The iLove Brand
The iLove Brand was created in 2015 and consists of a group of people that have a passion for reaching the needs of the community around them. The brand was created to provide both a product, and an opportunity to help the homeless in the areas of Dallas, and Fort Worth TX. The iLove team consists of designers, bloggers, the Sandwich Street Team, and iLove Fit Ambassadors. The products sold, primarily t-shirts and athletic wear, are used to help spread the brand identity. The part of the team called the Sandwich Street Team, delivers meals and other needed items to the homeless each Friday. They also offer an opportunity to spread the brand to other cities.
The home page shows a rotating set of pictures of models in a few of the iLove brand products offered. It provides a menu button in the top left, a search and shopping cart in the top right, and a navigation bar across the bottom. It is a very simple design with a creative and constantly changing background. The first and biggest problem is that it is not searchable. Using any of the search browsers and typing in all versions of "I Love Brand" do not bring up the page. A user searching for the brand after seeing clothing with the brand logo will not find it because the article "The" is required in the search, but is not in the logo on their clothing. It is also in the web address. This is very uncommon and users will nto know to search it, especially without it shown in the logo on their clothes.
Problem:
The brand name, The iLove Brand, is written in both a sans-serif and script font giving the page more identity. The font however, gets lost in two of the three pictures. When the user accesses the page, unless they remain on the home screen long enough to see the one picture in white or happen to load the page on that picture, the brand name is lost.
Solution:
Placing a very light opaque layer over the top of the image, much like the ones in the images below would fully solve this problem by creating a contrast between the image and the logo above it. The alternate option would be to change the color of the logo, but this could cause more blend into the image when the model wears the same color as the font. The best solution would be to create the opaque layer over the image.
Problem:
When looking at the products on the website, the majority of the products shown are shirts. The homepage and instagram show multiple pictures of hate. To a user that is drawn from social media to the brand page because of the hats, this could be an immediate frustration toward the page. While this does invite the user to buy other products, it could be the lack of specific item type that turns them away from the page.
Solution:
The solution to this would be to include at least one version of hat in the list of apparel, or to remove all images that include hats from the home and Instagram pages.
Problem:
The image is very large and eye catching upon load, but the navigation bar sits at the base of the viewing window called the fold. This gives the impression that al of the information on the page is in the viewing window currently. However, there is more information, including products, below the navigation bar. This is something that google in particular akss web designers to keep from doing. A user will not know to scroll any further having the impression that there is no more information.
Solution:
Do away with the lower navigation bar altogether, and shrink the image slightly. There is a menu in the top left corner. This would make the writing below the image more visible to the user and alow them to find the new items listed lower. Or, bring the navigation bar higher on the picture, and crop the picture to the level of the new navigation placement. Then bring the remaining information into the view of the user's screen. It doesn't require much, maybe four inches of movement in the images, but it will create more opportunity for the user to buy product.
Problem:
There is a "submit email" option at the very bottom of the page. This is called a "Call to Action" button. A user that is new to the page is unlikely to see this at all because it is at the bottom of the page and a user doesn't even know there is anything below the fold. It is below the fold, below the new catalog items, and below the copyright information. Users understand that the copyright is the bottom of the page. If they do not manage to scroll far enough to see that it is not the case on this page, they will not find the email subscription option below.
Solution:
Move the subscription option to the base of the image. Since the image is the focal point of the page, the user will be drawn to the change in color and the text over the top of the page. Separately, the copyright shouldn't be in the content at all, only in the footer.
Problem:
The "About us" page includes a sentence stating that they include clothes available for everyone. There is also a link in the catalog for "Kids" clothing. When a user access the "Kids" page, there is nothing in the list. There is an error page stating that there is nothing in the list. There is an error page stating that there are no items in the catalog. Also, there isn't mch clothing offered fro the more senior population, or for larger adults. The style is young, contemporary, casual, and not the most fitting option for an older generation. The largest size offered to women is sL, and 2xL to men. There is a large group of the population that does not fit into this size range. The leggings in particular have no length options for taller or shorter women. This makes the sentences stating that there is clothing for everyone a little inaccurate to say the least. While the site does advertise that they promote fitness, there are "fit" people that wear larger or longer sizes than offered. There is not an option for special size requests, or changes to shirt length on the site.
Solution:
First, error pages are not widely accepted. They cause strong frustration for the user, and in general, it is much preferred to avoid error messages altogether. Until there is product available to provide on the page for all ages and size options, the page editor could remove the page, link and potentially the very short statement that there is clothing available for everyone.
If the option to order a larger or longer size is not feasible for the company, along with the style options for other generations, the editor could opt to remove the short paragraph from the "About us" page, stating that there is clothing for everyone, indefinitely. This would reduce any confusion or frustration to a user that may be interested but does not see an option that suits them. If the company does decide to add larger or longer sizes, adding a button, as seen below, would offer users that wear alternative sizes a chance to request changes to the length or size of the items ordered.
Problem:
There is a blog page on the site with only one post. This post is from April of 2016. There is a link to their Facebook page, which has queite a number of posts similar to a blog. The post states "Come back very soon to see what we have going on in the community..." The post was made in early April, and unfortunately, does not include any further activity from the brand by October 2016. To a user drawn to the page for community service of the brand, this can be a drawback and deterrent.
Solution:
A simple but repetitive option is to start including the Facebook posts on this page. This would at least make it appear that there is activity. Another, and possibly more appropriate option would be to include posts from the Sandwich Street Team member covering each Friday the team goes out to help in the community. A single team member could be assigned to this task, take pictures as allowed, and write posts to the blog page on the site. Making it a single team member would also help provide continuity between posts. Additionally, if they are receiving support from users or other volunteers, those users could be given the opportunity to post on the page, rather than only the editor.
Problem:
The final problem is the lack of visible suggestion toward the brand helping the community shown on the site. This creates a chance to question the validity of the brand. A user that chooses this brand for the help provided within the community could get frustrated with the lack of proof that some of the money is going toward helping the homeless. Users will likely want to see this.
Solution:
As stated in the previous solution, the editors could add posts about the community service to the blog page, and possibly to the Facebook page. The users will see where the company is serving, and believe in the contribution the brand is making, and thus believe in the iLove Brand itself. This is possibly the biggest detriment to the brand currently.
In conclusion, the majority of the changes are small, by either removing the "Kids" portion f the Catalog, or fixing logo visibility. The other possibilities include adding options for the items shown outside the catalog, and other size and length options to the clothing currently available. As this may not be feasible, removing a simple statement could fix the problem entirely. The final changes, that would bring the most credibility to the brand, include the addition of visible evidence toward the community work done by the brand. The changes to the blog page could be the strongest change in terms of user preference toward the brand. Otherwise, what prevents the assumption that all of the support goes to paying someone that isn't doing what they claim?