Gift Card Giant
Gift Card Giant is an all-in-one online gift card marketplace that allows their users to easily exchange , buy, and sell their unwanted gift cards. Gift Card Giant features gift cards from over 200 different retailers , at a discounted price.
Client:
GiftCardGiant
Role:
UX/UI Designer
Year:
2022-2023
Overview
Background Information: Gift Card Giant, was looking to re-create their site and brand, to bolster more engagement, minimize the amount of time employees spent taking troubleshooting calls, and boost their overall ROI. Their goal was to place themselves as the top of the food chain in the gift card marketplace space, similar to competitors like CardCash , Raise, etc.
Problem Statement: How might we enhance the user experience, to ensue confidence and ease of use for the customer?
Outcome: To address the challenges faced by Gift Card Giant, we devised a comprehensive solution centered around designing a user-centric marketplace experience. This solution focuses on implementing secure transaction protocols, streamlining the checkout flow for seamless transactions, the addition of various payout methods (Venmo, Paypal, direct deposit, etc. ) , giving the user more control via an intuitive dashboard, refreshing the branding for a modern and inviting look, and establishing a self-sustaining ecosystem to ensure long-term viability and growth.
Team:
2 UX Designers
Tech Lead
Project Manager
2 Developers
Tools:
Figma
Miro
Asana
My Contribution:
Wireframing
User Personas & User Journey Map
Competitive Analysis
Meeting / Collaboration with the Stakeholders
Presentation/ Explanation of Design Decisions to Team/Stakeholders
User Testing
Lofi and Hifi Designs
Style Guide
Handoff to Developers and UX Review
UX Process
Before we dive in, I'd like to share an outline of the UX Process taken in this project , as well as the roadmap / timeline
Roadmap
A Timeline/Roadmap was constructed to estimate the design journey, deliverables, presentations, and to keep us on track / accountable
Define / Research
We first sat down and had an in-detail discussion with the team at Gift Card Giant . We wanted to understand goals, expectations, competitors, pain points, and their target audience.
I then began by initiating a competitive audit, in which I found the top 4 contenders in the gift card marketplace, and analyzed the sites based on user flow, how easily users were able to make a sale/purchase , design, their dashboard functionality, integrated payout methods, and navigation.
Why The Research?
Creating an interface / experience without understanding what the market standard is , is like going snorkeling without knowing how to swim. We need to be able to understand the market and what is working (or not working) for our competitors to be able to craft more delightful experience that doesn't frustrate or create obstacles for our users.
The Competitors:
Website Reviews
As part of the competitive analysis , I scoured the web in order to find both positive and negative user reviews of the most popular gift card marketplaces online. By noting the negative reviews, we can learn more about common user pain points, and direct our efforts to solving them / making sure we do not create the same obstacles for our users.
After analyzing the competitors , I created a compilation of notes taken on the individual pages, mapping out highlights of innovative / user-centered features , as well as the areas in which there was room for improvement. I then collected a list of MVPs, that aligned with user needs, stakeholder needs, and innovation.