear and tear)
● Writing detailed descriptions (Hand feel, dimensions, and weight)
 The website is strengthened by the founder’s unique aesthetic, & her personal touches. Providing an e-commerce experience that values transparency & authenticity, users feel secure purchasing.

To gain insights we started by interviewing users of brass antics and vintage shoppers

Types of questions we asked:

  1. What are the challenges of shopping for vintage and antiques?

  2. What do you dislike about online vs. in-store vintage shopping?

  3. Why do you enjoy vintage and antique goods?

Synthesized data into trends and discovered when users buy vintage they look for:

USER QUOTE : “I like to see and feel a vintage item in my hands, I can’t tell what the quality is like online.”

Users like to see and feel a vintage item in person, they are not sure what the quality is online.

INSIGHT : HANDFEEL

USER QUOTE : “Vintage and antique items stand out for their uniqueness, history, quality, and craftsmanship, which are lacking in modern mass-produced items”.

INSIGHT : CRAFTSMANSHIP

Users buy vintage over new items, because of its unique and high-quality craftsmanship that is not easily found in the modern day.

USER QUOTE: “A lot of times I am not looking for anything in particular, it’s more about the joy of discovery and adventure”.

INSIGHT : SENSE OF DISCOVERY

Users shop for vintage in person for the thrill of discovery.

Which gave us a defined understanding of our user 

Meet Antique Anne
  • A 38-year-old professional juggling between work and two young children.
  • An intentional shopper, she values well-crafted vintage items with a rich history.
  • Lack of time due to parenting, Annie prefers online shopping for its convenience.

  • ● Shop online for vintage in her spare time

    ● Shop small businesses

    ● Decorate her home as per her unique style

    ● Enjoy shopping for the thrill of discoveries

  • ● Shares stories about her vintage finds in-person & on social media

    ● Willing to invest in items that are valuable to her

    ● Would drive 20-40 minutes to shop vintage, but not often able to do so

    ● Shops online for large inventory and convenience

  • ● Not being able to see or feel a product in person

    ● Needs to make time for in-person shopping

    ● Product listings that lack detailed information

    ● Product photography that doesn’t capture imperfections

This led us to wonder how can we satisfy Anne & users like her 

  1. Translate in-store shopping sense of joy and discovery into an online experience?
  2. Provide clarity about the vintage item’s material and flaws?
  3. Make searching for a specific vintage item online more efficient?
  4. Keep users informed of new inventory so that they shop on the website?
After synthesizing interview insights and examining the problem, we conducted an analysis on the key aspects of the following companies:

Competitive & Comparative analysis

After understanding the users, research and defining the problem and solution we starting sketching interface ideas

We sketched multiple user interface ideas in 15-minute sessions, followed brainstorming rounds. We repeated this process allowing for iterative refinement.

This brought us to our Prototypes

We performed user tests with Brass Antics current costumers.

PROMPT: "Imagine you saw 'Libbey glasses' in a new arrivals Instagram post during your lunch break. Now, in the comfort of your home, we'd like you to browse through the website and simulate making a purchase later tonight

pivotal insight

Prompt directed users to 'New Arrivals' or 'Tableware & Glassware,' but 100% of users clicked on 'Shop All.' In response, we designed 'The Shop All' top section featuring call-to-action images with labels same as the primary navigation. This allows users who don't find the desired product on the first page of 'Shop All' to explore other sections, while leisure-motivated shoppers continue browsing on the 'Shop All' page till the find what they are searching.

High Fidelity

Low Fidelity

The above was also a solution to the below user quotes:

“Sometimes it’s overwhelming to click on shop all and see everything”

“I'm an organic shopper, I know what I want. But I want to see what else is out there”

Hi Fidelity Branding 

Created our component library for high-fidelity prototypes, integrating typography, iconography, and brand colors

Final Results...

High fidelity prototype that provides:
  1. Users the ability to discover & get to know a vintage item’s craftsmanship & imperfections viadetailed pictures, descriptions & broad filtering categories. 
  2. Providing an e-commerce experience that values transparency & authenticity, users feel secure purchasing. 
  3. Reduces transactional burdens for Marcela and enhance long-term consumer engagement and sales through a website.
Designing a instagram based store through our redesigned shopify website so her users dont have to switch platforms to make a purchase since her entire customer base exists on instagram.

Next steps...

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