Designers waste hours and days in search of the right image.
Toyou lets users search multiple stock websites at the same time
while adjusting seamlessly and effortlessly to their specific needs.
OVERVIEW
THE PROBLEM
Stock websites have a reputation for poor image quality, yet they offer an irreplaceable service for the near future. They have a hard job in hand, walking a fine Line between keeping photographers well compensated and users getting a good deal and good images.
THE GOAL
Find the best way to improve customer satisfaction in the stock photography market.
THE TOOLS
Ux research, data analysis, persona creation, user journy, wireframing and ui design
THE PROCESS
Stock websites image quality
could be improved.
Hypothesis .
MARKET RESEARCH
General
400 Million
Visitors per month
60 +
Websites
70% Market share
Shutterstock + Getty
Sub categories
Free
Low quality, small
Database, basic search features and poor ux
Microstock
Low price, large
Database
Premium
Expensive, medium sized database, great quality and resolution
Licenses
Royalty Free
Non-exclusive, unlimited and multiple use of an image
Rights Managed
Limited, specific and per-use rights to use an image
Editorial
can only be used to illustrate a news-related story.
VISUAL RESEARCH
MOST WEBSITES LOOK THE SAME AND OFFER THE SAME SOLUTIONS. GOOD UX OR A STAGNANT FILED?
STUDY CASES / UNIQE SITES
TYPICAL LOOK AND FEEL
USP, Search bar and lots of images.
500PX
ICONS8
EVERYPIXEL
Pros - onboarding first.
Pros - allows users to create their own photos.
Pros - allows users to search multiple sites.
Cons- addresses photographers.
Cons- finished image looks stitched an unreal.
Cons- builds on user prior knowledge.
SURVEY RESULTS
The people have spoken, also, turns out the people are mostly graphic designers.
studied graphic
design
are pleased with
stock websites
are ok with
them
don’t like
them
stock website usage*
*most of the users use more than one website to compliment different needs in terms of quality, availability and pricing.
PERSONA
I decided to focus on creating a better experience for graphic designers.
Dina
31 y/o , art director at a marketing agency.
“The project could be going great and then the client asks for a photo with the same kind of vibe to it but slightly different.”
Michael
27 y/o , freelance graphic designer.
“Sometimes it gets so annoying. all you need is that one photo and they’re all horrible.”
Yarden
27 y/o , freelance graphic designer.
“i don’t get it, most of the people using this sites are creative people, how come they look so old
and outdated.”
Needs
-
a way to share images with stake holders
-
more local genuine faces and scenes
-
more local genuine faces and scenes
Needs
-
faster methods to check photos in context
-
cheaper relatable images
-
an easy way to move between searches
Needs
-
more realistic images
-
a way to separate layers in an image
-
a way to separate layers in an image
Personality
Technical skills
Pain points
They have to make decisions in a
sea of information based on
intuition.
Stressful / competitive work environment with strict deadlines and budgets.
Motivations
Cares about their work and
loves / hates the tools they uses.
Aesthetics, minimalism and
cool things.
They have to navigate between
clients and bosses.
TYPE, SCROLL, TAP, REPEAT
Users search in a scroll down manner, missing filters and features that could help them search faster with better results.
70% used the drop menu
language brier was evident
100% never used the search by image
90% didn’t use any of the advanced filters / didn’t know they existed
100% failed to notice the filter chips
Over a video call users (graphic designers and art directors) were asked to conduct two searches, a guided one in search of an image of a female runner and a free search based on past experience.
RESEARCH
CONCLUSION
THE MARKET
Most of the sites look and operate the same way with the difference being image quality and price, This leads users to use more than one website.
OBSERVATIONS
When looking for images users tend to skip features that will improve the search time and results. Users often performed repetitive actions that could be avoided with an onboarding process.
INTERVIEWS
Users complained about quality as in realness, relatability and diversity the most.
INSIGHTIS
Users failed to make the connection between the tool (stock website interface) and how long it takes to find an image.
Searching one or two websites limits the scope of the results.
​
​
It’s possible to improve users satisfaction over image quality and shorten search time by improving search query.
DEFINING THE SOLUTION
HOW DO YOU GET A USER TO TAKE THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED?
e.g. filters, filter chips and other features besides the search bar.
Initial thoughts circulated around asking users a series of guided questions. but this system is time consuming and could be annoying over time. therefor I turned to focus on improving existing interfaces that people are used to.
TRYING OUT DIFFERENT SEARCHES WITH DIFFERENT WEBSITES I FOUND THE FOLLOWING TOOLS TO BE THE MOST HELPFUL.
Implemented into the final design
Flow
A quick onboaring process could help user avoid repetitive actions and yield tailored fitted results for each search.
Onboarding
Comparing multiple sites
Search results are divided between different sites and presented across the screen according to user onboarding helping the user to make an informed decision.
Filtel Chips
Filter chips offer different interpretations to what you’ve had in mind while bridging the language gap, not only lingually but also between the user and the photographer who uploads the images.
Layout
Moving the filters and filter chips to the top third of the screen not only places those missed feature in the users path it also frees up space for more images to be displayed.
Filters
In-order to get users to use filters, almost half of them are chosen in the onboarding phase. while the ones that could be used to a specific search are right there in the middle.
Minimalistic Design
Reducing visual distractions allows users to notice features such as the search by image which is often missed.
Collaborating with stake holders made easy through project pages and saved searches. Making it easier to search multiple images for a project.
