Dixons Carphone eCommerce

A greenfield, responsive redesign project.

Designing a responsive website for Europe’s largest specialist electrical and telecommunications retailer

Above: Price plan selection functionality that is currently live on website (April 2020)

Above: Store finder selection functionality that is currently live on website (April 2020). Store closure messages due to COVID-19.

Above: Whiteboard Design Exploration

Above: Quantitative analysis of user behaviour

Above: Survey to analyse user needs

Above: Collaborative design

Above: User testing lab

Above: User testing

Above: Design iteration

Above: Wireframe sample

Above: Axure prototype sample

Above: Concept development sample

Above: Card sorting sample

Above: Mega dropdown menu wireframe sample

Above: Qualitative analysis performed through participatory user testing

Opportunity

The company wanted to update its web presence for mobile and design a customer centric responsive (mobile first) website as part of a large greenfield transformation programme.

Stephen worked on the following areas:

Header mega drop down menu
Store finder functionality
Ecommerce price plan selection (part of the phone and plan purchase flow)

Process

Some of the tasks performed whilst working on the Dixons Carphone project were:

Researching quantitative user needs based on existing site analytics.
Competitor benchmarking and other industry benchmarking for best practice.
Performing card sorting exercises to develop taxonomy, syntax and information architecture.
Designing qualitative user research survey (for retail staff) on SurveyMonkey.
Developing rationale to use three user journeys: Research, Purchase and Support.
Designing wireframes to be used for stakeholder engagement, user testing and visual design.
Working with visual designers to provide design direction.
Working collaboratively as part of a team of three senior UX designers to provide overall site consistency and peer review.
Working with business stakeholders (including director level) to develop requirements and shape design.
Creating Axure clickable prototype alongside other UX designers to test with users.
Taking part in participatory user testing to inform and iterate designs.

Key skills used on project: Research and testing, Interaction design, Information Architecture, Stakeholder management, UX Design, UX Strategy

Outcome

When product design is carried out with solid user centered design principles, long-term beneficial results are achieved. The following video is recorded in April 2020, approximately 5 years after the design work was done by Stephen. The cross-device experience is still successful, closely aligned to the original design that Stephen previously designed. Final visual design was designed by separate visual UI designers in this case.

Stephen collaborated and inputted in other parts of the website (e.g. PDP Product details page, etc), not shown below.

About Dixons Carphone

Dixons Carphone business is Europe’s largest specialist electrical and telecommunications retailer and services company. With annual sales in excess of £10 billion, both online and across a network of nearly 3,000 stores, employ over 40,000 people in 14 countries. Dixons Carphone sells approximately 25% cell phone handsets in the UK.

Colleagues on the project

Aaron Williams
Head of UX

Stephen is an excellent UX designer with a great eye for detail. His knowledge of the telecommunications industry was invaluable on the project. This is the second time I have had the pleasure of working with Stephen and I wouldn’t hesitate to hire him again if the opportunity arises.

Nizzam Uddin
Senior UX Designer

A seasoned User Experience practitioner with excellent understanding of UCD process, technology and story telling. Having worked with Steve, it’s more than apparent that Steve is an excellent collaborator, mediator of decision making and has impeccable stakeholder management skills. Working with Steve is a joy and is a welcome addition to any team or as a project lead.