The Brief
The TUC approached OWA to create a new design and smoother user experience (UX) for its online shop as part of a wider design refresh of its main website. The store – offering publications, gifts and other merchandise for order – was limited by a basic user interface (UI) and users found it difficult to locate and purchase items.
Our brief was simple: focus on redesigning the store to complement the updated website and implement a more user-friendly e-commerce experience with content-themed areas, and a smoother carting process.
About the TUC
The TUC is there to make the working world a better place for everyone. It brings together more than 5.5 million working people who make up the 48 member unions.
OWA has worked with the TUC since the early 2000s on numerous different technical projects. Our close relationship with the TUC has allowed us to help grow and evolve its online presence through the development of various web-enabled applications and mobile apps, alongside our ongoing hosting and support services.
Our approach
OWA worked closely with the TUC project team to scope the design and functional requirements for the new online store. Following these discussions, we created a set of visual wireframes to test and validate how the new interfaces and user journey would work through the purchasing workflow.
The wireframes proposed a structure for product pages with key information, such as quantity, discounting, bulk ordering and out-of-stock status, along with an easy-to-follow filter and category layout. They also demonstrated how the user journey could be refined through simplified purchasing and ordering steps, starting with a new content-led storefront showcasing themed items and campaigns.
Following feedback rounds and approval of the wireframes, we moved onto the implementation, agreeing a flexible approach with the TUC so the store could be comprehensively populated with new product content prior to go live.
How we helped
Visual wireframes were an essential part of the prototyping process and allowed us to rapidly iterate versions of the store and product pages, ensuring tangible design and UX improvements could be delivered
Wireframes also enabled us and the TUC project team to successfully restructure and streamline product categories, filters and listing information, simplifying the UI presentation
We worked flexibly with the TUC to ensure all the inventory was updated with new content without affecting the live instance until the launch of the new online store was completely ready
