As the sole product designer and developer for the company, I was asked to design and develop map-related products that would appeal to audiences in the UK, EU and US, where the company had strong retail links, via e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Not on the High Street, Etsy and its own online shop, and brick-and-mortar sites via distributors.
My responsibilities included:
market research
data analysis of sales figures and customer feedback
user research
user testing
product ideation, development, design including its packaging
design marketing docs
initiate licensing opportunities
In 4 years, I designed 20+ new products, with others that were in development. I also helped to update existing products.
As an example of the process, this case study is about the creation of the World Surfing map.
The range of 'Collect and Scratch' and 'Scratch the World' was the most popular and most of the product development had been within these categories. From 2021, I attempted to bring the 2 ranges together: by seeing what activities had the same components that fit the 'Collect and Scratch' range but within the structure of the entire world. (Collect and Scratch/Scratch the World are map prints that are coated with scratch off foiling to reveal names/designs underneath.
Most activities were localised, or if they were worldwide then there were caveats, from blockers such as memberships or even territory disputes.
Within my previous research, surfing was a hobby that had gained popularity in the COVID-19 lockdown, due to it being outdoors.
I started out with some general competitor analysis.
In terms of products, there were some but of dubious design quality. However, the books indicated that surfing around hotspots worldwide was a desirable task: to ride some unique waves.
Our current customers had been historically keen to give feedback about the product ranges, due to the review-led nature of the e-commerce sites. Therefore, I utilised the companies Mailchimp email marketing to create a simple survey to denote interest and particular nuances of the potential product, as well as connecting with forums and a surfing blogger.
Based on numbers of sales and searches found using Ahrefs, Semrush, Magento sales CMS data and Amazon sales and search term data, the company was confident enough to proceed wither further development. This research was done in co-ordination with Sales/Marketing and the MD.
Working with a freelancer, book research, the aforementioned surfing blogger and the in-house GIS specialists, a list of points worldwide were decided upon, alongside interesting and relevant data to surfers. Being a map-specialist, data that was relevant to a geographical point was of most interest and relevancy. This was also a design consistency that had been part of other products, such as the Rock Climbing map I had designed previously, featured below.
There were several low-fi design iterations, one featured below. These I then user tested, using the TestingTime platform to employ external user testers. This was a short survey conducted via a 1:1 interview.
I displayed the draft product below, and asked questions about their background and knowledge of surfing, what data was relevant or not, prioritisation of locations to be featured and general aesthetics preferences.
It was at this point I left the company, but I see that it has been further developed and published.
.png)
.png)
