Royal Change Partnership
Katherine Crocker, Jordan McGuire, Maya Giro
The Project Pitch
With 1.44 million subscribers on her YouTube channel and over 422k followers on Instagram, Sydney Houdyshell is taking over social media by storm. Together with her husband, Dustin, Sydney owns Royal Change, an online fitness company that offers a variety of products, including a paid membership program called the Sydney Squad. However, the current website lacks cohesive branding and an intuitive user experience, which impacts user engagement and satisfaction. This is especially true for Sydney Squad members who cannot access their paid benefits directly on the site and must navigate a cluttered Facebook group to find important content.
In the words of Sydney, “it’s not about perfection, it’s about consistency.” It’s time that Royal Change develops the consistency needed to satisfy their expanding target audience.
Introducing a brand new Royal Change digital experience: A fully functional WordPress site with new features and plugins. The site offers an all new login portal for Sydney Squad members to access their benefits directly, eliminating the need to navigate Facebook. Members can now say goodbye to scrolling through hundreds of posts on Facebook simply to find a discount code posted by Sydney. Additionally, the flexibility of WordPress allows Sydney and Dustin to update the site with new trends and features in the fitness industry, ensuring that Royal Change stays relevant and competitive in the market.
Now that’s consistency.
Meet Our Client
Royal Change is an online fitness and nutrition company that offers a wide variety of fitness apparel, equipment, and a paid subscription to a private community called the Sydney Squad. The company is owned by Sydney Houdyshell and her husband, Dustin pictured below.
Sydney is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Fitness Nutrition Specialist from Charlotte, NC. She made it her mission to provide the world with free, high-quality fitness and, in 2018, created a Youtube Channel. Today, Sydney is a growing fitness influencer with 1.44 million subscribers on her channel that houses over a thousand workout videos organized by program and muscle categories. With her YouTube channel success, Sydney has become the face of Royal Change and is a key driver of the company’s sales.
Our client relationship began with an email and a lot of fingers crossed.
One of our team members was following Sydney’s workouts for many years and noticed the lack of functionality on the Royal Change website. Collectively, we knew we could provide invaluable support to Sydney and help renovate her company’s website, but we knew getting her attention would be a challenge. While we recognized the odds were more or less against us, we simply had to ask ourselves:
What is there to lose?
And with that, our team drafted and sent a message to Royal Change’s support email with hope for the best. Within two weeks, we received an exciting response back from Dustin himself. We met with him and Sydney for the first time over Zoom, and, from then on, our relationship only continued to grow.
The Problem
Royal Change’s current website lacks the ability to adapt to the company’s growing content and audience members. When speaking with Sydney and Dustin for the first time, we learned that they do not like the current aesthetic of the Royal Change website. With their growing company, they can no longer rely on their web service provider, Weebly, and its limited features.
In addition, Dustin described the Sydney Squad Facebook group as “messy and disorganized.” He has a hard time scrolling to find important content he and Sydney posted, and he could only imagine how that pain point impacts their members. There’s no easy way on Facebook to separate the information his members pay for and their group discussions.
“Using Facebook as the primary platform isn’t very accessible. A lot of Sydney’s contributions get hidden or bogged down with so many other posts by other members of the Squad. I don’t have time to sift through Facebook to find all of Sydney’s content mixed in with everyone else’s personal/group posts.” — Sydney Squad member
Based on user research, we also discovered that the current site lacks a brand connection between Sydney and the brand, Royal Change. Oftentimes, new site visitors do not realize that Sydney is the face of Royal Change, and there needs to be some way to indicate that connection.
“I was new so I didn’t know Sydney Houdyshell = Royal Change. I thought they were different at first.” — Sydney Squad member
The Solution
We proposed that the Royal Change site be relocated to a WordPress server so that there would be more flexibility and functionality throughout the site. Following laws of UX principles, the new site was designed with brand consistency and an improved navigation system to limit the need for user decision-making. Also, Sydney is emphasized as the face of the brand in order to maintain her association with Royal Change. Photos of Sydney with Royal Change merchandise occupy the site to cement this relationship.
In addition to a site-wide renovation, we added a brand new Sydney Squad portal. This portal houses content developed by Sydney and Dustin including workout calendars, discount codes, and much more. This allows the Facebook group to remain as a forum for members to communicate with one another without the worry of losing important information they paid access for.
The Reveal: Project Features
Throughout the new site, we wanted to reflect the high energy and colorful presence of Sydney. We incorporated motion animations, slideshows, and lots of color. The site consists of several pages including a “Free Workouts” section that displays the most recently uploaded video on Sydney’s Youtube channel. Users can also view workouts from unique playlists like time restrictive or muscle specific. In addition, we created an “About” page that serves as a space to help users understand the integration of Sydney’s name with the Royal Change brand.
We brought the Sydney Squad to the Royal Change website by creating a portal for members to access their paid benefits. For new members, all they must do is choose a plan of their choice on the “Pricing” page and fill out the necessary checkout information. Rather than waiting for approval from Royal Change, new members now have immediate access to their benefits on the Royal Change website.
