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Antique Sheep

Logo Design • UI/UX • Research • Branding • Wireframe • Prototype • Photography

Background

Antique Sheep is an existing brand under Belle Fourche Farm that sells wool and yarn products, as well as various breeds of lamb. Belle Fourche is committed to preserving heritage breed sheep and cattle. Profit from Antique Sheep funds the Yonkofa Project, a health clinic in Ghana. 

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The owner of these properties was in need of a website redesign. Prior to my intervention, Antique Sheep operated under the domain AntiqueSheep.com but sold its products exclusively on Etsy.

 

My aim was to create one unified website that would sell the product and highlight the goals of Belle Fourche Farm. 

The Problem

 

Antique Sheep needs a visually appealing website to advertise its services and share information. The website has a branding problem where it isn’t clear what Antique Sheep is versus Belle Fourche Farm. 

 

The website is unfocused. It doesn’t say much about its purpose or the brand. It’s a niche product and it needs to focus on what users and shoppers of this product want to see.

 

The Goal

 

  • Redesign the website to be aesthetically appealing. 

  • Focus on the website’s purpose of selling fibers, yarn, and sheep. 

  • Differentiate Bell Fourche Farm from the Antique Sheep brand. 

  • Transition away from Etsy

  • Update SoMe to be consistent with the website

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Content

Research
Competition
User research

 

Define
User Groups
Personas
 

Ideation
Site Map
Navigation Flow Chart
Lofi Wireframe
Hifi Wireframe
Branding
The Website
The Design
 

Usability Testing
Prompts
Summary

 

Conclusion

 

RESEARCH

The Competition

I looked at several websites that specialized in wool products, some selling only their own product, and several selling multiple brands. Most sold not only wool and yarn but also tools for knitting and crocheting, as well as offering kits, patterns, and classes.

In preparation for my user research, I looked at nine competitors: 5 direct and 4 indirect, that, like Antique Sheep, specialize in selling yarn and wool for the fiber arts. 

 

The direct competitors to Antique Sheep are Mielke’s Fiber Arts, Brown Sheep, North Light Fiber, Morehouse Farm, and Anzula. These five businesses sell their own processed wool products and yarn. Mielke’s also sells tools like looms and needles and includes tutorials on various techniques and processes. Several also sell patterns and kits. 

 

The indirect competitors, Four Purls, Mermaid’s Purl, Wildfiber Studio, and Knit & Pearls, are mostly shops that sell a variety of brands of yarn as well as various products and tools used for fiber arts. 

 

  • Multiple product categories ex: Skeins, raw wool, colored yarn, colored wool, etc.

  • Blogs

  • Some have physical locations

  • About Us pages

  • Online Classes

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I conducted a competitive audit to compare the offerings from these various websites.

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Overview

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Strengths:

  • Offer a variety of products like kits and patterns

  • Classes offered


Weaknesses:

  • Cluttered menus

  • Disorganized product pages

  • Inconsistent branding

  • Several had weak landing pages

 

Opportunities:

  • Could educate on different wools processes, the terminology, etc.

  • Incorporate social media with their websites beyond just having the icon

  • Community incorporation

  • Find some bigger boxes to put several smaller boxes into (have fewer categories upfront that break down into more subcategories) 

 

Gaps:

  • Most of these sites could benefit from refinements and tweaks to pull the banding together

  • Because these are all smaller businesses, they didn’t have accessibility options

Summary

 

Most of these shops offer more than just yarn. They also sell patterns, kits, tutorials, tools, and merchandise with the logo. 

 

Because of the variety of offerings, the main issue I found with these other sites is messy headers having way too many options. It’s overwhelming to be greeted with a header containing ten plus different tabs on two lines. 

 

The best websites had clean navigation and simple headers. They had landing pages that adequately summarized the website offering a little bit about the company, some featured products or best sellers, and some extras to give the users a good idea of the business's values and offerings. The different elements of the page were easily distinguishable. 


Four Purls had the strongest branding of these websites, but their logo is a little too busy and detracts from the clean and fun feel of it. They use fun colors and icons related to knitting. They have embellishments to separate the sections. They used their brand colors well adding little pops throughout the website. Their typeface choices bring the whole thing together making for a whimsical and fun website. The header is simple with drop downs offering cleaning and organized categories making navigation a breeze.

User Research

Goals: 

  • Why would a user want to use this website?

  • How might a user use this website to fulfill their needs or goals?

  • Identify any pain points that users have experienced with similar websites.

  • What would a user find the most useful on a website selling wool products?

Method

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For my user research, I created a Google Form that I sent out to willing participants. I asked the participants to consider websites for specific or niche interests when answering the questions.​

I asked my participants the following questions:

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  1. Could you describe an experience where you visited a specialty website to view or buy a product?

  2. How often do you visit these types of websites?

  3. What are your goals/motivations when visiting one of these sites?

  4. What are some frustrations you have encountered when you visit these sites?

  5. Was there a standout feature you found that was especially helpful?

  6. What would motivate you to visit one of these sites again?

  7. Is there anything you would like to add or mention that might be beneficial?

Summary of Answers Given:

 

A couple of users reported going to websites knowing exactly what they’re looking for. Some said they went to these websites to explore or browse and see what was offered. One user said they visited a website after seeing something from social media.

