Tatwoo

A Tattoo Marketplace

Tatwoo is a web application that will connect customers with tattoo artists and studios. It was conceived as a way to take advantage of gaps in the marketplace and the projected growth of the industry at large.

As the lead Interaction Designer, I was tasked with conducting research, visualizing findings and leading the interface design.

Role: UX Designer / Lead Interaction Designer
Company: Tatwoo, Inc.
Type: Web Application
Project Length: 2 Weeks ( Nov. 2020 )
Methodology: Agile / Scrum
Design Team: Project Manager, Research Lead, Interaction Lead
Tools: Adobe XD, Axure, Photoshop, Illustrator

Lo-Fi Prototype & Wireframes:

Created in Axure

Problem Summary

The gaps within the industry that we sought to address were centered around research and communication. Due to the lack of a single cohesive app customers were left with a patchwork of methods; email, phone calls, social media, google searches and print media.

Goals

Provide a thoughtful and personalized experience for all aspiring to get a tattoo
Incorporate a comprehensive method for finding, saving and sharing tattoo art
Allow consumers to easily find artists and schedule appointments
Encourage a sense of community through social media style communication options

Design Process

Discover

Competitive Analysis
User Interviews

Define

Affinity Maps
Personas

Design

Wireframes
Usability Tests

Deliver

Prototypes

Discover

Competitive Analysis

Tattoo.do has many of the tools and features we sought to explore. However it also lacked several features that would speak to generations succeeding Millennials, such as social media inspired content presentation and a place to save and share tattoo inspiration.

I studied four web and mobile applications. Tattoo.do took a comprehensive approach, while the remaining apps focused more on a handful of unique features.

User InterviewS

Participants

8 Male / 7 Female
Between 22 and 40 years old
All use social media regularly
4 did not have tattoos
11 had between 2 and 10+ Tattoos

Recruitment

Screener Surveys
Social Network Outreach
Snowball Recruiting

Topics

Prior tattooing experiences
Communication with the artist/studio
Perception of the industry
Use of Social Media
Methods for finding inspiration
Scheduling/payment

Key Findings

100% use instagram to research artists and find inspiration, but saving and sharing options are not sufficient
Most are looking to minimize or eliminate social media usage.
50% of participants wished they knew more about tattooing (process, wait times, placement, styles, safety)
Email is the most common means of sharing ideas with artists and setting appointments
People new to tattoos have a variety of reasons for procrastinating on the decision beyond simply choosing the art or artist

“I wish there was an easier way to search for specific tattoo ideas.”

“I stopped following #tattoo on Instagram. It ended up being more about sexy selfies"

Define

Affinity Maps

I created affinity maps from our interview results to understand our users priorities.

Findings

Users need a better way to search, save, and share their sources of inspiration
A personalized experience will encourage users to return
Social media style tools without the negative aspects of the current social media ecosystem would be ideal
A system of communication that incorporates email and direct message styles would deter confusion
Educational resources are key to encouraging new customers to follow through

Personas

I created 3 personas based on the level of experience that our participants had receiving tattoos:

Sarah Klern: Very Experienced
Simon Davidson: Somewhat Experienced
Zara Shah: New to Tattoos

By viewing our designs through this lens of experience we were able to understand which features would speak to the broadest audience while including unique tools specific to those with more experience.

Design

Wireframes

I created lo-fi wireframes in Axure to facilitate our first round of usability tests through a series of Zoom chat sessions.

Usability Testing Round 1

Scenario

“You have a few tattoos and are now interested in getting a new one. You’ve been thinking about overall aesthetics, but are seeking more inspiration. You hope that Tatwoo can help you make your decision”

Participants

4 Male / 1 Female
Between 25 and 34 years old
3 had multiple tattoos
2 had no tattoos but would consider them in the future

Task Analysis

Participants were asked to complete a series of basic tasks with a focus on navigability and feature discovery, in addition to their overall views on aesthetics and flow.

Results

The purpose of some features were unclear (Shuffle Button)
Artist and Studio pages could be combined
Basic navigation was clear
Search refining features are not necessary in current form

Usability Testing Round 2

With limited time, we conducted our second round of usability tests quickly by directly addressing concerns brought up in round one without significantly changing the visuals. (removing the confusing "shuffle" button for instance)

Participants

(2 Male, 2 Female)
Between 28 and 35 years old
2 had multiple tattoos
2 had no tattoos but would consider them in the future

Results

Expand community page & incorporate a forum
Refine user and artist profile pages
Further iterate saving/sending inspiration functions
Incorporate messaging

DELIVER

Final Prototype

I designed our prototype to have a familiar and customizable appearance by using card based elements. Given the broadening appeal of tattoos across the cultural spectrum, discarding the typical hard-edged tattoo shop style in favor of a more friendly appearance was the obvious choice.