Inkbox
Inkbox is a direct-to-consumer tattoo brand that empowers customers to own their now. Their patented tattoos last 1-2 weeks, fading as your skin naturally regenerates. It’s applied easily at home, with no needles required. Customers can shop thousands of designs from their artist community or create their own through a web platform.
Senior Product Designer
Gave HCD mentorship to junior colleagues.
Designer and moderator for usability testing, A/B testing, and diary studies.
Created a design system and component library for a mobile-first e-commerce site.
Focus on growth with experiments around sign-up, browsing and cart options.
Improving the customer journey from screen to skin.
Our initial journey map research and website testing showed three areas of opportunity relating to the product package.
How can we make the application intuitive?
What’s the best way to present help to customers?
What physical qualities of the materials should be improved?
My work focused on designing and moderating research sessions to bring insights to teams across the company while coaching junior members and other staff on HCD practices. I also worked on the e-commerce site to improve the flow and visuals of signing up, browsing, searching, and purchasing products with a mobile-first approach.
Team
2 Developers
1 Junior Product Designer
1 Product Manager
1 Graphic Designer
1 Operations Manager
Time
6 Months
Challenge
There are thousands of designs to choose from, and customers face friction in finding something they like. Once they receive the product, they misapply it. There's an opportunity to improve the browsing experience, most notably the application process and improve customer satisfaction.
Goal
How can we remove friction from the full customer journey?
Show relevant tattoo designs on the website.
Success criteria: Cart conversion for library designs or custom tattoo designs.
Reduce the number of application errors.
Success criteria: Customers don’t need to fully rely on written or video instructions.
Get insights on new application technology.
Success criteria: Successful tattoo application with the new process.
Business Impact
All the learnings of this research project greatly impacted the creation of customer empathy across the company. From engineering to production and marketing, the engagement of diverse folks enabled a new technology that set the foundation to elevate the customer experience.
Increase in tattoo product sales.
Users are now more likely to see a relevant design on the first page increasing conversion. We also Increased successful design submissions from 50% to 95%.
New technology validated in time for production.
Production changes are costly but the tests gave all departments confidence in the materials used for the new technology. The industrial engineering team was able to successfully own their research initiatives.
Application and validation of new branding.
Successful partnership and coordination between external agencies and internal teams with strong brand recognition. Inkbox was acquired by BIC in 2022
Research
First, we set out to understand what was difficult about finding the right tattoo to purchase.
The testing room was big enough for a moderator, a note-taker and a customer. It had video and audio streaming to a viewing room. The viewing room was used by different teams to observe and brainstorm new ideas.
Ten customers with an interest in tattoos were recruited to evaluate the website on their personal mobile devices.
30 minutes with participants in an in-person moderated session.
Participants used their phones to find and purchase a tattoo on the website.
Cameras capture the user’s face and their mobile device screen.
70%
Were not able to find something they liked when landing on the homepage.
80%
Mentioned the photography seems to focus on white women.
100%
Called out the ability to create your own tattoo.
Second, we set out to identify how to make it easy for customers to apply their tattoos.
Ten customers were recruited to unbox and apply a tattoo of choice with a multi-day follow-up which included photo journaling.
30 minutes with participants in an in-person moderated session.
Unboxing impressions.
Instructions and application evaluation.
Diary review with a follow-up interview.
30%
Error rate for product application.
90%
Preference for illustrations as the main form of instruction information.
80%
Expressed positive reactions to the package.
Insights
Users related the product to stick-and-peel temporary tattoos, leading to wrong expectations. The complex application process and the overwhelming number of items included also hindered its use.
“Is there a design I like, and will it look good on me?”
“How do I apply it, and how long does it last?”
“How does the tattoo work, and is it safe?”
Like a needle in a haystack
With artists and branded partners like Marvel, Inkbox offers a library of over 15,000 designs, but customers have to browse for a bit before they find something they like. Moreover, customers want to see themselves represented in the lifestyle images and design previews and may not be aware of other available products.
The original page faced challenges in displaying products, particularly the mobile website.
