Trusted connections for
beauty clients and
service providers.
Consumers are reliant on word-of-mouth referrals to discover new services. Over the course of 10 weeks, I researched, conceptualized, and designed a solution that addressed a clear gap between consumers and service providers.
THE PROBLEM
Clients struggle to make informed decisions due to lack of transparency and unfamiliarity, which undermines trust.
I conducted extensive user interviews with 30 participants comprising of both beauty service clients and professionals to understand why.
93%
validated the credibility of beauty professionals by cross referencing their work on multiple platforms
70%
discovered beauty professionals through word of mouth
70%
expressed a moderate to difficult experience finding beauty professionals
38%
struggled with having clear communication of availability
THE SOLUTION
KHOI is an innovative mobile application dedicated to helping clients discover and book beauty services by providing users with all the necessary tools to efficiently support their decision-making.
USER BEHAVIOR INSIGHTS
Regardless of what platform users preferred when finding beauty services, all participants considered the same key factors when making their decision.
Can you walk me through the process you typically go through when looking for beauty services?
“
“
Convenience
Clear and convenient appointment scheduling
Portfolio
Look for their needs within professional’s body of work
Network
Recommendations from
friends builds trust and comfort
Location
Proximity of user to professional
Price
Ensure service
is within budget
Reviews
Positive feedback
builds trust
HOW MIGHT WE...
How might we support users during the decision making phase of their journey
How might we boost visibility of home-based technicians
How might we build trusts between users and service providers
IDEATION
There are no bad ideas in design.
Based on the six decision-making factors identified, I mapped potential opportunities and generated a wide range of ideas through mind mapping to explore how trust and usability could be improved within beauty service discovery.
SKETCHING & EXPLORATION
After clustering ideas, I sketched early concepts to visualize user flows for discovering, evaluating, and booking beauty professionals.
Social-Media Inspired Interface
This design takes inspiration from social media platforms like Instagram, offering a visually engaging, scrollable feed where users can discover beauty professionals. The layout emphasizes user profiles, reviews, and recommendations, making it feel familiar for those used to social networking apps.
B. Beauty Finder Match Making
This prototype functions similarly to a matchmaking platform, helping clients find beauty professionals based on compatibility. Users can browse matches, view featured artists, and engage in chat conversations before booking, fostering a more personalized and interactive connection between clients and professionals.
C. Location Based Interface
Drawing from Yelp’s interface, this version prioritizes enables users to explore service providers through ratings, reviews, and recommendations while integrating a check-in feature for real-time engagement.
CONCEPT TESTING
Overall, most users preferred Prototype A, which leveraged social networking to build trusts and reputation among beauty professionals.
I conducted a comparative usability tests with 5 participants, giving each scenarios tied to the six decision-making factors. They then chose which of the three prototypes they’d prefer and explained why.