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Bridal Experience
01.
A couture bridal shop, with 30 years of experience, wanted to refresh their website to improve usability and provide a more seamless way for brides to discover the designer and her collection.
Objective & Challenges
The goal was to design a refined, user-friendly site grounded in research, one that truly represented the elegance of the brand. As my first UX project, it was a deep dive into new territory. I learned on the job, balancing the demands of quality, collaboration, and stakeholder expectations to deliver a professional result.
Role
UX Design Lead
Tools
Figma, Miro, WordPress
Project Timeline
1 Month
Research
Carried out a variety of research methods to better understand the users. The findings revealed that the users wanted more information about buying a dress online, struggled to find pricing details, and didn’t feel represented by the models shown on the website. They also enjoyed seeing real brides in natural, relatable settings, rather than staged photoshoots.
Methods & Approches
Stakeholder interview
Usability testing
Heuristic evalutation
Affnity Diagram
User Interviews
Analytics
Understanding the Users
By identifying key traffic sources and the devices most commonly used, I gained a clearer understanding of how users interact with the website. This data also helped define user demographics and surface key behavioural trends, such as preferred browsing times, geographic locations, and entry/exit pages. These insights played a crucial role in shaping design decisions, allowing me to prioritise features and content that aligned with real user behaviour.
Including analytics at this early stage ensured that the redesign was grounded in evidence, not assumptions.
Heuristic Evaluation
This method was especially valuable in identifying usability problems early on, before any design work began. It also helped me develop a more critical eye for UX patterns, a crucial skill, particularly as this was my first project.
Visibility of System Status
Addresses are not clickable yet it looks like you should be able to click on it. (Stockists) When sending email no feedback of email being sent.
User Control & Freedom
Background video continues playing while browsing, causing frustration.
Consistency & Standards
Navigation inconsistent between collections, unexpected button behaviours, swiping issues.
Flexibility & Efficiency
No filtering options for dress style or occasion, limited predictive search.
User Interviews
User & Stakeholder Interviews
To better understand the users, I interviewed five women aged 25–35, each at different stages of their wedding dress journey. The goal was to explore their experiences, challenges, and expectations when searching for a wedding dress online.
Price Clarity Builds Trust
“The price range is important for me..”
Users consistently expressed frustration when pricing wasn’t transparent or easily accessible.
See Real Brides
“I want to see the dresses on real people.” Brides felt disconnected from polished model shots. They wanted relatable imagery.
Simplify the Process
Users want clarity on the entire shopping experience, from where to start, to which designers to explore, to what happens post-purchase. “It was frustrating not getting answers unless I booked”
Usability Testing
I carried out usability testing with the same participants I had interviewed earlier. The aim was to observe their thought processes, identify usability issues, and assess the overall user experience of the existing website.
Ideate
Based on my research, I created three user personas, developed use cases, and applied a severity rating system to prioritise key issues. I also mapped out the user journey to better understand pain points and opportunities for improvement.
Methods & Approches
User Persona
Use Cases
Journey Map
Severity Rating
User persona
User journey mapping
To bring together insights from the research phase, I created a user journey map that visualises the key steps a bride typically takes when searching for a wedding dress online. The map reflects not only the actions users take, but also their thoughts, emotions, and pain points at each stage, from initial discovery to booking an appointment.
Prototype
I developed both low and high-fidelity prototypes, refining the user experience and ensuring a seamless design. Additionally, I introduced a refreshed colour scheme to enhance the website’s visual appeal and improve usability. Below, you can explore the high-fidelity prototypes.
Methods & Approches
Low Fidelity Prototype
High Fidelity Prototype
Wireframing
Wireframing
To begin visualising the user experience and overall structure of the website, I created a set of low-fidelity wireframes. These sketches allowed me to explore layout ideas and core functionality without getting caught up in the visual design too early.
The wireframes shown here focus on two key areas that emerged during usability testing and user interviews: the Stockists page and the Collection pages.
Stockist page
I aimed to simplify how brides could locate nearby boutiques, understand how to book appointments, and access key details such as contact information and availability.
Collection and individual dress pages
I concentrated on making the browsing experience more intuitive and information-rich. Participants had previously expressed frustration with the lack of clarity around dress details and pricing.
High Fidelity Prototypes
The final designs focused on creating a more visual and intuitive experience, particularly on the bridal collection page. Based on feedback from user interviews and usability testing, I introduced several key improvements to enhance both usability and engagement:
Figma Prototype
Reflection
Key takeaways
This was a valuable first project that gave me hands-on experience with the full UX design process—from research and interviews to prototyping and testing. It taught me not only the principles of user-centred design, but also how to apply them in a real-world setting.
Looking back, there are certainly things I would improve:
Refine layout and typography, especially around text hierarchy and branding
Improve time management and project pacing
Be more structured in my design decisions and documentation
That said, working on a live project with a real client was incredibly rewarding—and undoubtedly the best way to learn. I made plenty of mistakes, but as Don Norman famously said:
“It is only through failure that we learn. People learn best from experiencing the consequences of failed actions.”