Case Study: Redesigning Myntra.com
After we designed and built out Myntra’s first android application, we turned our attention to their desktop products as well. However, halfway through the design process, the the new parent company (Flipkart, another of our clients had acquired Myntra in 2014) decided to go down an app-only route for Myntra — so these designs never saw the light of day. Nonetheless, we believe that the work remains strong, and since our non-disclosure agreements have expired, we are happy to share.
A little background
When we came on board, the Myntra desktop product was a mish-mash of styles and ideas, with design, content and marketing teams all pushing their own visions of what the website should be forward. No unifying thought existed around creating a cohesive desktop experience.
Redesigning the Storefront
We stepped in and immediately asked — how do we go about co-creating the best possible fashion experience for online shoppers? In 2013, the Indian fashion market remained nascent and we quickly determined that we needed to help build the market in addition to providing the tools and space for shoppers to be able to find what they were looking for. One of the key strategic decisions that Myntra had arrived upon was that they needed to invest heavily in content. The company built out a small content army to educate shoppers on topics ranging from fashion trends to how to wear a tie, and everything in between.
Our redesign supported this content-first approach, with collections, products and the writing given equal prominence. Strong yet flexible grids, carefully-chosen colour palettes, distinctive typography as well as a clear information hierarchy helped build what remains, in our own (biased) opinions an extremely attractive online storefront.
Reunification
Other areas of the website followed a similar pattern, with the clear structure acting as a unifying visual thread while allowing for the playfulness of fashion to come through. Writers and marketing teams could easily update the website while being secure in the knowledge that the beautiful design would adapt to the new content.
We made a series of illustrations for different product lines, which were to act as navigational aids — some of these are reproduced below.
Product Pages
In 2013–14, the idea that people would purchase expensive fashion products online remained a contentious one; we were determined to remove any design-barriers to that process. We lavished attention and detail on the product pages, with beautiful high-resolution photographs and clearly delineated content blocks.
Products were brought front and center. Key decision-making points (price, colour, availability, size, fit etc) were clearly laid out with strong call-to-actions. Magazine-style insets were included for higher-end products, to help answer questions or demonstrate product features.
The interface adapted seamlessly if detailed descriptions or high-resolution imagery were not present, pulling out the various views of the product and scaling the product page to show more recommendations from across the site.
Tailored for smaller devices
Shoppers visiting Myntra.com from a web browser weren’t ignored, with tailored pages adapting the designs to smaller devices. Navigation to key sub-categories were surfaced, as was the rich-content which dominated the desktop storefronts.
In Conclusion
The bold, app-only strategy that Flipkart/Myntra attempted in 2014 seems to have been put on hold, with the original desktop website making a reappearance. Websites seem to be receiving some more attention — and we hope that Myntra.com soon sports some new threads.
Want to work together?
We love designing beautiful, responsive digital experiences. Need help? Write to: hello@uncommon.is