The Sydney Squad portal offers a minimalistic user interface for members to easily access their paid-for benefits. These benefits include downloadable monthly workout calendars, merchandise discount codes, weekly challenges, a macronutrient calculator, and a digital calendar for livestreams and other events. Members also now have the ability to directly edit their profile information, check their invoices, and change their billing info in the “Account Details” page.
The Technology
The renovated Royal Change site is run on WordPress, a sophisticated and reliable web platform that allows users with little web development experience to create and maintain functional websites. This platform will allow Sydney and Dustin to easily make future changes to the site without the need to hire professional help.
Many important WordPress plugins are active on the Royal Change website such as:
- Elementor Pro is the site’s chosen theme so that all of the site’s needs could be met cohesively with its excellent design services and abilities.
- Youtube Gallery plugin creates a custom shortcode so that the site generates Sydney’s most recently uploaded Youtube video directly on the “Home” and “Free Workouts” pages.
- Macro Tool for WordPress is a paid plugin that implements a custom macronutrient calculator for Sydney Squad members.
- Smush compresses media file sizes to improve the site’s overall performance and boost SEO.
- Paid Memberships Pro creates a series of pages meant for members to create and pay for a Sydney Squad membership that they can then log into.
- Wordfence Security checks for and halts brute force attacks on the site and allows admin to complete daily scans for weakened areas of the website. As Royal Change grows, so will the site’s traffic, therefore a security plugin is essential for a site such as this.
The Capstone Journey
Our capstone journey was structured by the product development process. We began with research and then created 3 design iterations of our product: an Alpha, Beta, and 1.0. Within those iterations, we drafted and presented a Design System, conducted user testing, and formatted deliverables that served as records of our milestones.
You can view our journey through a YouTube playlist that contains all of our major checkpoints for the project, or continue reading to learn more.
Research, Research, and More Research
Research served as the backbone of our capstone. Throughout our journey we researched the client, their competition, the audience, the brand’s design, and the developmental technology we would use. Out of all the lessons we learned, researching is at the top of the list as it influenced many of our decisions.
Diving Into the User Mindset
At the beginning of our project, we created a survey through Google Forms and posted it within the Sydney Squad’s Facebook group. Our goal was to learn more about who these members are and what they are seeking from the Royal Change site.
Within 24 hours, we received over 600 responses filled with insightful feedback and findings. While we were ecstatic by the overwhelming amount of responses, we would be lying if we said it was easy for us to interpret this large amount of data.
One of our solutions was creating word clouds. This helped us discover keywords that were used in more than one qualitative response.
Taking a Look at the Competition
We researched the competitive fitness and wellness industry to see what competitors were doing successfully and to identify their pain points. According to our client, Royal Change’s biggest competition include, but are not limited to the following brands:
From our user research, we also collected a list of individuals and brands who Royal Change’s target audience follows:
The takeaway: The fitness market is extremely saturated with influencers, brands, and coaches. We noticed the majority choose to either provide workouts/nutritional advice or sell products. Very few competitors tackle both routes, like Royal Change, which makes them stand out. Royal Change also gives their audience the option to follow for free or pay to subscribe for exclusive perks.
Our goal with the renovated site was to highlight all aspects that make Royal Change stand out from the other competitors currently in the market.
The Design System: Key Takeaways
Due to the nature of working with a pre-established brand, we assumed we would have limits to making any changes to their branding. But, little did we know, Royal Change did not have any form of a design system, let alone an established color palette. We had the opportunity to revise and refresh Royal Change’s branding without the worry of sacrificing their identity.
We wanted this new design system to bring the brand to life, with the goal of creating consistency, but also leaving room for flexibility. We took inspiration from Sydney and her vibrant, high-energy personality. It was our goal to convey that same liveliness in the new color palette through the use of bright secondary colors.
Along with new colors, we created three new logo variations. Royal Change currently has two variations of their crown logo: a formal and “sloppy” rendition. They also have “Royal Change” written in a script font that is printed across their fitness apparel. We combined the formal crown logo with the “Royal Change” script to bring the two styles together. This new design later became featured in the center of our desktop navbar and throughout many of our deliverables.
Developing the Alpha and Beta
We learned early on that longevity was going to be a main point of reason behind many decisions. We needed to make the new Royal Change website easy to use, easy to edit, and easy to upkeep for the client.
During our Alpha stage, we had several meetings with Dustin to learn more about how he envisions the new Royal Change site. We began by using his feedback and our research to create a wireframe made within Google Sheets. Each tab within the wireframe represents a page we wanted to add to the site. Within each tab, we listed all content that would be featured: copy, media, imagery, UI components, and plugins. We even included a section for survey evidence from our user research that we could use to back up each of our decisions. We then met with Dustin to get approval on the wireframe and confirm the WordPress theme. With everything set, it was time to get building, right?
Well, we wished it was that easy. It took Dustin weeks to purchase Elementor Pro, our chosen WordPress theme, and send us the packaged files. There was no time to be sitting ducks, and we knew we had to pivot in order to finish our alpha in time. Therefore, we downloaded the free version of Elementor Pro and built the site to our best ability with the features we had access to. While it was not the prettiest Alpha, it was an Alpha we called our own. And besides, if there is anything else we learned from this experience, it is that products are never perfect upon first iteration, and we were eager to get started on our beta.
