From Clunky Browsing to Seamless Shopping
Nourysh aims to help small local businesses grow, but struggles to retain consumers and encourage continued engagement with its app.
My Role
UX Designer Intern
User Research, Wireframing,
Interaction Design, Prototyping
Team
6
Worked alongside 6 other UX designer interns
Duration
2 months
Research through final prototype and handoff
Tools
Figma
Miro board, Figjam, and Notion
Project Summary
PROCESS
Learning from the platforms shoppers already use
Competitor audits of Etsy, Depop and Amazon, a heuristic evaluation and 4 stakeholder interviews showed where shoppers lost trust and momentum.
OUTCOME
Designing browsing that turns into buying
A mobile-first app with clearer navigation, seller stories and trust signals, so shoppers decide faster and sellers get seen.
PROBLEM
Shoppers couldn't find what they loved
Buyers were sent to third-party sites, couldn't check out from multiple sellers at once, and struggled to find products again. Sellers had few ways to reach the right customers.
01
Challenge
Connecting discerning shoppers with niche sellers
When Nourysh launched in late 2024, it carried a bold vision: empower small businesses and underrepresented entrepreneurs by giving them a platform to share their products with discerning shoppers who value quality, craftsmanship, and cultural relevance.
However, shoppers who landed on the Nourysh website often found themselves frustrated, redirected to third-party sites, unable to purchase from multiple sellers at once, and struggling to rediscover products they had seen before. Meanwhile, sellers lacked the visibility and tools they needed to build lasting customer relationships. Nourysh’s mission was clear, but the experience didn’t yet match the ambition.
As a Purdue Experience Studio team, we were tasked with reimagining Nourysh’s platform as a mobile-first experience, one that would not only solve these pain points but also compete with established e-commerce giants while staying authentic to Nourysh’s identity.
DESIGN GOAL
How might we design a mobile app that that buyers to find what they love and for sellers to connect with the right customers?
02
Research Insights
Users feel confused, & often don't know where to start
We began with research: competitor audits, heuristic evaluations, and interviews with Nourysh’s customer support team. We learned that shoppers wanted clarity, trust, and convenience, while sellers craved visibility and direct communication with buyers.
Through a heuristic website evaluation. We learned some key issues and opportunity areas — such as users being unable to check out items from multiple sellers, users being redirected to a seller's page when they click on a product link, etc.
We looked into similar or adjacent e-commerce platforms such as Etsy, Depop, Amazon, etc, to analyze the features they offer both businesses and sellers.
We interviewed 4 stakeholders and organized our found insights into several categories. After that, we brainstormed preliminary ideas through triangulation of interview insights.
KEY TAKEAWAY
We need to reduce decision fatigue, while providing clear listings and information for buyers to browse.
03
Solution
Home
Distinguished Category Navigation, Hero Section Carousels, and Seasonal Features collectively streamline the shopping experience by reducing decision fatigue and providing timely relevance.
By presenting featured products prominently in a horizontal scroll on the first fold, users are immediately exposed to high-interest items, minimizing effort and encouraging exploration. Together, these elements guide focus, create urgency, and enhance contextual appeal, ultimately motivating faster decisions and increasing conversions.
Explore
The Explore screen combines dynamic storytelling, personalized recommendations, and curated seller visibility to transform passive browsing into engaged discovery. Short, scrollable content and seller stories immerse users in modern, interactive experiences that build trust and emotional connection. Personalized product recommendations and trending items to reduce search fatigue and encourage faster decisions.
Together, these modules create meaningful, high-intent purchase journeys while boosting seller visibility in a content-forward environment.
Product Listing
The product listing screen builds trust and reduces hesitation by surfacing key details early, including nutrition and delivery info, ratings, and review filters for easy comparisons.
Authentic testimonials and clear review metrics provide transparency, while verified seller badges and confidence notes reassure users with platform-backed trust signals, making decisions faster and more confident.
Product/Seller Listing
The product listing screen streamlines browsing with clear filters, sort options, and a toggle between product and seller views, supporting both product-focused searches and seller-led discovery. Product cards highlight essential details—pricing, quality images, and tags like “Bestseller”—to build trust and speed decisions, while seller cards surface relevant storefronts tailored to user behavior.
Together, these features reduce friction, enhance transparency, and balance buyer efficiency with seller visibility, creating a more personalized and intuitive shopping journey.
Turning Browsing Into Buying
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Let's build something awesome :)