AlYSSIA LUZ
THE PROBLEM
Women looking for alternative health options need a way to judge if a practitioner is credible and learn more about what they offer.
Alyssia first approached me asking for me to create a platform for her business. She had a good idea of what she wanted but was open to taking a more user-centric approach. By talking to her clients in user interviews as well as doing a competitive analysis of sites that were in the same field, we were able to determine not only the design of the site but also the kind of verbiage and copy that would appeal to her potential clients.
HIGH LEVEL TIMELINE
This project took 6 weeks from start to finish.
MAKE OF THE TEAM
Designer, Creative Director
KEY GOAL
To create a site that her clients could easily refer her to other people, find her music, and learn about her other offerings.
MY ROLE
My Role in this project was three-fold: researcher, designer, and startup consultant.
I completed an extensive competitive analysis, conducted and sourced all user interviews, designed and completed the site (including user testing) and finally made recommendations for preliminary marketing efforts wich included what the copy on the site should say (or not say).
UNDERSTANDING THE USER
Through user interviews and stakeholder interviews I was able to create a persona that was specific for Alyssia Luz’s site. We named our persona Ashley Miller and we designed specifically for her needs and problems.
KEY RESEARCH TAKEAWAYS
Stay away from the "H" word
To describe oneself as a Healer is a major “turn off”. Careful language around offerings is essential.
The Competition is not fierce
It’s often hard for potential clients to determine the credibility of alternative practitioners due to low quality and outdated website. This means a professional site puts the a practioner at a huge advantage
The Power of Recommendation
Most users first learn about practitioners through word of mouth and then go to look them up online.
Let your personality shine
Personality and shared spiritual belief is a key reason for choosing to work with one practitioner over another.
Design for Mobile
Mobile-friendly design is essential as 75% of clients first look at a website on their phones.
BREAKING DOWN THE DESIGN PROCESS
The first stage of design, right after a short ideation process, was a low-fidelity prototype done in Balsamiq.
These wireframe mockups were essential in stakeholder buy-in as well as defining what the copy would say and who's responsibility it was to write it. I set very clear expectations and defined each talk beforehand in a project managment software.
FINAL DESIGN
The final website was made in WIX and tested extensively with users.
After 5 rounds of revisions, 1 photo-shoot, 4 user tests and countless hours of work the site is now live! Check it out here at alyssialuz.com!
TITLE OF THE CALLOUT BLOCK
LESSONS LEARNED
The biggest take away was client management and how to have a peaceful and fun client experience!
This project was one of the smoothest I have done due to expectations set early, the use of a shared google drive folder, and the pre-set deadlines. I used a spreadsheet that contained project deadlines, who was responsible for each portion and we also used a Trello board to track progress. All this combined with Alyssia’s willingness to write extensive copy (with direction) and get a professional photoshoot contributed to a great website and wonderful client/designer relationship!