Being a tea lover I had discovered that even though there are many different types of tea that are all very different, there are no good lists for finding and discovering tea. For this project I created a database of 100 different types of tea. This database would be transferred to an interface for users to be able to sort and find the type of tea they are looking for, or to discover new teas.
Here is an image of what my dataset looks like but if you would like to see the full list you can find it here.
Landscape analysis is meant to help develop an understanding of the design aspects of a certain product or website. This is done by finding and evaluating other products with similar user goals and comparing the strengths and weaknesses of each one. The purpose of this landscape analysis is to take a closer look at how Websites work around large datasets of 100 items or more with multiple categories.
Cheese.com does a great job at showing how to organize many products with multiple categories while continuing to make it look clean and user friendly. Clearly, they focus on categories that their users are more interested in so that the site does not seem cluttered by other category filters that are not needed. One thing they should reconsider is that on this site many people may be there in search of products they wish to buy. While the site has all the information on the cheese, as well as images, there is no way to purchase the cheese. They also do not refer you to a seller so, unfortunately, the user runs into dead end if they wish to purchase the product.
PCPartPicker does a good job at showing there can never be enough filtering options when you are shopping for a product. They automatically show what they think is the best product from your filter options, by looking at user ratings and popularity. They also make sure that every part you pick is compatible with other parts on your build list. They do so automatically, thereby keeping things very easy to use for new and experienced pc builders. While they do not sell products directly they make it very easy for you to either find the product site to make your purchase, or you can purchase everything right on the PCPartPicker site and they will handle getting it shipped to you from the different product sellers.
The main factor effecting your user's interactions with your site is the user flow. User flow is the path a user takes through a website to get to their destination, or to complete a task. To ensure users have the best experience with your website you must create a user flow that best fits their needs. Below is a sample of a user flow for a user looking at different earthy tasting black teas.
A style guide is important to define and follow so that your brand can be established and users will readily recognize and associate the style with your brand. It is important that you have unique logo and color pallet along with fonts that all match and compliment each other. Below are some images from the style guide used in this project.
Even if you think you have a solid idea for a project it is important to make multiple wireframes to explore more ideas and make sure that the one you pick is the best for the users. Below are 5 wireframes created for the tea database website.
Below is an image of what the final product for a tea database would look on the web.