 

The frequency users visited these websites varied from a few times a week to once a month. One user with a very specific query typically visits these sites once a year for financial reasons.

 

Users had a variety of motivations for visiting these specific websites. Several said they went to these sites simply to explore or find inspiration, some were looking for a specific product, and others were motivated to educate themselves on that particular niche interest and to learn about the products that were offered.

 

The users reported being frustrated by websites that were jumbled or messy, not easy to navigate, things would not be listed clearly, or certain things or descriptions simply were not available. 

 

The stand-out features were unique to what the users were looking for. For example, users who were members of the fiber arts community appreciated tutorials or specific information about the sheep the wool was coming from. Less specific to the fiber arts, users said they like seeing highlights on the websites and being able to view sales or new products. Users said they appreciated when a website offered detailed information about the products offered like where the products came from, how the product was collected, etc. 

 

The majority of users said that an easily navigable website with pictures and detailed descriptions of products would motivate them to visit the site again. Users said having a wide variety of products available would motivate them to return to the site.


 

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Frustrations using similar apps: 

 

  • Jumbled, disorganized

  • Difficult to navigate

  • Prices not listed clearly 

  • Checkout making users register before checking out (but said being offered discount code would make them likely to do so)

  • Information not up to date

  • Unavailable information

Motivation to use similar apps:

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  • To explore

  • Find inspiration

  • Education

  • To find a specific product

  • To look for product after seeing on social media

Motivation for continued use:

 

  • Fresh content

  • Descriptions are detailed and helpful

  • The site is easy to navigate making a pleasant experience

  • Variety of unique products

  • Reasonable prices

  • Good pictures of products

Features Users Found Useful:

 

  • Functional search 

  • New product highlight

  • Ease of use

  • Video or instructional information, tips and tricks

  • Detailed product info (what s/thing is made of, where it’s grown, certification, etc)

  • Easy menu

Additional Info Users wanted me to know:

 

  • Know what the website is about within the first three seconds of landing

  • Reviews from buyers on the product page are useful

  • Don’t over do it with newsletter or text notifications

  • Small banner with info like “free shipping on order over $50, coupon codes, relevant information

Overview

Users want an easy-to-navigate website. They like knowing as much about the products as possible. They appreciate detailed product descriptions and photos. They want to know what a website is about as soon as they land on the homepage. They like to know about things like shipping or sales from the start. They want the checkout process to be easy and fast and not necessarily require them to sign up for something. They like to be incentivized with coupon codes when using these sites for the first time. They would like additional information offered on these sites like tutorials or diy’s. User’s want a fun and unique experience. 

 

Specific to the fiber arts community, they want to know about the sheep that the wool is coming from. They want tutorials for spinning, dying, etc. They want prices per pound listed clearly.

DEFINE

The Users

I created two user groups that best represented the website's demographics. Based on these two user groups I created two personas. 

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  • Already famliar with the product

  • An active member of the community

  • Has been doing fiber arts for several years

  • Is quite specific with the products they use

  • Makes things to sell

  • Less technologically inclined

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Group One

Group Two

  • Newer to fiber arts and is still learning

  • Loves various crafts

  • Wants to go further with this hobby so is looking for better-quality products

  • Makes gifts for others

  • Experienced with various websites

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IDEATION

Site Map

In considering my two personas, I needed to ensure that the website would be easy to navigate. It was also important that I include the required information and subpages while making sure the everything remained organized for easy browsing. 

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Navigation
          Flow Chart

I created a navigation flow chart to better visualize the navigation process of the website. It's important the the chart is easy to follow and not convoluted.

Sketches & Wireframes

I created my sketches in Illustrator and then continued with my Lofi and Hifi wireframes in Figma. The sketches gave me room to experiment with the layout, whereas my lofi wireframes gave me a better idea of proportions and allowed me to visualize the details. After deciding on which layouts to move forward with, I continued with my hifi wireframes  where I was able to apply my color palette and photography and truly begin to visualize the website.

Sketches

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Lofi Wireframes

Landing Page

Mobile

About Page A & B

About Subpage

Mobile

Breed

Mobile

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Hifi Wireframes

Landing Page Desktop and Mobile

Landing Page.png

About Us Desktop and Mobile

Breeds Desktop and Mobile

Individual Breed Desktop and Mobile

Branding

I created the logo for Antique Sheep a year before I was tasked with redesigning the website. As I was experimenting with typefaces, I began a subtle logo redesign that better fit the aesthetic I was trying to build based on the client's requests. 

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The client requested that the color palette be sophisticated and include blue. I took the vibrant blue from another website of theirs (a sister site of Antique Sheep) and branched off with a deeper shade and added a deep gold for a sophisticated "antique" look. 

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I chose Lora for my primary typeface for headers and subheaders. It is a serif and adds class especially when I combine the regular font with the italicized font. I found that Mukta Mahee paired well with Lora for my body text. It is an unassuming sanserif that doesn't detract 

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Website Prototype

I created my prototype as an interactive website. I'm still refining design details, but the interactivity and user interface is set. 

https://sarahmattdesign.wixsite.com/antique-sheep

The Design

Coming soon

Usability Testing

Coming Soon

CONCLUSION

© 2023 by Sarah Matthews. Proudly created with Wix.com

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