Kingfisher Digital
Kingfisher's in-store kitchen design process needed improvement. Customer appointments were lengthy, paper-based, and failed to capture key requirements. To address this, I conducted interviews with kitchen designers to identify the most critical questions. I then validated these questions through in-store customer interviews. The research insights were used to create an optimized user flow that:
Streamlines the design consultation process
Leverages Kingfisher's 3D planning tools like Design My Space for interactive visualization
Allows customers to explore options, customize finishes, and see photorealistic previews
Enables seamless collaboration between customers and design consultants
Integrates with virtual and in-store appointment booking for convenience
Connects inspirational content with the ability to save, share and purchase designs
By understanding customer needs and pain points, we unlocked opportunities to innovate the kitchen design journey. The new user flow enhances the customer experience, increases engagement, and showcases Kingfisher's commitment to providing the best tools and services in the UK and European home improvement market.
Creating wireframes
The work examples below relate to a project I worked on called Design My Space.
Design My Space is designed to simplify the process of choosing a new kitchen. It does this via two possible journeys. The first asks users simple questions about the desired style and size of their future kitchen. The second journey enables the user to use a simplified design tool to visually select and modify the type of kitchen they want.
With the key questions identified and the user flow refined, it was time to create wireframes to visualize the user journey. These low-fidelity sketches provided a blueprint for the UI designer to bring the experience to life. By collaborating closely, the UI designer and I were able to rapidly iterate on the wireframes to craft an intuitive and visually engaging design.
The polished UI guides users through the critical decisions involved in planning their kitchen renovation, while providing helpful guidance on measuring their space accurately. Our seamless UX and UI collaboration enabled us to create an elegant, user-friendly solution that simplifies the complex process of kitchen design for our customers.
Discovering the flow
User testing the prototype
With the initial designs and user journey mapped out, it was crucial to gather feedback from our kitchen designers and potential customers. Their insights would validate our assumptions and guide iterative improvements to the prototype.
To facilitate this feedback loop, I leveraged Proto.io, Zeplin, and Sketch to create a medium-fidelity prototype. This interactive mockup allowed users to test the flow, interactions, and visual design. Through multiple rounds of user testing and design iteration, we refined the prototype until it met our usability and functionality goals. Once the user journey and designs were validated and finalized, we handed off the approved assets to the development team. They could then begin the next phase of the project: building out the fully-functional digital product based on our validated prototype.
Connecting journeys
With the onboarding experience complete and valuable insights gathered about our customers' kitchen preferences, it was crucial to maintain the positive momentum. We wanted to empower users to visualize their chosen materials, fixtures, and appliances in a virtual kitchen setting, providing an immersive and realistic preview of their dream space.
To ensure a seamless and intuitive user journey, I crafted comprehensive user flows that meticulously mapped out each step of the process. By carefully examining every interaction and decision point, we eliminated potential dead-ends and streamlined the path, enabling users to navigate the virtual kitchen experience effortlessly without any unnecessary friction.
Iteration on the room visualizer
Having produced and validated comprehensive user flows with stakeholders, the process of bringing the room visualizer experience to life was significantly accelerated. The detailed flows captured the entire user journey, providing a clear roadmap for implementation.
By collaborating closely with the UI designer, I rapidly defined the interactions and incorporated additional client requests, such as a paint estimation tool. This feature would help users calculate the amount of paint needed for their project and provide cost estimates. Our seamless UX and UI collaboration, guided by the validated user flows, enabled us to efficiently deliver a room visualization solution that met both user needs and business requirements. The paint tool addition exemplified our agility in accommodating client requests to enhance the overall user experience.
Excellent results
Thanks to the efficient collaboration between the design team and stakeholders, we were able to rapidly iterate on the designs and deliver them to development in record time.