| GEEK GIFT REGISTRY - UX DESIGN

How can we make a one-stop price comparison portal to curate your own wish lists for geeky collectibles?

THE CLIENT

Geek Gift Registry is a niche price-comparison shopping portal for geeky pop culture collectibles, affiliated with multiple e-commerce platforms. The client himself is a back end developer.

OPPORTUNITY

Create a one-stop wish list website and shopping portal for a vast range of pop culture collectibles ranging from action figures to apparel, across various TV, Film & Video Game themes.

TOOLS
Icon of a purple wrench and screwdriver crossed

Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, InVision

MY ROLE
Icon depicting three people connected to a gear with a play button in its center, symbolizing teamwork and technology.

UX Design Lead

TIMELINE
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Three week sprint

TASKS

Domain research, comparative & competitive analysis, user research, survey writing, interviews, persona identification, feature finalization, A/B testing, customer journey map, storyboarding, paper prototypes, component library master, mid fi wireframes, high fidelity mockups, project management, scrum master

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S1 - Research

The collectible industry is a $12 billion dollar industry in North America alone. In Walmart, for example, collectibles are growing faster than other products and with a decent 30% profit margin. Microsoft is partnering with FONKO, a large collectibles manufacturing company with $700 million in sales every year.

Streaming services and social media generate hype and help reach larger audiences, influencing the growth of the collectibles market at a faster rate than ever. Within the market, video game collectibles in particular seem to have the highest growth.

Let’s engage in user research and see what edge GGR could have amongst its competitors.

A grid chart showing logos of various online retailers including Geek Gear, Amazon, Disney, and eBay. The grid is empty and does not contain additional information or data points, indicating placeholders for potential entries or comparisons across different categories or criteria.

[ SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS ]

What products and themes do people collect the most?

46%

56%

51%

1

DEALS
Star Wars logo, yellow text on a dark background.
Marvel logo in white text on a red background.
Disney logo in black script font 
PRICE COMPARE

2

3

HIGH RES PHOTOS

4

Action Figures
Statues

45%

TOYS

50%

74%

What features do people seek the most?

Categories
UPDATED STOCK

5

Where are they buying from?

72%

eBay logo in colorful letters

80%

Amazon logo with a yellow arrow forming a smile

27%

Disney logo in black script
Abstract arrow and symbol design with a circle, lines, and an X on a black background.

S2 -
Planning

After collecting psychographic & demographic data from our user research, we grouped the data into an affinity diagram to determine the patterns and weave our persona. We noted that the most popular age range of collectors was between 20–30 years old. So our 26-year-old persona, Jason Pierce, comes to life. From our data, we learn that he needs to be able to compare prices of collectibles online, find good deals, and make a wish list so friends & family know what to get him. He wants to keep building his collection in a way this is fun, smart & engaging. J

We identify Jason’s pain points on a journey map and are now able to start narrowing down our features, moving onto the next stage of planning where we determine what is critical for this MVP, and what could be a future consideration.

Profile of Jason Pierce, a 26-year-old working professional from Vancouver, BC. The image includes information about his interests, motivations, frustrations, goals, personality traits, and collections. He is passionate about collecting action figures, toys, and statues, and is a fan of Marvel, Star Wars, DC, and Disney. His motivations include finding good deals and making wish lists, while frustrations include lack of availability and poor item photos.
Journey map titled "Jason's Journey Map" with a graph showing emotional highlights from sad to happy. It includes seven actions: 1. Jason excited for a birthday gift from his wife; 2. Disappointed by the gift; 3. Keeps disappointment private; 4. Difficulty communicating collectible preferences; 5. Discovers platform GGR for sharing wish lists; 6. Sends wish list to wife for next birthday; 7. Receives dream collectible and feels ecstatic.

User Flow

The end to end mapping comes next. What decisions could Jason make while navigating the portal?

Flowchart for an online shopping website interface, showing pathways like account setup, navigating product categories, comparing prices, and managing a wishlist. It includes decision points on filtering products, viewing new arrivals, deals, specific items, and accessing community forums.
Geometric pattern with overlapping pentagons and circles

The process - Initial A/B testing for each separate journey (search filter flow, wish list flow, account set-up flow etc.) for laser focused feedback before combining all flows together in a final round of testing. Testing done at both the early stage low fi (paper prototype) and mid stage (wireframe) level, to make sure nothing was missed.

Findings - Dashboard can include more functions, sharing wish list function could be clearer, and people were unsure what the required fields are in some forms. Our main features, the comprehensive search filter and price comparison chart, were streamline and clear. Many people don’t like the idea of too many required fields in their profile either.

Integration - Simplify and reduce our required fields in the profile, so users only need to list their name/username. If they wanted to fill in any of the other categories, such as favourite movies, hobbies, collections etc, they may do so optionally. As additional state screens were also needed, rather than try and create extra community board screens in our short time-frame (nice to have), we shifted our focus on delivering a really solid MVP with our must-haves as polished as possible.

S3 -
Design & Test

A drawing of a website and mobile app layout, featuring product listings with placeholder images, item names, prices, and buttons to compare and buy. Categories are outlined for filters like "What's New," "Best Sellers," and various product types such as action figures and plush toys. Price ranges and companies are listed as filter options. Mockup includes a mobile interface with similar options.
Hand-drawn wireframes for a mobile app on paper, featuring designs for screens such as wish list, search, and friends. Some pages have sticky notes with additional notes or sketches placed on them. The papers are laid out on a wooden surface.


No browse button needed, since dashboard is on every page

Large orange quotation marks on a white background.

No birth year needed on profile

Orange double quotation mark symbol on white background

Prototype

Mobile app interface showcasing Geek Gift Registry with screens displaying product categories, a featured items section, and a list of best sellers including action figures and apparel images on a blue background.