STEEZY Studio is a dance technology company with a B2C Dance Education platform. Between the app and web products, they aim for people from all backgrounds to learn and connect over dance.
Working on the Library was my first project at STEEZY. An advantage to this was that I could audit the product like a new user might experience it. I was quickly confused by the information architecture. I was getting lost trying to explore and discover the catalog. I felt there were lost opportunities to bring the user back to prior screens instead of a dead end. There wasn't a clear hierarchy for discovering and searching the Library. The mobile and desktop user flows were disjointed and created confusion for users that used the product on both types of devices. All that to say, there were many problems to address and challenges to overcome.
As user research and interviews continued, I used rapid iteration to document possible interfaces. This became a playground to try unique solutions and eventually develop a plan for V2.
Since we were changing something as central as the search and library, it was crucial to take the time and develop user flows. After white-boarding the flows to ensure edge cases weren't missed, I added visual screens for those of us that were testing flows and needed the visual representation.
In addition to documentation and a live walkthrough of the prototype on each platform (app, mobile, and desktop), I've found benefit in recording Looms going through the final versions of the prototype for the engineers to refer back to as they work.
We received feedback from users showing a lack of confidence in Library availability. We proposed changing the information architecture so that Classes, Programs, Categories, and Instructors were on the same level of hierarchy. I proposed Library defaulting to the Classes view with the ability to scroll or filter through 1000+ classes instead of a landing page with curated carousels of classes and programs.
Previously, it was difficult to find Search within the app. There wasn’t a global search—it only existed within Categories. After some user research, we found Search to be one of our core actions that will get users into a class sooner. On Desktop specifically, we prioritized implementing a Live Search functionality.
We opted to create a Results page if the user selects Filters within the complete Library. Adding a Results page unified the flow for seeing a smaller selection of Classes/Programs and a smaller selection if a Category was chosen.
There was inconsistency in the design system for Class and Program cards, so we proposed updating them for consistency and accessibility. We grouped class attributes below the class card for users to quickly scan for classes that are applicable to them. The class level is a common way for users to decide whether to take a class or not, so we updated the design system to have a color coordinated with each level.
While working on the Library, we were updating the applications homepage. In order to complete all of the testing and data changes we wanted, we pulled this proposal element into the homepage initiative led by our VP of PD. While this developed into its own project, it launched alongside the new Library. Therefore, some of our data metrics were connected.
