According to the agency, analytics had already been carried out that yielded information on which users were mainly visiting the site. This was very insightful. Moving forward, there was a clear starting point with which to carry out research.

The plan was to interview and observe users interacting with the site to see what kind of feedback would help with the design.

The main user profiles were, but not limited to:

• (Mostly) identify as female.

• (Working) mothers who practice yoga or other aerobic activities.

• Athletes and ex-athletes.

• Medical patients with joint pain like tendonitis and arthritis.

• Individuals who may suffer from RSI at work.

With this in mind, I recruited participants who fit the criteria of the user demographic to participate in interviews and to test the site. Only their initials, job titles, and ages will be used here as they wished to remain anonymous.

All participants were recruited through my private and professional networks. All of them could be potential users of the Tend product as their jobs, sports interests, and hobbies can be physically demanding, and may benefit from using the device.

I tried to get 10 participants overall, but as it was a (mostly) qualitative interview, anything above five would be a good number to start with as it was early-stage formative testing. In the end, I got eight. Interviews took place online and in person. each session lasted approximately 15 - 20 minutes.

Users were encouraged to look at the site on both desktop and mobile device screens.

Before any interviews could be done, I thought it was important to conduct an evaluation of the page. I looked at the landing page and the menu pages and went with my instincts as a user who was looking at the site for the first time.

The key takeaways were the following points:

• Users need to see the product in context and how it works – more relevant images are necessary.

• Menu headings need to be placed in a more logical order on the site where users would expect to find them.

• Functions, such as viewing information about or buying the product must be clearer and more obvious to navigate.

• The layout of the images and text including clear CTAs need to be more orderly.

• CTAs need to be more prevalent.

• Style, colour, and copy need to be consistent and clear.

• Images must be relevant to the copy and appealing to the user.

• Social media links must be added to the site.

• The page needs to be more reassuring for the user when submitting personal data and payment information.

• The payment forms need to be reworked in order for smooth transactions, the current model is not user-friendly.

• The copy needs to be tidied up – there are too many spelling mistakes.

Watching the users interact with the website was quite interesting. I encouraged them to think aloud while using the site so I could get more informative data.

• Most of them thought the device was a microphone at first glance.

• I noticed that they all could not figure out what the site was about immediately. It took them some time to figure out the purpose which involved some scrolling.

• They all had trouble clicking on parts of the site thinking that they were buttons. In particular the blue circles with product descriptions in them.

• Most of the users showed a little skepticism about the validity of the product. This was down to some inconsistencies in the copy and the lack of reassuring information available about the product – i.e. endorsements and reviews.

Once the initial data had been compiled, I was able to put together a mid-fidelity wireframe with some concept images. Please bear in mind that this design was an initial proposal for the client.

This was done with mobile-first in mind as time was limited to get the first concept out.

With a suggestion from the marketing agent, we went with the colour green to see how it would look. I know this is not the best for some users with vision problems so I added more contrast where I could.

Going on the information I had so far, the main points to add to this first iteration were:

• A suitable landing page where the device can be seen in action to make it clear what exactly it is.

• A more simplified UI with more obvious CTA buttons in place.

• Clearer options available, to see exactly the benefits of the device, how it works, and of course, to buy.

• Images and copy that would perhaps relate more to the (mostly) female customer base.

• User reviews that were in plain view and could offer some kind of reassurance to buy.

• A clear refund policy in plain view that would further build trust in the site.

• Social media buttons. At the time of designing this, the page had none.

• I thought the explainer video would work better nearer the top of the page as most people suggested that this was very helpful and made things much clearer for them.