Shampoo is a peer-to-peer service app that connects clients and hairdressers. Hairdressers can create profiles that include a bio, pictures of their work, and the skills they excel at, while clients can search for hairdressers in their area based on what they're looking for.
Finding the right hairdresser can be hard. With so many things to take into account — from location, prices, styles, reviews, and more — it can be near impossible for clients to find hairstylists that match their exact needs. Likewise, it can be equally as hard for hairdressers to get their work in front of prospective clients.
How might we ease the burden of finding a hairdresser for prospective clients?
Shampoo is an app designed to connect clients to hairdressers in their area. Hairdressers can create profiles that include a bio, pictures of their work, and the skills they excel at, while clients can search for hairdressers based on what they're looking for. Clients can also rate and leave reviews for their hairdressers so future clients can make better informed decisions, as well as contact hairdressers to discuss before an appointment.
I identified four target users for Shampoo, including two hairdressers and two clients. These would go on to cover a wide range of use cases.
Instagram is a popular platform for hairdressers to advertise their work and interact with clients. I conducted a SWOT analysis to identify potential opportunities to set Shampoo apart.
Strengths:
• Allows individual hairdressers to show off their work
• Can comment or DM to get in contact/ask questions
• Easy for clients to get a quick glance at a hairdresser’s style and strengths
Weaknesses:
• No ratings/reviews
• Difficult to seek out hairdressers near you
Opportunities to Improve:
• Ratings and review system so users can hear about other users’ experience with a hairdresser
• Search by location so you can find hairdressers near you
Perceived Threat:
• Instagram is already a widely popular social media network
• Some hairdressers take bookings through DMs
Yelp is another popular platform for people to seek out reviews and ratings on salons, therefore I also conducted a SWOT analysis of Yelp to understand what they're doing well, and how Shampoo can improve upon it.
Strengths:
• See photo examples of previous work
• Read reviews and ratings
• Easy access to salon contact info
Weaknesses:
• Ratings and reviews are for the salon and not for individual hairdressers
• Photos included don’t indicate which hairdresser worked on the hair
Opportunities to Improve:
• See information on an individual hairdresser and not the whole salon
• More direct communication between the client and hairdresser
Perceived Threat:
• Yelp is already a go-to site for many when posting and looking for reviews
With my personas in mind, I created the following user stories that would help me further empathize with users and better understand what features Shampoo would need.
• As a hairdresser, I want to share my work so that I can show off my skills.
• As a hairdresser, I want to be easily findable so that I can get more clients.
• As a client, I want to find hairdressers in my area so that I can get my hair done nearby.
• As a client, I want to see a hairdresser's previous work so that I can know what to expect from them.
• As a client, I want to rate my hairdresser so that I can help future potential clients.
• As a client, I want to read about people's experience with a hairdresser so that I can make a better informed decision.
• As a client, I want to know about a hairdresser's strengths so that I can pick the right hairdresser for my needs.
• As a client, I want to communicate with my hairdresser before an appointment so that we can be on the same page.
• As a client, I want to know a hairdresser's rates up front so that I know if they're within my budget.
I created some rough sketches for key features that would address the above user stories. This allowed me to quickly get design ideas from my mind to paper, which would help me with designing Shampoo's interface.
I utilized paper prototyping to rapidly prototype my concept, and help me better visualize how all of the screens and features would come together. This especially helped me with designing my components and interactions.
With my sketches and paper prototype completed, I was then able to use these to bring my ideas to life digitally by creating wireframes.
I created a mood board to encompass the calm, yet feminine aesthetic I had in mind for Shampoo. This mood board would help inform Shampoo's branding and UI design.
I used my mood board to define the visual aesthetic for my app, applying it to my wireframes and creating my prototype. The prototype can be viewed by clicking here!
This project forced me to design for multiple users with varying needs. I was able to empathize with a variety of different potential users, and work to design something that would please all of them. Overall, I really enjoyed stepping into the shoes of my various personas and being able to tackle a multitude of problems at once to satisfy all of their concerns and needs.