The Shoppe at Castle was opened in 2022 and is proud to be a femme owned barbershop in the heart of Butcher’s Hill, Baltimore.
Key Responsibilities
Stakeholder Interviews, UX Design, UI Design, Usability Testing, Copywriting, Design System Development, Accessibility, Interface Design, Information Architecture, Wireframing, High Fidelity Prototyping
Role
UX Designer, Collaborated with Business Owner
Duration
January 2025- April 2025
Tools Used
Figma, FigJam
The Challenge
The Shoppe at Castle has an incredibly loyal customer base that love the work of the staff and supporting a small business. However, users have to schedule via text with their barber and response time can take up to 48 hours.
The Solution
Allow the customer to schedule on a website.
Allow for immediate access to barbers calendar.
Decrease time to schedule from 48 hours to under five minutes.
Research
To start, I interviewed customers of The Shoppe at Castle. I asked each of them what challenges they experience when scheduling with their barber.
80% of customers said they feel the scheduling process could be easier.
Insight #1
Customers don’t feel completely in control when scheduling an appointment.
Since the scheduling is done through text, customers are at the mercy of the response of their barber who is often busy with a client. The response time can be as high as 48 hours.
Insight #2
The barbers and their customers are busy.
Customers want a way to quickly access their barbers calendar and schedule with them rather than playing phone tag.
01
How might we reduce the time it takes to schedule an appointment?
02
How might we make it so that customers feel more in control when scheduling their appointment?
03
How might we give customers access to their barbers calendar?
Design System
To start, I developed the following design system to ensure brand consistency.
Iteration One
Created the ability to schedule online.
I began by creating a flow to schedule haircuts and other services online.
However, when tested, users wanted to be able to select the date from an actual calendar.
Iteration Two
Included calendar in scheduling page.
To make the design even more user friendly, I included a calendar where the customer can select a specific date, rather than hitting next or previous on a date’s availability.
Scheduling Made Easy
To make the scheduling process as easy for the users as possible, I designed a navigation menu that allowed for users to learn more about The Shoppe at Castle, but also included a call to action link to schedule from any page in the navigation.
When tested, all five participants located the call to action link to book an appointment.
Impact
A significant decrease in time it takes to schedule an appointment.
By creating a user flow that allows customers to schedule online rather than having to wait for their barber to respond.
As a result, the time it takes to schedule a haircut or any service at The Shoppe at Castle went from up to 48 hours to an average of four minutes and 48 seconds.
Conclusion
Through strategic UI design, I was able to cut down on the time it takes to schedule an appointment from up to 48 hours to an average of four minute sand 48 seconds.
I also designed a clear navigation structure for the website that included a call to action on each page for the purpose of scheduling an appointment, allowing users to schedule in a more timely manner and for staff to no longer have to worry about responding to individual appointment requests.
Key Takeaways
User Comes First
The stakeholders felt they did not have the time to dedicate to user research with their busy schedules. It was my job to communicate the value that user feedback would bring to the project.
Do Away with Preconceived Notions
The stakeholders had initial ideas for how to approach the website. By performing user testing, I was able to show which ideas aligned with the business goals and the goals of the users, and which did not align.
Let’s Connect
I’d love to hear from you! Whether you have questions or want to collaborate, please reach out. Let’s chat and bring your ideas to life together.