Planches du Nozon

  • Desktop and mobile website

I led the strategy, research & design of "Planches du Nozon" website across a desktop and a mobile version.


I evolved the service and address customers pain-points related to the discovery experience.

  • User research & strategy
  • competition analysis
  • User testing
  • Mockups and prototypes
  • Teamwork with stakeholders
  • Heatmaps and screen recordings
  • Analytics and ongoing development

Meet

The client

Les Planches du Nozon is a swiss company creating wooden surfboards directly from the tree. They cut, shape and decorate every single surfboard from the local forest.

Understanding

The user

Why a decorative surfboard?

The “unique” features of the products include:

  • Product customization
  • “Wow” effect (emotional)
  • Local economy, sustainability
  • Hand-made, authenticity in the product

Who is it for?

Local people (30-50 years old) willing to differentiate themselves and acquire a unique object.

These users want to include a special “fresh and young” atmosphere in an interior.

Research & Testing

User interview

  1. I want to know the price straight away
  2. It's too expensive. Can I rent a board instead of buying one?
  3. I want to see more pictures to image possibilities and designs available for me. I want to see possibilities.
  4. “I’m going to buy one” -> but they don’t

Decisions

  1. Mobile-first, desktop second.
  2. Select better clients throughout the website towards an older community. Or encourage people to simply save money to purchase later on.
  3. Show the price on the first page to make things clear, select wealthier clients and avoid being asked by young people with low budget.
  4. Have a “company” section on the website specially dedicated to entreprises willing to acquire or rent a surfboard. This targets hotel managers, interior designers, store owners/managers, watch companies (gifts), and other business willing to show something original and unique to their clients.

Pictures First

Decision to create more of a “patchwork” type of presentation to show people the variety of possibilities.  That way, customers are able to imagine their own personalised board. The personalisation is what makes a buying decision from the customer. 

The model of board is only relevant in size, not function (we cannot surf these boards). So we decided to get away from a “product on a white background” type of presentation and move towards showing more variety through the website.

From "product-first" to "picture-first"

User Testing & Feedback

User problems

  1. Can I choose the wood and the finish of the board ?
  2. I can feel that the company is really young (mostly with little references). I'd probably wait before purchasing.
  3. I want to see more of the board's shape.
  4. What are the sizes available ?
  5. I want to see how it is made in more details.

Decisions

  1. Adding a new business model: Including the possibility of renting boards instead of only being able to buy them. This will create trust at a lower price so that they will have a higher chance of buying later on (once trust is established).
  2. Change the traditional “product on a white background” look towards a more “instragram-like” patchwork. Users want to see more various example so they can imagine their own designs produced on those boards.
  3. Increase trust, references (validation) by showcasing play with people's positive comments, testimonials and press articles. But also by trying to show more expertise in work, making it appear with a greater seniority.
  4. Add square pictures with the boards finishes and colours to remove the customer's doubt.
  5. Add the different sizes directly with respective pricing on the homepage.
  6. Add a new dedicated tab with production details in a step by step way to show how boards are made and add value to the process. 

Design choices & Mood Boards

  1. Let pictures speak for themselves
  2. Choose a very “soft” design around those pictures (soft shadows, pastel colours, etc..)

Prototype

Heatmaps and Screen recordings

Screen recordings

Screen recordings are a great way to check user behaviour and see where they are going, their interest and what they are looking for in the end. 

Heatmaps

Heatmaps are clearly showing the user favourite pages in the header.

A colour feature for the products is creating interest. We can also relate the heatmap with the actual sales of the business.

Impact

Product sales increased by 65%

The most business-dependant page "Créé ta planche" became the most visited page through A/B testing over a single month

Active users increased by 171%

Sessions increased by 157%

Increase of 50% for the "best seller" product

What I've learned on this project

  1. Understanding what's behind the customer's buying decision: the emotional decision based on the visual impact of the board / the hand-made, local creation process of the products / the ability to picture new possibilities (how the future board will look like) with a variety of examples.
  2. Adding a new business model: Including the possibility of renting boards instead of only being able to buy them. This will create trust at a lower price so that they will have a higher chance of buying later on (once trust is established).
  3. Change the traditional “product on a white background” look towards a more “instragram-like” patchwork. Users want to see more various example so they can imagine their own designs produced on those boards.
  4. Increase trust, references (validation) by showcasing play with people's positive comments, testimonials and press articles. But also by trying to show more expertise in work, making it appear with a greater seniority.
  5. Importance of pricing: show the price on the first page to make things clear, select wealthier clients and avoid being asked by young people with low budget.
  6. Have a “company” section on the website specially dedicated to entreprises willing to acquire or rent a surfboard. This targets hotel managers, interior designers, store owners/managers, watch companies (gifts), and other business willing to show something original and unique to their clients.