Taxonomy & Navigation Redesign
Paula's Choice sells high-end skin care and cosmetics. With more than 180 unique SKU's in their catalogue, and multiple paths to every product, finding what you needed wasn't always easy. Industry-specific classification and terminology was hindering their SEO efforts and they did not stand out from their competitors.
With a full content strategy overhaul to taxonomy and information architecture, I helped them to increase site visit durations, decrease site abandonment, and increase average order value and revenue.
Control Navigation
Inconsistencies between desktop and mobile navigation and confusing categorization of brands and products created barriers for customers to find the products they needed.
UX Research & Strategy
Conducting a physical card sort of products and categories with the client.
Determining facets for new taxonomy informed by data from search engine terms and competitor analysis.
Mapping results from a Tree Test study conducted with users to inform decisions on changes to IA and navigation.
Content strategy mapping looking at how every SKU is accessed throughout the site in order to create better organization of information and improve product-finding.
Early Variations
V1 - Primary Navigation Under "Shop" allows for a cleaner header and more room for utility navigation elements.
V2 - Horizontal L1 Navigation enables faster navigation on desktop and reveals multiple methods of finding products.
Updated Navigation
The final desktop design incorporated product images in the nav and interactive elements to further enhance the experience. Certain elements from the original site design that had a lower priority were moved to the footer.
Interactive Prototype
I created an interactive prototype for testing early design ideas with users. The two primary concepts focused on a focused "Shop" path versus a more visual and compartmentalized approach.
Through testing, we determined that v2 was the better design and were able to proceed iterating on the designs.
Clicking on the "Paula's Choice" logo in the prototype will allow you to switch between the two variants.
View PrototypeAbout this project
Paulas Choice
The engagement with Paula's Choice in 2018 tested and launched several large projects, including new taxonomy, information architecture, navigation redesign, redesigns of product listing and detail pages, and additional visual design updates to bring the site inline with newer branding. These changes were live on the site from 2018 until early 2024 when Paula's Choice updated their site.