Hansen Bakery: Designing the First Digital Presence for a Traditional Bakery — A UX Case Study
This UX case study is based on the second project of the Ironhack Bootcamp, a real-life project completed by a three-person team within an 8-day timeframe.
In Germany, the bakery industry holds a special place in the hearts and taste buds of people across the country. With its rich heritage and delightful assortment of freshly baked goods, German bakeries have become an integral part of the local culture, blending tradition and innovation seamlessly. Bakers in Germany take immense pride in preserving cherished, time-honored recipes that have been passed down through generations.
In this context, I present a UX case study centered around the Hansen Bakery — a beloved establishment based in Flensburg, Germany, and its surrounding areas. With a rich history and a commitment to quality, the Hansen Bakery has been a staple in the community for years. However, in the era of digitalization, it found itself at a crossroads. With the absence of a digital presence, the bakery was missing out on the opportunity to engage with a wider customer base and adapt to the changing consumer landscape.
To tackle this challenge, our team of three passionate UX /UI students— Bruno, Leigh, and myself — took on the task of designing the first e-commerce platform for the Hansen Bakery. With a tight timeframe of eight business days we aimed to design an innovative digital solution that not only enabled online services but also reflected the bakery’s new modern direction.
First Meetup with the stakeholder
Collaborating with Hakan Colak, the visionary owner of the Hansen Bakery, we delved into the bakery’s heritage and aspirations on our first stakeholder meetup. Hakan’s expertise in bakery production, coupled with his dedication to elevating the quality of baked goods through innovative fermentation processes, provided invaluable insights at the beginning of our project. Based on gained insights, we were determined to redefine the bakery’s customer experience and establish an online presence that would resonate with a diverse range of customers, including the digital natives.
We left the stakeholder meeting with the following questions for our market research:
How might we effectively design the e-commerce presence of the Hansen Bakery, incorporating a small rebranding, to cater to a diverse range of target groups and ensure that the platform meets the unique needs and expectations of its customers?
Market Research
We started with our market research, utilizing the information we had gathered, to conduct a SWOT analysis for the Hansen Bakery. This analysis shed light on several important findings that shaped our understanding of the bakery’s position:
The SWOT analysis conducted for the Hansen Bakery revealed several key findings. The bakery’s strengths include offering healthy and affordable options, along with a wide range of traditional bakery products that prioritize quality. The bakery also demonstrates transparency, provides scientific information, and considers dietary needs, while maintaining a local and community focus. Moreover, the bakery is responsive to the growing demand for healthier food choices.
However, the analysis also uncovered weaknesses and potential obstacles. The bakery faces competition from similar establishments, and there is uncertainty regarding the appeal of scientific information to different customer segments. The demographic target for the bakery’s products remains unclear, and there are concerns about increasing operating costs, limited marketing and brand awareness, as well as limited access to new audiences due to its location.
Despite these challenges, there are promising opportunities for the Hansen Bakery. These include exploring innovative packaging and communication methods, capitalizing on its potential for growth and attracting new customers, leveraging the growing demand for high-quality bakery products, expanding to new locations, diversifying its product range with authentic and innovative offerings, and building customer loyalty through workshops.
However, it is essential to remain vigilant to potential threats. Ensuring that existing customers embrace the new branding is crucial. Additionally, the bakery faces competition from similar traditional bakeries and larger chain competitors with more resources. Furthermore, the trend towards healthier food options brings increased competition that needs to be addressed.
To inform the design process effectively, a feature analysis was conducted. This involved studying existing online bakeries with similar concepts to better understand customer needs, identify competitive advantages unique to the Hansen Bakery, and determine the essential functionality required for the bakery’s digital presence.
User Research
In the next step, based on the mentioned objective, we defined our goals for the user research and created a questionnaire for the interviews. The selected people to be interviewed were the potential customers of Hansen Bakery based on their demographic characteristics, their preference for the products as well as their behaviors. This ensured that the insights gained from the interviews matched the needs and expectations of the actual users of Hansen Bakery’s future digital presence.
The interviews were structured to explore the preferences, needs, and pain points regarding the overall experience with a bakery. For the user research interviews, a total of five individuals were selected. These participants reside in Hamburg and Berlin, possess a basic affinity for technology, and live in households with a minimum of two members. They were deliberately chosen to represent diverse purchasing behaviors when it comes to baked goods.
Key Insights from the five conducted interviews:
- Convenience of Preordering Several interviewees expressed a strong interest in having a preorder option for bakery items. They highlighted that if they were aware of the ability to preorder, especially during holidays or for special occasions, they would readily utilize this feature. Preordering would offer convenience, ensuring availability of preferred items and saving time by avoiding potential stock shortages.
- Time-Saving Benefits Participants indicated that a preorder system would be particularly beneficial when preparing breakfast for guests or hosting events. They emphasized the advantage of being able to secure bakery items in advance, even if the bakery runs out of stock. This convenience would not only save time but also alleviate the stress of last-minute arrangements.
