Material Bank
Increasing user engagement by improving access to design tools that help interior designers streamline their workflow.
Material Bank
Increasing user engagement by improving access to design tools that help interior designers streamline their workflow.
Material Bank
Increasing user engagement by improving access to design tools that help interior designers streamline their workflow.
ROLE
UX Research
UX/UI Design
TYPE
Independent Study
TIMELINE
12 Weeks
TOOLS
Figma
Photoshop
Final Cut Pro
ROLE
Research
Strategy
UX/UI Design
TOOLS
Figma
Photoshop
Notebook LM
TYPE
Independent Study
TIMELINE
12 Weeks
THE ASK
Reduce the turnover of manufacturer enrollment on Material Bank’s platform.
PROBLEM
Designer engagement fluctuates with the sampling demands of their projects, leading to inconsistent platform use and reducing the value Material Bank delivers to Brands for exposure and lead generation.
INSIGHT
Sampling is just one part of a designer’s responsibilities during a project’s ideation phase. Their workflow is complex, often involving multiple touchpoints across disconnected software programs.
OPPORTUNITY
By incorporating design tools that streamline tasks beyond sampling, Material Bank has the opportunity to boost designer engagement and, in turn, reduce brand turnover.
THE ASK
Reduce the turnover of manufacturer (Brand) enrollment on Material Bank’s platform.
THE ASK
Reduce the turnover of manufacturer (Brand) enrollment on Material Bank’s platform.
PROBLEM
Designer engagement fluctuates with the sampling demands of their projects, leading to inconsistent platform use and reducing the value Material Bank delivers to Brands for exposure and lead generation.
PROBLEM
Designer engagement fluctuates with the sampling demands of their projects, leading to inconsistent platform use and reducing the value Material Bank delivers to Brands for exposure and lead generation.
INSIGHT
Sampling is just one part of a designer’s responsibilities during a project’s ideation phase. Their workflow is complex, often involving multiple touchpoints across disconnected software programs.
INSIGHT
Sampling is just one part of a designer’s responsibilities during a project’s ideation phase. Their workflow is complex, often involving multiple touchpoints across disconnected software programs.
OPPORTUNITY
By incorporating design tools that streamline tasks beyond sampling, Material Bank has the opportunity to boost designer engagement and, in turn, reduce brand turnover.
OPPORTUNITY
By incorporating design tools that streamline tasks beyond sampling, Material Bank has the opportunity to boost designer engagement and, in turn, reduce brand turnover.
Background
It's estimated that interior designers dedicate nearly 25% of their billable hours to sampling-related tasks.
The process of sampling physical materials is a critical but highly time consuming task for interior designers.
Traditionally, sampling has been rife with pain points such as sourcing from independent manufacturers, navigating inconsistent distribution models, and receiving wasteful packaging.
Traditionally, sampling has been been rife with pain points such as sourcing from independent manufacturers, navigating inconsistent distribution models, and receiving wasteful packaging.
With its launched in 2019, Material Bank revolutionized this process.
Its centralized platform provides designers with access to 300,000+ SKUs from hundreds of brands and next-day delivery for orders placed by 2:00 PM—all in a single, reusable box.
And it is augmenting the platform with tools to provide even more value to designers.
In 2022, Material Bank launched an integrated design tool called "boards". A simple but effective feature that let's designers save and organize products without placing a sample order.
Despite its substantial growth, attracting over 100,000 designers since its launch, Material Bank is currently facing the challenge of retaining manufacturers (brands) on its platform.
Research
I conducted a usability study and UX audit to better understand the quality of designer's experiences— especially with the Boards feature.
I was familiar with Material Bank's platform from my days as an interior architect. These research methods allowed me to test my assumptions regarding the platform's faults and opportunities for improvement.
Usability Study
UX Audit
Want to learn more about my research and how I used AI to assist with problem identification?
Key Findings
Two key findings emerged from the research.
01
Designers are unaware of, nor can they find, the key design tool that already exists on Material Bank’s website— the Boards feature.
Designers are unaware of, nor can they find, the key design tool that already exists on
Material Bank’s website—
the Boards feature.
02
Even once designers discover the Boards feature, they find it’s not robust enough to augment their workflow.
Solution
Increase awareness of an integrated and robust set of design tools that allow designers to expedite their workflow.
The solution came in two phases, responding to the two key findings that emerged throughout the research.
01
UX/UI improvements to increase awareness of design tools and make it easier to find them.
02
Integrate useful design features to reduce touchpoints across various software programs.
Solution
Increase awareness of an integrated and robust set of design tools that allow designers to expedite their workflow.
The solution came in two phases, responding to the two key findings that emerged throughout the research.
01
UX/UI improvements to increase awareness of design tools and make it easier to find them.
02
Integrate useful design features to reduce touchpoints across various software programs.
SOLUTION | PHASE 01
Improve the UX/UI
Designers are unaware of, nor can they find, the key design tool that already exists on Material Bank’s website— the Boards feature.
