Hypothesis 01
Finding the right product
Supported in the interviews and task observations.
VilvahUX redesign study
Skincare choices, with more confidence.
A mobile shopping redesign that helps people judge whether a product fits their needs—through clearer product cues, a guided suitability check, and reviews from people like them.
- My role
- UX Designer & Researcher
- Timeline
- 4 weeks · 2026
- Tools
- Figma, Notion · Prototype built with Figma Make
01 / Overview
Loved the products. Struggled with the app.
After using Vilvah’s products for almost two years, I wanted the shopping experience to offer the same care. Finding a product was only part of the problem. Shoppers also needed to understand its ingredients, whether it addressed their concerns, and whose reviews to trust.
The design question
How might we help skincare shoppers identify products that match their needs, so they can choose with confidence?
- Audit
- Listen
- Synthesise
- Design
- Test
02 / The research
From my own friction to five shoppers’ perspectives.
I audited the product listing page against Nielsen’s ten usability heuristics, identifying ten issues across six principles. I grouped them into three hypotheses, then interviewed five people and observed tasks in the Vilvah app over WhatsApp video calls.
Hypothesis 02
Hesitating before deciding
Supported in the interviews and task observations.
Hypothesis 03
Losing their way while browsing
Not established by this round of research.
“I've never used skincare before, so I'm not sure which product to start with.”
View the heuristic audit
View the competitor references
I reviewed Minimalist, Plum, and Foxtale, with Nykaa as a retail reference. Concern-based discovery and richer review tools informed the opportunities I explored.
03 / Design decisions
Three decisions, one purchase journey.
Beginners needed guidance. Experienced shoppers looked for ingredients, value, and credible reviews. I focused the redesign on the information each person needed to make their own decision.
01 / From finding to design
Start with the concern.
- What I heard
- Shoppers needed to connect their skin type and concerns to a product, rather than interpret broad categories alone.
- What I changed
- Bring concern tags, skin type, and key ingredient cues onto product cards. Make skin type and concern available in the listing filters.
02 / From finding to design
Make suitability easier to explore.
- What I heard
- Newer skincare buyers were unsure where to start and whether a product was relevant to them.
- What I changed
- Introduce “Will This Suit Me?”: a short flow using skin type, concern, and gender, with a result that leads directly to reviews from similar profiles.
03 / From finding to design
Make reviews more personal.
- What I heard
- Buyers wanted trustworthy experiences from people with similar skin—not just an overall rating.
- What I changed
- Add review search, sorting, and filters so people can explore relevant concerns, skin types, and verified-buyer experiences.
Close-ups from the supplied redesign. Match percentages, review counts, and product-result claims shown in these mockups are prototype content; the study evaluated the shopping experience, not skincare effectiveness.
04 / The redesign
Twelve screens. A clearer path to a decision.
I moved from pain-point mapping and Crazy 8s to grouped concepts, wireframes, and the final screens. A working Figma Make prototype, deployed on Vercel, let participants try the flow rather than review static images.
See how the design developed
Follow one decision, from product to cart.
The walkthrough follows Alex, a 25-year-old with dry skin and pigmentation, evaluating Milk Drops Serum. He uses “Will This Suit Me?”, checks reviews from similar profiles, and adds the product to his cart. This is a demonstration scenario in the prototype.
05 / Testing & iteration
Five people evaluated it. Four chose to add it.
I tested the prototype with five skincare buyers, asking them to find a product for their concern, evaluate its suitability, and add it to cart. All five evaluated the product; four added it. The fifth preferred to wait for an offer price.
- Evaluated the product
- 5/5
- Added it to the prototype cart
- 4/5
- Used “Will This Suit Me?”
- 5/5
- Found review filters helpful
- 5/5
Observed or reported in five prototype sessions. These counts describe this small study; they are not live sales, a conversion lift, or a comparison with the original app.
“Reviews are my main deciding factor. It's helpful when I can search within reviews like pimples, and see how it worked for people with oily skin.”
Next iteration
Make listing filters easier to find.
Improve the visibility of filters on the product listing page, following feedback from testing.
Next iteration
Make the offer clearer.
Surface pricing and discount information more clearly. Understanding a product’s relevance did not remove the fifth participant’s wish to wait for an offer.
06 / Reflection
A first case study in making decisions visible.
This project taught me to start with something I could test, listen to the different ways people shop, and keep refining what helps them decide. A useful experience does not need endless additions—it needs the right information at the right moment.
Confidence came from context: what the product addresses, who it might be relevant to, and what similar shoppers had experienced.