FriendFinder Brands Reform
Problem - FriendFinder and its co-brands faced challenges in appealing to a younger audience due to an outdated and cluttered interface that overwhelmed users with information. The mobile and tablet experiences lagged behind current standards. The goal was to adopt a modern, systematic, and user-centered design approach.
Role - Design Director, Brand Lead. Teams Involved - Product, Marketing, Engineer, and Design
Solution - As the lead of product design, I spearheaded the efforts in redefining requirements, establishing the digital brand, and developing animations and prototype web components. Given that each brand had distinct business objectives, requirements, and varying levels of digital maturity, I directed the creation of versatile design templates rather than one-off solutions. This allowed for scalability and consistency across products, regions, and use cases. My collaboration with the engineering team streamlined future updates, ensuring that technical advancements could be efficiently integrated.
The Process
Define Product Strategy - I initiated a user survey to gather feedback, identifying key areas for enhancement. Partnering closely with the product owner, we analyzed survey results and performed feature pairing to align user insights with product goals. This collaboration resulted in clear product attributes and feature behaviors that met both user needs and business objectives.
Research & Sketch User Flow - I conducted comprehensive research to determine optimal user flows and created sketches for stakeholder review. To ensure robust design options, I guided the design team to analyze competitor features and identify best practices, fostering multiple solutions tailored to our users.
Create User Test Questionnaire - Working alongside the product owner, I designed a user test questionnaire with specific design parameters to yield representative and actionable user experience data. This step, typically undertaken by a researcher, was critical in shaping the next phase of user testing.
User Testing Prototype - Upon finalizing the test questionnaire, I assigned prototype flows to designers, aligning the prototypes with the user testing objectives. This strategic alignment facilitated targeted and effective user testing sessions.
Usability Testing - We engaged screened participants from our user base and incentivized their involvement in usability testing. Participants recorded facial expressions and on-device interactions as they navigated the prototype, allowing us to track sentiment and pinpoint areas of hesitation. I synthesized the results into a comprehensive report, enabling designers to refine their work based on data-driven insights.
Make Cobrandable - Consolidating the results from user testing, we integrated key findings into the main products and conducted A/B testing and KPI reports to validate revenue impact. Following the successful outcomes of the A/B tests, we migrated these critical design elements across all cobrands, ensuring consistency and enhancing the overall user experience.
Impact - The design overhaul led to a 120% increase in chat revenue and a 30% rise in mobile reorders. User testing played a crucial role in reshaping the UI, driving improved mobile web performance. The user experience was significantly enhanced by channeling user feedback into tangible improvements for the engineering team, ultimately reducing user pain points and boosting satisfaction. Furthermore, the implementation of a global design language system standardized components across brands, allowing tailored visual styles while simplifying future development.
By 2023, this cohesive interactive experience was established across all platforms.
