Smartphone on a round, beige textured table displaying a career goals app with options to get a new job, get a promotion, or develop professionally.

Freeman UI/UX Lift

My Role:

UI/UX Designer

Team:

Product Manager

Tools:

Figma

Timeline:

May 2025 - (Still in progress)

Problem

Freeman Store's website, while newly developed by an external agency, was experiencing significant usability challenges that were impacting user engagement and conversion rates. Upon joining the Freeman team post-launch, I discovered critical UX pain points that were creating friction in the user journey. Users were experiencing information fatigue due to overwhelming content presentation, the site's dated visual appearance with restrictive margins was undermining credibility, and the navigation structure wasn't optimized for intuitive user flow. These issues were particularly problematic for an e-commerce platform where seamless user experience directly correlates with sales performance.

Solution

  1. Conduct a comprehensive UX audit to identify critical usability issues and friction points

  2. Modernize the visual design to align with contemporary web standards and user expectations

  3. Restructure information architecture to reduce cognitive load and improve content digestibility

  4. Optimize the e-commerce experience to match industry best practices and user mental models

Progress

01. RESEARCH & ANALYSIS

  1. UX Audit and Pain Point Identification: I conducted a thorough evaluation of the existing website, identifying specific areas where users were likely to encounter difficulties. Using established UX principles and heuristics, I mapped out friction points throughout the user journey and prioritized improvements based on potential impact.

  2. Information Architecture Assessment: I analyzed how content was structured and presented, identifying opportunities to break down complex information into more manageable, user-friendly sections that would reduce cognitive overload.

  3. Competitive Benchmarking: I studied leading e-commerce platforms to understand current industry standards and user expectations, particularly focusing on navigation patterns, page layouts, and visual hierarchy approaches.

02. DESIGN

  1. Visual Modernization: I eliminated restrictive page margins and implemented a full-width layout approach, instantly modernizing the site's appearance and creating a more contemporary, professional aesthetic that better reflects Freeman's brand positioning.

  2. Content Restructuring: I redesigned the homepage to combat user fatigue by breaking overwhelming content blocks into digestible sections. This approach improved scanability and helped users process information more effectively without feeling overwhelmed.

  3. Navigation Optimization: I refined the navigation structure to create clearer user pathways and improved the mobile navigation experience. The new hierarchy guides users naturally through the site, making page relationships and content structure more intuitive.

  4. E-commerce Experience Enhancement: I redesigned the shop landing page to align with familiar e-commerce conventions, making it easier for users to find products quickly. The new design leverages established user mental models from popular e-commerce platforms, reducing the learning curve and improving conversion potential.

  5. Visual Hierarchy Implementation: I established clear information hierarchies throughout the site, using typography, spacing, and visual elements to guide user attention and create logical content flow that supports task completion.

Conclusion

This UI/UX redesign project demonstrates the value of post-launch optimization and user-centered design thinking. By conducting a thorough UX audit and addressing fundamental usability issues, the Freeman Store website was transformed from a functional but problematic platform into a modern, user-friendly e-commerce experience. The combination of visual modernization, improved information architecture, and e-commerce best practices resulted in a site that not only looks more contemporary but also provides users with intuitive pathways to accomplish their goals, ultimately supporting Freeman's business objectives through improved user engagement and conversion optimization.

Mobile Design

Desktop Design

Screenshots of a mobile app interface for career guidance. The first screen welcomes users and invites them to start a brief process. The second screen asks users to tell about themselves, including their preferred name and pronouns. The third screen asks about career objectives with options to select, such as getting a new job, a promotion, or developing professionally.
Screenshots of a mobile app interface for a resume and job application process, showing three steps: selecting application status, uploading a resume, and viewing background information from the resume, with green buttons and progress indicators at the top.
Screenshots of a mobile app interface showing onboarding steps, including a pain points survey, coaching recommendation loading screen, and suggested career and outreach actions.
Screenshots of a web application titled 'The Apply AI.' The first screenshot shows a welcome message with a green 'Next' button. The second screenshot shows a form titled 'Tell me about yourself!' with fields for preferred name and pronouns, and a green 'Next' button.
Screenshots of an app called 'The Apply AI' showing questions and options for job seekers. The first screen asks about the primary career objective with options to get a new job, a promotion, or develop professionally. The second screen asks where the user is in their job search with options including not looking for a job, thinking about it, updating resume, applying to a few roles, or applying to many roles.
Screenshots of a web-based interface for The Apply AI with steps for uploading a resume and reviewing background information, showing progress indicators and text input areas.
Screenshots of a mobile app called 'The Apply AI'. The first screenshot shows a questionnaire with the question, 'What are you finding challenging in your job hunt?', with options related to job search challenges and a green 'Next' button at the bottom. The second screenshot shows a loading screen that indicates an AI coach is preparing recommended next steps based on shared information, with the message 'Our ApplyAI coach is coming up with recommended first steps based on what you've shared so far' and a green 'Loading' button.
Screenshot of a web page titled 'The Apply AI' with a list of suggested tasks for getting started, highlighting a card labeled 'Share a Story' with a 10-minute estimate, description, and a green 'Select' button.
Screenshots of the Apply AI platform showing two stages of a user onboarding survey, with fields for preferred name, pronouns, career goals, target industries, and reasons for re-entering the workforce, with a bright green 'Next' button at the bottom of each stage.

Pre-Redesign