Zen Frenz
Roles:
UI/UX Design, Product Design
Duration:
3 Months (Apr 2023 – Jun 2023)
Tools:
Figma, Illustrator, Photoshop, Procreate, Canva, Amazon Seller Central
Teams:
Product
Web Development
Zen Frenz Store
UI/UX and Product Design
Spring 2023 Product Design Intern
I built the company’s first Amazon storefront including the illustrations and motion graphics, as well as redesigning the product packaging catalogue by leveraging key stakeholder requirements, and data from market research.
My time at Zen Frenz was truly an enjoyable one as I spent 10 weeks working on various aspects of product and a variety of projects that challenged my technical skills. I had 2 main projects throughout my internship which took me 5 weeks each. One was to build an Amazon storefront to expand the company in the e-commerce scene. Another project involved redesigning the product packaging to optimize shelf visibility, consumer engagement, and market penetration.
Context
🔮 Overview
Zen Frenz is a company and brand that is involved with Pet Wellness as we formulate, manufacture, and sell products that clean, calm, and cure cats and dogs. I was involved in 2 teams. In Web Development, we develop user interfaces and experiences to expand our brand’s identity in the e-commerce space. In Product, we constantly focus on physical product design and formulation to enhance consumer experience. My 2 projects, involved leveraging data from user and market research to establish and design an Amazon storefront from the ground up, as well as revamp the company’s product packaging catalogue. Both projects had the same objective of increasing user acquisition and sales.
🧑🔧 Stakeholders
Throughout this internship, I worked closely with the Founder and CEO, Alexander Gray and updated them on my progress every step of the way, seeking feedback and constructive criticism. I collaborated with graphic designer Damon Lau, to ask for design feedback as well as collaborate on designs that would eventually inspire graphics in the final product. I also collaborated with Business Development Manager, Saanya Saurabh, to discuss product placement and sales metrics for a reference on Amazon seller strategy.
Problem
The Challenge: How can we enhance the discoverability and consumer acquisition of Zen Frenz’s products in the competitive Pet Wellness retail seller space?
The ultimate goal of any retail company is to be bought and adopted by as many people as people; hence, endless expansion. An Amazon storefront would increase discoverability and user education by informing them in an orderly way, what they can buy and what they can do with our products. A well-designed store page would give users an impression of establishment. Improved product packaging would also increase shelf visibility and consumer engagement through the psychologically-motivated placement of elements.
Design Process
📖 Research
My first step was to understand the market and familiarize myself with the competition to find strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. I researched and conducted a Competitive Analysis on our competitor’s websites, amazon stores and packaging.
I also conducted User Interviews through a 5-second test gaining insights about the brand, website and overall impression of our products. A constraint however, was that we were not able to get the ideal number of responses due to the short nature of the project. Some revealed that the website could be more interactive and some graphic designs were not representative of what our products were. This feedback would prove to be immensely useful for the design of our Amazon storefront and packaging.
“A bit uninteractive”
– Website Visitor #2
“The image banner at the hero section is oddly large and a bit distracting, though the graphic design is cute and appealing, but it’s not really a representative of what the website is trying to sell”
– Website Visitor #3
Design
Wireframing
I used feedback and data from user and market research to design a layout that would best support not only product placement but also information conveyance at a glance to the target audience. I explored different formatting and hierarchy approaches and received feedback from the CEO on his preference. The final low fidelity wireframe was one that the CEO and I unanimously agreed upon. Simplicity is best when trying to appeal to new customers.
Design
Illustrations
🐶 Yoshi the Zen Dog
To give the storefront and our future platforms a little personality, I decided to include our mascot as much as possible. Users like to associate brands with a certain mental image and I thought it would be a great idea to incorporate something we already had.
I had to think about how to incorporate Yoshi into the designs in a non-invasive way so as to not avert the focus from the products themselves. My final solution was to place Yoshi in graphics where his main role would be to support the product placement. This included illustrations and edited images of Yoshi.
Design
Storefront
I used the low-fidelity wireframe and illustrations to curate an idea for a high-fidelity design. I made new still and motion graphics especially tailored to an Amazon storefront through Canva using data from the previous user and market research.
Using the modular approach, we finally had a working desktop and mobile prototype which we carefully and continuously improved through usability testing.
Design
Packaging
To revamp the product packaging, I leveraged previous designs and current market/competitor trends to improve upon the original. I also took into consideration new wholesale quantities to create universally scalable packaging; designs that would look appealing at any size.
Outcome
🏬 Verified Amazon Seller
After 5 weeks of designing, and a few weeks of waiting for verification, we finally got our very own Amazon storefront with designs, illustrations and our products for sale. The storefront is also mobile responsive which also required a few days of revisions. Some elements were removed in the mobile version as it did not fit the small screens while most were kept. It was a really rewarding experience to see everything I worked on implemented and go live, knowing that many pet owners will interact with the page.
View the Amazon Store here: http://tinyurl.com/zenfrenz
Takeaways
🎨 Design & Design
Throughout this journey, I honed my abilities in strategic design thinking, stakeholder engagement, competitive analysis, and design software proficiency; most notably, Canva and the Adobe Creative Suite. My time at Zen Frenz has not only elevated the company’s visual identity and market performance but has also nurtured my growth as a versatile and impactful design professional.
Joining as a web design intern, I never expected to be designing almost the entirety of the company’s product catalogue, website, and store using graphic design skills that I previously had no knowledge about. I thought that I would just use my previously learned skills to make a website for the company. However, even though I was unsure about living up to the CEO’s expectations, I was open to this challenge and I’m glad I was.
🍀 No Limits!
At the end of my internship period, he told me that I was the most technically skilled design intern he’s ever had; opening a return offer for whenever I wanted as a Contract/Freelance Designer. To this day, I am still frequently contacted for some edits and major design decisions by the CEO, Alex. If there’s anything I realized through this whole experience, it’s that I should frequently ask myself the question, “Why am I limiting myself?”, and that I am always capable of more!