Atlanta BeltLine Partnership
I am a daily BeltLine user and really enjoyed working with the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership to redesign their e-commerce merchandise site. I gained experience going through the design-thinking process as a solo UX Designer, while working directly with the client to ensure the end product satisfies both business and user goals. 

CONTEXT

The Atlanta BeltLine Partnership is a non-profit that seeks to enable the Atlanta BeltLine project, engage the public, and empower residents in surrounding neighborhoods. I had the pleasure of working alongside Jess Hunt-Ralston, the Marketing & Communications Director, who hired me to lead the design strategy to redesign their online BeltLine shop that sells mainly apparel and accessories. We had four weeks to finish the project, and as we met in their newly renovated BeltLine Center for the kickoff meeting, I was excited to hit the trail running (pun intended).

THE CHALLENGE

TASK 
Redesign the BeltLine's online merchandise shop using the Square/Weebly platform in order to increase sales, supporters, and event awareness.

​TIMELINE
4-week design sprint

THE TEAM

I was the sole UX Designer and worked alongside Jess, the Marketing Director, and Kate, an external consultant who assisted with pricing and shipment.

I was responsible for the following:
UX Strategy
User Research
Information Architecture
​UI Design
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THE APPROACH

I began by meeting with the client and understanding the business goals, timeline, and project constraints. I then drafted a Scope of Work outlining my proposed plan of action; this helped the team stay on the same page as we worked on the project. Research consisted of a simplified heuristic analysis, comparative analysis, and user survey. I also conducted card sorting to determine how to group products and label them. We then moved to design, where we worked directly on the Square platform to create a prototype and final design. I regularly received feedback from the client to refine the design, and did some usability testing before finalizing and handing off to the client.

RESEARCH GOALS

  • What are the business goals? What does success look like?
  • ​What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current site?
  • What can we learn from similar online shops?
  • Who are the users and what are they interested in?​

BUSINESS GOALS

I consulted with Jess about her main goals with this redesign and she distilled them as:
  • Sell products
  • Promote & increase PERKS support (donor program)
  • Increase number of newsletter subscriptions
  • Promote events
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CURRENT OFFERING

Desktop Home
​Mobile Home
KEY USABILITY TAKEAWAYS

Design & Aesthetics
  • Branding and colors are good representation of the Atlanta BeltLine
  • Font size is small, could pose an accessibility concern for some users
  • Design hierarchy not evident, everything looks equally important
  • Product navigation is on the bottom right, hard to find
  • Social media icons in top right look outdated

Error Prevention
  • Some social media links do not work
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Consistency
  • Site looks similar to the other pages on BeltLine website and links back well (good consistency)
  • Some products have “Select options” button underneath and others have “Product Details”, but both take user to product page
  • Product descriptions vary in format and information​​

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

I then compared the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership with other similar organizations' online e-commerce sites and found that they could increase their product offering by adding a clearer top navigation, as well as features like filtering, ability to share, and an Instagram feed.
​Condensed Comparative Analysis

USER SURVEY

After conducting background research, I wanted to hear from BeltLine users and understand better who I'm designing for. I crafted a survey, and after several iterations with the help of BeltLine staff, we sent it out to our personal networks. The benefit of a BeltLine project is that so many people are passionate about the trail and eager to share their thoughts. In less than a week, we had over 100 responses! 
Click image to view full survey
SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS
The survey gathered 106 responses, with majority being 25-34 year old females without children. The second highest age group was 35-44 year olds, and there was an even representation of the 18-24, 45-54 and 55+ age groups. Out of all respondents, 61% were female, 38% male, and 1% chose not to disclose gender.

KEY SURVEY RESULTS
One important finding was that the most commonly used social media platform was Instagram. This insight was validated by the BeltLine's Instagram account, which has 103,000 followers! Jess shared that their reach was much wider on Instagram than their website and other social media platforms. 

​Another major insight the survey uncovered: 81% of respondents rated the BeltLine 8 or higher out of 10, and 95% use the BeltLine; however, only 46% of people have visited their website, and a meager 2% own BeltLine merchandise. This revealed an untapped market, a growing fanbase of people who love and use the BeltLine, and if given greater visibility, could possibly be interested in buying products to support the cause.

​The last key finding was that mobile phone and laptop are tied as the most used devices for online shopping. This revealed how important it was for the website to be mobile-friendly.

SITEMAP

DESIGN

With the main goals of: (1) selling products, (2) increasing donor support, (3) newsletter subscriptions, and (4) event promotion, I included these elements onto the scrollable home page for customers to see when they first enter the site. 

(1) The site welcomes customers with a hero image showing a BeltLine user in action. We ideated and came up with the tagline "Shop the BeltLine. Support the BeltLine." to convey that sales proceeds directly support BeltLine initiatives. I made sure to include a CTA button with a contrasting color to draw attention for customers to start shopping.

​(2) As customers scroll, they learn about the PERKS supporter program and can join directly by clicking the CTA button.

(3) Further down on the home page, there is a section for people to sign up for the newsletter, where they receive event information and updates. This both promotes the newsletter as well as events.

(4) The Instagram feed also draws attention to the numerous events happening around the city, and creates a social "buzz" to build the BeltLine brand and attract more people to use it. 

FINAL PRODUCT

Desktop walk-through video
Mobile views

RESULTS

Four weeks later, a fully functional and responsive e-commerce site was ready to launch! Jess presented the design at her Board Meeting and received very positive feedback. It is too soon to analyze metrics, but I will try to update this case study once I receive updates from the client.

​You can view the site here: https://atlanta-beltline-shop.square.site/

RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Consider upgrading to a platform that has more capabilities for custom code, so other features like contextual navigation and filters can be added to the site
  • Explore using Instagram to display products and potentially sell
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