The beta stage is where the magic happened. We finally received the needed files to utilize the confirmed theme and we got to work. We continued to build out the site while implementing the design system and boosting the site’s speed and SEO. The site also became fully responsive for desktop, tablet, and mobile devices. Everything was finally taking shape. Alongside the site’s development, we created a User Experience and Research Proposal that would guide our next phase: user testing.
User Testing Findings
Now that our beta was completed, it was time to turn to user testing. We tested eleven participants within Royal Change’s target audience and asked them to complete a variety of tasks.
We were beyond excited to see that the majority of participants really enjoyed the new site, from its functionality to its aesthetics. Our System Usability Scale (SUS) score indicated overall usability of the site. According to usability.gov, anything over 68 is considered above average, and our score ended up being a 93.
“I will definitely be using the new website more with all of the new features and capabilities!” — A user testing participant
While we received lots of positive feedback, the user tests also revealed a few issues we had overlooked. Here are the major issues we discovered:
- Responsiveness: Participants with laptop screens less than 14 inches noticed awkward stacking on the right side of the navbar. Other mobile errors were noted, as well.
- Clickable Links: A few participants had trouble noticing that certain parts of the navbar were clickable. For example, they did not realize “Sydney Squad” was an actual page and they just assumed it was a dropdown menu label.
- Member Menu: More than half of our participants did not know they could interact with the member menu located in the Sydney Squad member portal.
Overall, user testing taught us to not make assumptions. As creators, we have a built in bias that may overshadow the most obvious issues within a product. It was a very humbling experience to receive constructive feedback from our participants and we were eager to improve our product so that it better serves users.
1.0 and Launch
After countless iterations, feedback, and hours spent staring at a computer screen, the new Royal Change website was ready to be pushed out to the public. We are incredibly proud of the work we put into this product and the many long Zoom calls spent with one another. While the site remains password protected until Royal Change decides to make it go live, you can discover more through our project website: https://projects.nmi.cool/2023/em/rcpartnership/
The Impact
Our team has been personally impacted by this project in so many ways. Not only did we get the opportunity to explore the world of UX through a meaningful project, we also got the chance to work with an incredibly influential client. As a team, we are grateful to the entire Royal Change staff for giving us this chance to make an impact on their brand and audience members.
Our goal with the site was to reflect the bright, uplifting, and energetic community that Sydney and Dustin have fostered. We hope the new site will enhance the relationship between members and the Royal Change brand, helping them along their journey in creating changes that make them feel happy, healthy, and strong.
Looking Back on the Journey…
Katherine:
While pursuing my Bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Georgia, I decided to complete the New Media Studies certificate. During my certificate journey, I soon realized my passion for front-end web development and design in the New Media Institute. Despite my love for journalism, I knew Emerging Media was the path I wanted to take. I was already on the Double Dawgs pathway for another field, but switched to EM at the beginning of my certificate career. I now plan to pursue a career in UI/UX design after graduating with my Emerging Media masters degree.
Maya:
When I first decided to pursue this Master’s degree, I never thought I would find something I was so passionate about and get hands-on experience. This program introduced me to consumer experience design and user experience design and changed the way I thought about design and the way we interact with it. I learned how to add the customer experience perspective into my designs and it’s helped me be thoughtful and intentional in my designs. I use what I learned in the Emerging Media Master’s program nearly every day in my role as an Art Director and I am so grateful for it.
Jordan:
If someone had told me a year ago that I would get the opportunity to create an innovative product for one of my biggest role models, I simply would not have believed them. I chose to pursue the Emerging Media Master’s program because I fell in love with web development and the NMI. Little did I know, I would gain more than I could ever imagine from this program. I learned what it means to be a UX designer, how to foster a client relationship, and how to incorporate user research into design iterations. This program has inspired me to take the UX pathway, and I am so excited to put my knowledge to the test as I begin my next journey at Deloitte as a UX Design Analyst. To the next EM cohort, embrace this journey you’re about to embark on and make it your own. You will learn so much along the way!
Our Advice
We had so much fun completing our capstone project and gained immense knowledge and experience in the world of UX and working with a client. To future EMer’s, we’ve gathered a list of advice that we hope will help guide you along this crazy, unique journey:
- When in doubt, research: Whenever you face an obstacle or an unknown, it always helps to see what information is out there. Not only will you learn something new, but you’ll also have factual knowledge to support your design decisions.
- Communicate: Talk to your team, your client, and your professors. They are there to help!
- Start EARLY: You’re going to hear this one from a lot of other students, but do not ignore any of us! It’s tough to start assignments when they are due months away, but trust all of us when we tell you to start assignments early.
- Just go for it: Whether you have a new product idea or wish to reach out to a client, just go for it. You truly will never know what may happen if you don’t take that first leap. As a team, we never could have imagined working with such an influential client if we had not sent that initial email of inquiry. The sky is the limit when it comes to choosing your capstone project. Choose wisely, choose something you know you’re going to be proud of, and above all, just go for it.