Alvarpet
A company that works with dog food, subscription services and fights against the climate.
About the project
During my college internship, I worked at Alvarpet, a Finnish company expanding into Sweden. Alvarpet specializes in high-quality dog food and prioritizes environmental efforts. They offer subscription and one-time purchase options. I collaborated with a designer and developer in an agile team, gaining valuable insights.
Problem
Since Alvarpet is a Finnish company just beginning its expansion into Sweden, understanding Swedish customers and figuring out how users unfamiliar with Alvarpet interact with the brand is crucial. My main project during those two months was to revamp Alvarpet's various landing pages, making them more user-friendly. I kicked things off with the homepage.
Solution
Alvarpet wants to evoke a feeling in users when they land on the website – a sense of understanding about what Alvarpet offers in its subscription service. They want users to grasp that it's not just about pet products; it's a company dedicated to environmental efforts as well.
Interviews
I started the project by conducting controlled and observational interviews, simulating various scenarios that users would encounter during the test. I ran the test with 7 different users who had never used the Alvarpet website before, aiming to understand how they interacted with the initial page. I chose this method to delve deeper into how users comprehend and feel about the website.
Insights and sorting
After conducting the interviews, I started summarizing and reviewing the insights from the test. Here are the main insights I derived:
Users think it is too information heavy
Users misunderstand the demo-page
Users misunderstand information and wording
Users don´t understand Dr. Alvar+
Personas
After summarizing insights, I created two behavioral types based on the test to understand user needs and present insights effectively to the company.
Sketches
Based on the insights I gathered and presented to the company, I started sketching new versions of the homepage that are more spacious and don't overwhelm users with too much information. Instead, I focused on presenting the information as step-by-step guidance.
Previous design
New design
I I conducted a guerrilla test along with a discussion with the company - I showcased the previous version of the design and the new design I created to observe how users interacted with the new design and how the information was structured. I did the test on 8 test persons.
Results: The insights were very positive and beneficial for the progress of the project, something the company can apply to more landing pages on the website.
8 out of 8 users thought it was clearer regarding the subscription on the new design
7 out of 8 users found it was easier to follow on the new design
7 out of 8 thought that the information was better on the new design
Guerilla Test
Summary of the test and its insights
Hi-Fi design
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About the company
Based on the insights, I created an easier start and information about the company. Where icons are also included and show visually.
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About the subscription
Also changed the information about the subscription, created a step by step information and icons for these. I also moved up "common questions" to make it easier for customers to understand what the subscription is.
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About the climate
Changed the section on the climate as the inikt showed that this is something that customers want to see clearly. I then display the information visibly with numbers that easily show what the user can help with.
Lessons learned and next steps
After creating a Hi-Fi design and conducting a usability test, my internship period came to an end, and I handed over the project to the company. Throughout this internship, I learned a tremendous amount, having the opportunity to lead my own project with some assistance from the team. One thing I would have done differently is to conduct an additional test before creating the Hi-Fi prototype, to avoid redundant work and gain insights at an earlier stage. Unfortunately, time constraints didn't allow for this during the internship.
The next steps for this project involve implementing the clearer aspects of the new design and retaining elements that users appreciated in the previous design. Once everything is implemented, I would recommend conducting a new test or utilizing Hotjar to observe how customers engage with the new design. Following that, I would proceed with refining the subscription landing page, addressing any uncertainties that arose in my initial user test.