Homepage
1
The hero highlights the “boards” design tool and links to a tutorial where she can learn about how it can speed up her workflow
2
A collapsable side menu improves access to a user’s account-related features and distinguishes them from product browsing navigation
3
When returning to the site, users now see their most recent project activity / content that allows them to quickly resume their workflow
Homepage
1
The hero highlights the “boards” design tool and links to a tutorial where she can learn about how it can speed up her workflow
2
A collapsable side menu improves access to a user’s account-related features and distinguishes them from product browsing navigation
3
When returning to the site, users now see their most recent project activity / content that allows them to quickly resume their workflow
Homepage
1
The hero highlights the “boards” design tool and links to a tutorial where she can learn about how it can speed up her workflow
2
A collapsable side menu improves access to a user’s account-related features and distinguishes them from product browsing navigation
3
When returning to the site, users now see their most recent project activity / content that allows them to quickly resume their workflow
Adding products to a Board
1
The “Add to Board” button was relocated adjacent to a user’s more frequent actions
2
The button’s UI was also redesigned to increase its visual weight
3
The Add to Board overlay was redesigned to clarify the actions required to perform the task
Adding products to a Board
1
The “Add to Board” button was relocated adjacent to a user’s more frequent actions
2
The button’s UI was also redesigned to increase its visual weight
3
The Add to Board overlay was redesigned to clarify the actions required to perform the task
Adding products to a Board
1
The “Add to Board” button was relocated adjacent to a user’s more frequent actions
2
The button’s UI was also redesigned to increase its visual weight
3
The Add to Board overlay was redesigned to clarify the actions required to perform the task
Project Dashboard
1
A horizontal navigation menu orients the user and allows them to easily toggle between a project’s details, orders, and boards
2
The menu also reduces cognitive overload, minimizing the information a user needs to process in order to take action
3
Users can access a project’s Boards without leaving the project dashboard and remain oriented throughout their navigation
Project Dashboard
1
A horizontal navigation menu orients the user and allows them to easily toggle between a project’s details, orders, and boards
2
The menu also reduces cognitive overload, minimizing the information a user needs to process in order to take action
3
Users can access a project’s Boards without leaving the project dashboard and remain oriented throughout their navigation
Project Dashboard
1
A horizontal navigation menu orients the user and allows them to easily toggle between a project’s details, orders, and boards
2
The menu also reduces cognitive overload, minimizing the information a user needs to process in order to take action
3
Users can access a project’s Boards without leaving the project dashboard and remain oriented throughout their navigation
SOLUTION | PHASE 02
Integrate additional design tools
Even once designers discover the Boards feature, they find it’s not robust enough to augment their workflow.
Canva App
1
Once they’ve downloaded the app, the Material Bank icon appears in the side navigation menu where they can link their account
2
Users can browse their Boards and add / edit product imagery directly from Canva while creating presentation decks
3
The app eliminates a designers need to download and edit files and reduces touchpoints across various software programs
Canva App
1
Once they’ve downloaded the app, the Material Bank icon appears in the side navigation menu where they can link their account
2
Users can browse their Boards and add / edit product imagery directly from Canva while creating presentation decks
3
The app eliminates a designers need to download and edit files and reduces touchpoints across various software programs
Canva App
1
Once they’ve downloaded the app, the Material Bank icon appears in the side navigation menu where they can link their account
2
Users can browse their Boards and add / edit product imagery directly from Canva while creating presentation decks
3
The app eliminates a designers need to download and edit files and reduces touchpoints across various software programs
Want to learn more about my iteration and prototyping process?
Want to learn more about my iteration and prototyping process?
Reflection
I became familiar with Material Bank's product throughout my 10 year career as an interior architect. While I admired the ingenuity of the platform, I had my own preconceived notions regarding opportunities for improvement.
This project was an opportunity for me to test my assumptions. Conducting both market and user research, I was able to critically evaluate not only Material Bank's UX, but develop a longer-term strategy aimed at aligning future design decisions and feature innovation with business goals.
I particularly enjoyed the research and problem identification phases of this project. A longer timeline afforded me opportunity to explore different research methods, tools for analysis, and level up my interaction and responsive design skills in Figma.
I became familiar with Material Bank's product throughout my 10 year career as an interior architect. While I admired the ingenuity of the platform, I had my own preconceived notions regarding its opportunities for improvement.
This project was an opportunity for me to test my assumptions. Conducting both market and user research, I was able to critically evaluate not only Material Bank's UX, but develop a longer-term strategy aimed at aligning future design decisions and feature innovation with business goals.
I particularly enjoyed the research and problem identification phases of this project. A longer timeline afforded me opportunity to explore different research methods, tools for analysis, and level up my interaction and responsive design skills in Figma.
RESEARCH
I conducted a usability study and UX audit to better understand the quality of designer's experiences— especially with the Boards feature.
I was familiar with Material Bank's platform from my days as an interior architect. These research methods allowed me to test my assumptions regarding the platform's faults and opportunities for improvement.
Usability Study
UX Audit
Want to learn more about my research and how I used AI to assist with problem identification?