GoxGreen
A lesson from failure: copying other product flows without understanding the context made the experience hard to use.
1. Overview
GoxGreen was my first freelance product design project. It was also my first time working with a startup. The team was building an online shop that connected farmers with customers. People who lived in the same building could also buy food together and pay less.
I wanted to show that I could design a full product. I did not take enough time to understand the business, the users, or what the small team could build. Instead, I looked at other online shops and copied their design flows.
The result looked complete, but it did not fit GoxGreen. I made too many screens and repeated the same actions in different places. The product became hard to understand and full of repeated steps. This failure taught me that I must understand the context before I use a common design pattern.
2. Project Context
- Role: freelance UX/UI Designer.
- Work: product design, user experience design, visual design, prototypes, and testing.
- Team: technical lead, product owner, CEO, and two full stack developers.
- Working style: part time, with two team meetings in person each week.
- Time: October 2020 to October 2021.
3. What I Did Not Understand
GoxGreen was not a normal online shop. It had three groups of users: customers, farmers or sellers, and admins. Buying as a group was an important part of the product. Customers could place one order with their neighbours, while sellers and admins had to manage the order.
I should have started by learning how these people worked together. I should have asked how a group started, who agreed to buy, what happened when an order changed, and what the startup team could manage.
- Business: the startup was still learning how the service should work.
- Users: customers, sellers, and admins depended on each other.
- Product: buying as a group needed more than a normal checkout flow.
- Team: the small team needed a simple first product.
4. My Mistake
Looking at other products made me feel that I was working fast. I copied common menus, product lists, carts, checkout flows, and admin tools. The screens looked like products that people already knew, so the work looked good at first.
But I copied the final design without understanding why it worked for the other company. Each design pattern came from a different business, team, and group of users. I did not check if it was right for GoxGreen.
- I asked, “How do other products design this?” before asking, “What does GoxGreen need?”
- I made many screens before I chose the most important user flow.
- I thought more screens and more options meant better work.
- I used common design patterns as answers instead of ideas to test.
5. What Went Wrong
The problem was not only one bad screen. Many small choices created a product that was not clear. The same actions appeared in different places. Users had to make choices before they had enough information. The main group buying flow was hidden by normal shop features.
This also created more work for the startup. Every extra screen needed design, code, content, and testing. My early design gave the small team more work before we knew if the main idea was useful.
- Too much: users saw too much information too early.
- Repeated: the same actions appeared in more than one place.
- Not clear: normal shop features hid the main group buying idea.
- More work: extra screens created extra work for the small team.
6. What I Learned
This project changed how I use design patterns. A pattern shows how another team solved a problem. It does not mean that the same answer is right for my product. I now ask about the user, the business, the team, and the technology before I use a pattern.
I also learned that a startup needs a small and clear first product. My job is not to show how many features I can design. My job is to help the team find the simplest experience that gives value to users.
- Understand the service before drawing screens.
- Map the main user flow before adding more cases.
- Use other products to ask questions, not to skip research.
- Remove choices that do not help the main task.
- Start small so the team can test and learn.
7. What I Would Do Now
I would first speak with the startup team. I would make a simple map that connects customers, group leaders, sellers, and admins. I would write down what we did not know and choose one full user flow to test.
After that, I would study other products and draw a few ideas. I would make a simple group buying prototype and test it with users. I would also check with the team that they could build and manage it.
- Understand: agree on the main user and problem.
- Map: show how people and information connect.
- Choose: focus on one important user flow.
- Test: check the flow and words before visual design.
- Review: use feedback from users and the team.
8. Showcase
Thank you
For taking the time to explore this project.