- Morning and Lunchtime Rush One interviewee specifically mentioned the need for a preorder system during lunchtime. They expressed the desire to be able to place an order in advance and quickly pick it up. This feature would cater to busy individuals with limited time during their lunch break, providing a seamless pickup experience.
What we have found out
This insides emphasize the importance of incorporating a preorder system and enhancing the overall user experience for the digital presence of the bakery. Insights gathered from user research interviews revealed a strong demand for convenience, time-saving benefits, and the availability of sweet treats through a delivery system. By implementing the recommended design enhancements, the bakery can better cater to customer needs, improve customer satisfaction, and establish a competitive advantage in the market.
Meet Busy Betty
Based on these findings, we created our persona of Hansen Bakery, which respresents the target group of the future e-commerce platform.
In our quest to uncover pain points and seize opportunities, we harnessed the power of Betty’s insights and brought them to life through a captivating User Journey Map. This dynamic visualization became our guiding compass, enabling us to navigate the treacherous terrains where users may face difficulties, confusion, or downright frustration.
By visualizing touchpoints and interactions, we identified areas for improvement and discovered the potential features needed to create the overall digital user experiencein the future.
Based on that research we defined the problem statement:
Hansen Bakery was designed to provide quality baked goods and a nice environment for locals. We have observed that the lack of online presence and online ordering options are not meeting the needs of customers who want to plan ahead. This is causing customer dissatisfaction, reduced sales and lower revenue.
After defining the problem statement for Hansen Bakery, we employed the MoSCoW method to identify the functionalities that should be prioritized for the initial minimum viable product (MVP). Taking into account the insights gathered and the process of prioritization, we have formulated the following MVP statement:
Embarking on the prototyping process, our first step was to create a comprehensive site map and user flow. This enabled us to outline the optimal user journey and map out the ideal process for navigating the website.
Prototyping Phase
Once the foundational structure of our website was established, we swiftly moved forward by creating a low-fidelity (lo-fi) prototype. This allowed us to delve into the finer details of integrating our MVP features into the user flow. We placed particular emphasis on refining the checkout process and exploring various design options. Conducting a concept test, we engaged three potential users to provide feedback on the clarity of our lo-fi wireframe. Their thoughts and insights were captured as they navigated the lo-fi prototype, aiding us in refining the user experience.
Building upon the insights from the concept testing, we proceeded to develop our mid-fidelity wireframe, refining the user interface and interactions to create a more user-friendly and cohesive experience.
Rebranding
The branding process for Hansen Bakery presented an exciting opportunity for modernization. Given that the bakery only had an original logo from the 70s, we had ample scope for improvement. To expedite the process, we employed an AI program to generate a new logo.
Leveraging the insides from the stakeholder and the given old logo as a foundation, we developed a mood board that embodied the desired branding attributes: Artisan, Quality, Inviting, Comforting and Traditional.
To validate the effectiveness of the mood board, we conducted a user testing experiment using card sorting techniques. This enabled us to ensure that the selected images evoked the intended emotions and resonated with our users.
Prior to creating our high-fidelity prototype, we established a style tile to align our team and ensure design consistency. Our objective was to seamlessly incorporate our branding attributes, emphasizing minimalism, cleanliness, and rounded shapes. We carefully curated modern artisan elements that would complement the overall aesthetic and convey the desired visual message.
The style tile served as a unifying guide, setting the tone for our hi-fi designs and ensuring a cohesive and visually appealing user experience.
In the final stage, we developed a high-fidelityprototype with specific goals in mind to ensure an exceptional user experience. Our goals included creating a simple layout, implementing a user-friendly navigation bar, incorporating a pick-up info footer, utilizing colors (especially yellow), designing friendly shapes, selecting enticing photos, providing clear pick-up information, offering an easy and fast checkout process, enabling users to view all items at once, presenting personalized suggestions, and including a captivating checkout animation.
By integrating these goals into the hi-fi prototype, we aimed to deliver a visually appealing, user-friendly, and seamless experience that aligns with the bakery’s branding and fulfills the users’ needs.
Learnings
Our journey as a new team was filled with challenges, growth, and occasional setbacks. Through it all, we persevered and emerged triumphant. This project pushed us to our limits, stretching our capacities beyond what we thought possible. Despite the hurdles, we navigated through the complexities and emerged as shining stars (with a hint of modesty).
Looking back, there are a few key points that stand out:
- Clear Nomenclature: We learned the significance of consistent and clear nomenclature in design files and the actual designs. This reduces confusion during testing and enhances communication within the team.
- The Power of User Testing: Even for a seemingly straightforward project like an e-commerce website, user testing at each stage proved invaluable. It provided us with valuable feedback, validated our ideas, and allowed us to iterate and improve the product with a user-centric focus.
- Effective Team Collaboration: Working remotely highlighted the importance of effective team communication. Assigning tasks, proactively updating each other on progress, and staying aligned with the current stage were crucial for us to work cohesively. Keeping everyone on the same page or at least in the same book became a cornerstone of our success at the end of the project.
In conclusion, this project was a transformative journey that taught us valuable lessons in design, teamwork, and communication. We grew as individuals and as a team, ultimately delivering a user-centric prototype that we can be proud of.
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