Background

Jane.com, a boutique marketplace supporting women- and minority-owned businesses, gained fame for its quick-deal approach but drifted from its empowerment-focused mission. As a UX Designer, I was tasked with realigning its brand identity by redesigning the website to showcase seller stories and unique offerings while maintaining its reputation for great deals.

Challenge

The primary challenge was repositioning Jane.com as a mission-driven platform without alienating its existing customer base, who valued the quick-deal shopping experience. The site lacked content and features that emphasized the individuality of sellers, reducing them to product listings rather than storytellers or entrepreneurs. Additionally, the design and structure of the website needed to balance storytelling with the functionality of a fast-paced e-commerce environment.

Key tasks included creating dedicated seller pages to showcase their stories and products, weaving mission-focused content throughout the site, and ensuring the new design aligned with the brand’s aesthetic while maintaining usability.

Solution

To address these challenges, I began by conducting stakeholder interviews and user research to understand the expectations of both sellers and buyers. Insights from this research revealed an opportunity to create a more authentic connection between sellers and customers by emphasizing transparency, trust, and storytelling.

The redesign introduced new web pages dedicated to showcasing sellers, featuring detailed profiles with their stories, business origins, and product collections. I designed these pages to be visually engaging, integrating photography, quotes, and video elements to personalize each seller's journey.

Mission-focused messaging was embedded throughout the website, from the homepage to product category pages, reinforcing Jane.com’s commitment to empowering women and minority entrepreneurs. A consistent design system was implemented to unify these updates with the overall look and feel of the platform, ensuring a seamless experience.

Through iterative usability testing, I refined navigation pathways and content layouts to ensure users could easily explore seller stories while maintaining the platform's fast shopping flow.

Outcome

The revamped Jane.com website successfully reestablished its identity as a mission-driven boutique marketplace. Customer engagement with seller profiles increased by 60%, and survey feedback showed that users felt more connected to the platform's values.

Sellers reported higher satisfaction with their representation on the site, and many noted increased visibility for their brands. The redesign also improved the balance between storytelling and quick shopping, maintaining the platform's competitiveness while elevating its mission.

This project demonstrated the power of aligning design with purpose, helping Jane.com create a more meaningful connection with both its sellers and customers.