Make it plain English
Inkbox allows customers to design, preview and submit a custom tattoo design. Our testing showed that this feature stands out to most customers and excited them to “test run” a permanent tattoo.
Technical language can be challenging when communicating the submission guidelines.
Incorrect submission required intervention by staff, creating a significant resource drain for the company.
Like bathroom surgery
Despite users liking the brand and the legitimacy of the package, they were overwhelmed by the unexpected number of items included and the steps involved.
The presentation of items has a big impact on how customers perceive how complex the application instructions will be.
Item labels and numbering are essential for a correct application. Even if users don’t fully read the instructions, the item name and ordering hints at their purpose and process.
Customers do not expect the need for gloves and a hot towel to apply the tattoo.
Show don’t tell
Given the choice, most users opted to follow the illustrations. They described them as easy to follow, but some still made application mistakes.
We noticed that customers had different ideas of the steps necessary if we said wipe vs. primer wipe vs. exfoliant, for example.
Most applications require both hands, which limits how customers handle the paper instructions. In those cases, customers called out for video help.
No one used the included Facebook QR code to view instructions.
Solutions
Inkbox approached Concrete to create a new visual identity system that better reflected its growing community, product offering, and internal culture. The re-brand launched in 2019 at pop-up stores in Toronto, Tokyo and London. The re-brand provided me with an opportunity to unify all previous customer insights with a design system and component library built with accessibility, modularity and merchandising in mind.
Component library for e-commerce site created by me.
Relevant merchandising
We have implemented merchandising and searching tools that present products relevant to the customer, with better alignment of information architecture and nomenclature. We have also improved users’ understanding and expectations of the product with clearer content and graphics. Our focus on diversity and inclusion is reflected in our product and marketing photography.
In addition, I developed a design system and component library for a fully responsive e-commerce website, aligned with the new branding. I also designed flexible templates to support collaboration with properties such as Marvel, Rick & Morty, and Gorillaz.
Onboard users to the platform
Many users struggled to submit print-ready designs with the custom creation tool. To address this obstacle, we added a “tour” onboarding to help customers understand essential elements of the process.
We enhanced the onboarding flows for the design studio tool by adding visual aids and simplified language to communicate key concepts effectively. Additionally, we included a size and placement preview for tattoo designs.
As a result, saw a significant increase in successful design submissions from 50% to 95%.
Simple and clean
The new application method and materials (Saniderm) successfully made it easy for customers to apply their tattoos correctly. The tests validated materials and finishes that were clear and easy to use yet provided the best result.
Application takes longer to develop, but we ditched the gloves, warm towel, and having to apply pressure on the patch. The material was comfortable; some customers would forget it was on or leave it longer to get a “stronger” result.
Highlight what’s important
Customers focus on three elements when they apply their tattoo. We used this to focus the hierarchy of information in the instruction card. These elements are the video instructions, the illustrations, and information on product longevity.
We improved the item names to match customer expectations and encourage desired actions. We made the video instructions more prominent and tailored the content to address common problems. To make information more accessible, we focused on clear illustrations and concise titles that are easy to skim.
Keep the box
With the new application process, materials, and streamlined instructions, we significantly reduced the number of items included in each package. This unique presentation made customers feel less intimidated by the application.
Our new package allowed internal collaboration with the design agency Concrete to leverage lifestyle images that resonate with customers in a sleek envelope reminiscent of vinyl records.
This emphasis on imagery is critical when releasing collections collaborating with prominent properties like Marvel or artists like Post Malone.
Learnings
During our testing, we employed the creativity, resourcefulness and curiosity of the whole Inkbox team to assist in our research. This shows that UX is not only for the e-commerce product team. The methodologies we used are all part of the feedback loop between all departments to innovate our product technology and present it in a compelling way to customers.
Company
Every time we have a customer in, it’s an opportunity for anyone working at Inbox to connect their roles to the impact they have over customers.
Team
Recruiting and scheduling people can take a lot of time. Set realistic expectations and contingencies to account for changing situations.
Personal
Letting others shadow you and learn means that they too will advocate for what’s best for the customer.