Research: Since I was the one designing, building, and selling the butcher blocks, this project was unique. I compiled data from my own past experiences designing and fabricating custom furniture. I also conducted interviews with past clients. I then surveyed colleagues and reddit users involved in threads with titles like “where to find custom furniture” and “custom butcher blocks."

Goals: I aimed to find out what customers value and seek the most out of both the ordering process as well as the product itself, and to see what would make their experience better. I also interviewed some local fabricator friends to hear about their experiences and needs when it comes to the custom product ordering process.

Synthesis: I used digital post-it notes on a Freeform whiteboard to organize my research findings into an affinity map, revealing these Pain Points:

• From consumer:

  Too many options, overwhelming, need instant gratification of immediate answers and ordering options

• From business:

  Too much time spent explaining options and process to consumer leaves less time to focus on building beautiful butcher blocks

I used findings from both the consumer and the business perspective to determine Main Functions:

• Guide the consumer through the customization process by using ‘this or that?’ options

• Provide an inventory of products already made that can be shipped right away.

• Allow for ordering items through the app

User Persona: Bob wants to have a custom butcher block made for his husband, Trey. Trey loves making gourmet dinners 3-4 nights a week, and he appreciates chef-quality tools. Bob has a general idea as far as the design and size of the butcher block that he wants to gift to Trey, but has had trouble finding someone local to make the product. He would also like a bit of guidance as far as design. The ability to scroll through options at his own leisure would be a game changer. If he found something already made that he loved, he would go ahead and order it. Otherwise he doesn’t mind waiting for it to be made, as he always plans way ahead of time for Trey’s birthdays.

Problem Statement: My butcher block side business needed a streamlined ordering process. Moreover, the person buying the butcher block needed to be able to build confidence in their order through easy customization, and also have the option to peruse ready-to-sell products.

User Story 1: “As a shopper looking to purchase a butcher block, I want to build the most ideal order for myself.”

User Story 2: “As a small business owner and operator, I need an ordering system driven by the consumer so that I can allocate time to other business operations.”

Ideation: Sketches user flows were developed with a primary focus on step-by-step binary customization options to simplify the process of ordering a custom butcher block within the ‘Made-to-order’ frames. The exception would be in certain design option scenarios where more options were needed, but were still limited and not open-ended. Another important user journey would be the ‘Ready Now’ flow. I sketched this set out to scroll more like a gallery of blocks where the consumer could draw inspiration, discover that their dream block already exists, or order one that will be delivered sooner.

Prototyping: After some iteration through low fidelity prototypes, the final high fidelity version evoked visual simplicity, with illustrative images providing clear messaging as to the function they each represent within the design elements involved with the butcher blocks.

Usability Testing: I rounded up a group of online shoppers and asked them to run through a list of written necessary design elements involved with butcher blocks. I wanted to see if I missed any important elements, or if any where irrelevant. The first run-through was with simple drawings on a sheet of paper. After seem editing, a Figma prototype was used to conduct testing on some of the same group.

Chop Chop Butcher Blocks represents a Minimum Viable Product to meet the needs of humans on both sides of the transaction.

Iteration: Each future iteration will involve optimizing the ability of the customer to peruse options, build confidence in their customizations, and complete their order from anywhere. On the business side, iterations will involve improving automation within the process for the builder, saving both parties time, money, and stress.

Development: Once it is ready for development, I plan on selling the app to a local fabricator, who can link it to their social media (my main source of customers when I used to build custom butcher blocks).

Launch and Measurement: Once the app is shipped, the business owner will be able to easily update the app layout with new products at their leisure in the form of easy-add assets, with fixed parameters and filters to keep the app beautiful and on brand.