Vivienne Westwood (VWS) is a modern, punk-inspired fashion brand with a longstanding presence in the industry. Its founder, Dame Vivienne Westwood, gained global recognition not only for her provocative new-wave designs and numerous awards but also for her activism in causes such as climate change, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and civil rights. Therefore, the brand's new online presence needed to authentically reflect its bold identity and values.
Problem Statement
The previous VWS website faced several business and user experience challenges. The site was slow, difficult to maintain, and did not align with the best UX practices. The client wanted to transition to Salesforce Commerce Cloud to improve maintainability, enhance performance, and provide a seamless shopping experience.
How might we transition Vivienne Westwood's online platform to enhance site performance, maintainability, and user experience, thereby aligning with the brand's avant-garde identity and supporting global growth?
My Role
As a UX designer on this project, I played a pivotal role in shaping the user experience by producing high-quality UX artifacts during the Definition phase and the span of 5 months. My work was rigorously reviewed and approved by VWS stakeholders, ensuring that every decision aligned with business objectives and user needs.
Process
All requirements were clearly defined at the beginning and agreed upon with the client. My approach combined strategic analysis, industry best practices, and a deep understanding of luxury e-commerce UX. The steps I followed included:
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Requirement Analysis – Conducted a thorough review of project requirements to ensure alignment with business goals and user expectations.
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Heuristic Evaluation – Assessed Vivienne Westwood’s existing website to identify usability issues and areas for improvement.
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Competitive Benchmarking – Conducted an in-depth competitor analysis, evaluating best-in-class luxury brands to identify industry standards and innovative UX patterns.
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Mood Boards & UX Best Practices – Curated visual inspirations and best UX practices for each functionality to establish a strong design foundation.
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Wireframing & Prototyping – Developed detailed UX wireframes to translate strategic insights into tangible solutions.
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Peer Reviews – Reviewed colleagues’ wireframes to ensure completeness, consistency, and adherence to usability guidelines and business objectives.
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Stakeholder Demos & Presentations – Led solution demonstrations for stakeholders and clients, articulating design decisions with a strong rationale.
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Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration – Worked closely with key stakeholders, including Project Managers, Business Analysts, UI Designers, Solution Architects, Developers, and QAs, to maintain seamless alignment throughout the project lifecycle.
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Iterative Refinements – Incorporated stakeholder and client feedback post-demo to refine and enhance the designs.
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Functional Specification Review – Reviewed the Functional Specification Documentation (FSD) prepared by the Business Analyst, ensuring it accurately captured the intended functionality for developers and QAs.
Challenges
Since the VWS brand is well-established, and clients had high expectations for top-quality solutions, every detail had to be carefully considered. This required a thorough understanding of each decision, along with the ability to justify why one solution was chosen over another—especially when countering client suggestions based on personal assumptions or biases.
Results & Impact
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Performance: The new platform offers improved scalability and performance, leading to faster load times and a more responsive user experience.
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Checkout Process: Streamlined checkout steps, significantly decreasing cart abandonment.
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Conversion Rate: Conversion rate increase thanks to the simplified checkout process and the multiple Payment Method options introduced.
"The new website is a significant improvement, allowing easier search of items, even by using the SKU (Stock-Keeping Unit) number. Since launch, we've seen increased online sales, with many customers now preferring to place orders through the website rather than visiting our physical store." — Sales Assistant, VWS Boutique, Nottingham, UK
All UX artifacts were successfully produced, reviewed, and approved by the client on schedule, meeting all expectations and quality standards. These improvements have positioned Vivienne Westwood’s online presence to better serve its diverse clientele, reflecting the brand’s rebellious spirit while providing a seamless and engaging shopping experience.
