A mock research packet for a potential website.

1. Project Brief
Competitive Analysis
Persona
Sitemap
fourmost accessories
Sarah Kim / VMD 152 / Project 1
PRE-PRODUCTION PACKET
for a potential accessories wesbite

2. Project Brief
PROJECT TIMELINE:
(Gantter Timeline)
(2/15/16 - 4/18/16) part 1
Design & Approval
(4 - 12w) (3/25/16 - 6/13/16) part 2
Content Wrting & Assembly
(5 - 12w) (5/17/16 - 7/15/16) part 3
Development & Programming
(2 - 6w)
(7/15/16 - 8/15/16) part 4
Testing & Review
(2 - 6w) (8/15/16 - 8/19/16) part 5
Launch (1d - 2w)
(8/19/16 onwards) part 6
Maintenance
PART 1. Design & Approval, includes wireframe (4-12 weeks)
PART 2: Content Writing & Assembly (5-15 weeks, overlaps with PART 1)
PART 3: Development & Programming (6-12 weeks, overlaps with PART 2)
PART 4: Testing & Review (2-6 weeks)
PART 5: Launch (1 day - 2 weeks)
PART 6: Maintenance (Ongoing, after launch)

3. Project Brief (continued)
VISUAL PERSONALITY:
Young Elementary School Art Teacher who buys
handmade accessories because each piece is unique. A minimal
site that makes it easy for her to purchase the product with a short
but descriptive “about” page appeals to her most.
TARGET AUDIENCE:
Young women, perhaps specifically professionals who
have studied liberal or creative arts in college, ages 20-30 who
appreciate cutesy handmade accessories. They frequently
browse sites like Etsy and ArtFire.
COMPETING SITES:
• Dinosaur Designs (sells housewares and jewelry)
• Leif (sells housewares, jewelry, greeting cards, kids products)
• Mignon (sells housewares, beauty products, accessories, gift
boxes, and stationery)

4. Project Brief (continued)
SITE GOALS:
• Simple navigation, easy for customer
to browse through products
• Have a small online market for better
exposure for handmade accessories
• Have regular visitors
SITE CONTENT:
• Shopping Cart
• User Login
• About & Contact
• Scarves
• Hats
• Sale Items
• New Items
• Jewelry (Necklaces,
Rings, Bracelets,
Earrings)
SITE FEATURES:
• Image Galleries
• Responsive Site for Mobile
• Search Function
• Ecommerce functions (shopping cart, online
monetary transactions)
• Social Media Integration (Instagram, Pinterest)
• Contact Form
• User / Customer accounts
• Site Analytics
GOAL MEASUREMENT:
• Site Visits per month
• Sales per month
• Customer Reviews

5. Competitive Analysis
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DESKTOP MOBILE
Dinosaur Designs
http://www.dinosaurdesigns.com/
Lief
http://www.leifshop.com/
Mignon
http://www.mignon-shop.com/
CONTENT
New Products
Collections
Sale Items
About & Contact
TECHNICAL
Shopping Cart
Responsive on Mobile
Member Login
Soc Media Integration
LOOK & FEEL
Multiple Nav. Menus
Minimal
Aesthetically Cohesive
Targets Age Group

6. Competitive Analysis (continued)
DINOSAUR
• “Account” & “Login” have the
exact same content
• “Login” page has a separate
“subscribe” box underneath;
confusing, could be changed
to a check box in the “new
account”
• “The Designers” = About, and
the description is lengthy
• FB icon has no hyperlink
• Looks to be targeting a more
mature group than Leif and
Mignon
LEIF
• Navigation Bar is good in
Desktop Mode
• I would prefer “New” to be
the first list on the Nav Bar
• Didn’t realize landing pg
image was one image and
one link
• “Login” layout is simple, gives
simple checkbox option for
new members
• Soc Media Links do not open
in new tab
• Target age group is probably
20-30, and also maybe includes
older teens
MIGNON
• Vertical Navigation Bar
• Each slideshow image on the
landing page links to organized
categories of content/products
• “Shipping+Returns” is helpful
• Seems to be same
demographic as Leif

7. Persona
GENDER & AGE.......................................................22 y/o Female
EDUCATION.......................................................... BA in Studio Art
OCCUPATION.................................Elementary School Art Teacher
INCOME.................................................................... $43,000/year
RESIDENCE............................................................... Oakland, CA
DEFINING ADJECTIVES........ Creative, Quirky, Outgoing, Nurturing
PERSONAL PROFILE
Esther loves seeing her kids express themselves through arts and crafts activities. During
her free time, she draws with her friends in the park, or sits in cafes to look over student
work or browse the web for class project inspirations.
When this non-materialistic teacher makes the occasional purchase, she favors local
handmade products. She especially loves uniquely repurposed materials. She often receives
compliments on her one-of-a-kind accessories by her students’ parents.
SITE APPEAL
• Site easy to navigate
• Minimal, product focused
• All necessary info fits onto one page
(little to no scrolling)
• Site has customer registration so
loyal customers can shop easily
• Site has a shopping cart so she can
buy all of her products at once
POTENTIAL FRUSTRATIONS
• Customer Service/Returns is not
easy to find on the site
• Misleading hyperlinked images
on the landing page leads to
unexpected product category
• More than one main navigation
bar gives Esther information
overload
CONCLUSIONS
A simple and easy-to-use shopping site is ideal for Esther. She is interested in knowing
about the artisan behind the work and her process and materials. If she likes the product
enough, she will buy it, and trusts that the purchase process will be smooth.
TECHNICAL PROFILE
• Macbook
• Web browsing for mostly work
DEVICE USE
• Instagram for showing off children’s artwork
• Uses Google Maps often
• Occasionally forwards interesting pictures/
sites to co-workers

8. Sitemap
Homepage will feature a logo
and tagline, a slideshow,
which effectively showcases
featured products
Just like the competing
sites, this website will
have a shopping cart in the
upper-left hand corner of
every page on the website,
as well as a user log-in Shipping & Returns can
be in the Contact page