What is Design Thinking?

In the world of technology and design there is a phrase that is often thrown around and seen to be an important trait of creatives and this term is Design Thinking. But what is design thinking and is it something you need to put into practice in order to run your online business? In this blog post we'll take a look at what defines design thinking and what it can do for your business.

Design thinking is a 5 step thought cycle that leads to critical analysis and problem solving

Design thinking is an approach to problem-solving that focuses on understanding users' needs and experiences in order to create innovative and effective solutions. In the context of online businesses, design thinking can be a valuable tool for creating products and services that meet the needs of customers and stand out from competitors.

The Phases of The Design Thinking Approach

Design thinking typically involves several phases, including empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and test. Here's how each of these phases might apply to an online business:

1. Empathy: In this phase, the online business seeks to understand the needs, wants, and pain points of its target customers. This might involve conducting user research, analyzing customer feedback, or simply observing how people interact with similar products or services.

2. Define: Based on the insights gathered in the empathy phase, the online business can define the problem it is trying to solve or the opportunity it is trying to seize. This might involve framing the problem as a "How Might We" question or creating a problem statement that captures the essence of the challenge.

3. Ideate: With a clear problem statement in mind, the online business can then generate a wide range of ideas for how to address the challenge. This might involve brainstorming sessions, ideation workshops, or other techniques for generating creative solutions.

4. Prototype: From the ideas generated in the ideation phase, the online business can then create low-fidelity prototypes to test with users. These might be simple wireframes, mockups, or other types of prototypes that allow the business to quickly iterate and refine its ideas.

5. Test: Finally, the online business can test its prototypes with users to gather feedback and refine its ideas. This might involve user testing sessions, surveys, or other methods for gathering feedback from customers.

At the heart of these phases is the customer/ user. By always approaching your problem solving from a user-centric point of view you are more likely to create solutions that enhance your businesses success in the market. Ultimately, design thinking can be a powerful tool for online businesses to create products and services that are truly customer-focused and stand out from the competition. By putting the user at the center of the design process, online businesses can create experiences that truly meet customers' needs and expectations.

In their blog post Creately demonstrates how these phases can be visualised in a practical way using various types of diagrams and flowcharts. If you are interested in learning more about how to practically map out your design thinking process I recommend you take a look at this blog post for some inspiration. (this is not a sponsored link - I just liked their post).

Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test. Involving five phases—Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test—it is most useful to tackle problems that are ill-defined or unknown. - Interaction Design Organisation

How to learn Design Thinking methods:

There are many resources available for people who want to learn more about design thinking. Here are a few options:

1. Online courses: There are many online courses that cover design thinking, including both free and paid options. Some popular platforms for online courses include Coursera, edX, and Udemy.

2. Books: There are many books that cover design thinking, including popular titles like "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman, "Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value" by Thomas Lockwood, and "Change by Design" by Tim Brown.

3. Workshops and training programs: Many design agencies and consulting firms offer workshops and training programs that cover design thinking. These programs are often tailored to specific industries or business needs.

4. Design thinking organizations: There are many organizations that promote and support design thinking, including the Design Management Institute, the Interaction Design Foundation, and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford.

5. Online resources: There are many online resources available for learning about design thinking, including blogs, videos, and podcasts. Some popular options include IDEO's Design Thinking for Educators toolkit, the Stanford d.school's Virtual Crash Course in Design Thinking, and the Creative Confidence podcast by IDEO U.

There are many ways to learn about design thinking, and the best approach will depend on your individual learning style and needs.

Put simply, design thinking helps website owners create user-centric websites that meet the needs of their customers and stand out from competitors, resulting in better business outcomes. Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon) famously said:

"The most important single thing is to focus obsessively on the customer.Our goal is to be earth's most customer-centric company." - Jeff Bezos

If you think about how you run your business, do you believe you utilise this thought methodology in your decision making or ideating process? Is this something that you believe you are good at or something you'd hire out to a consultant? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

5 things every ecommerce site owner should know

Owning an ecommerce site is becoming a hugely popular way to make money

As an ecommerce website owner, there are several important things that you should keep in mind to ensure the success of your online store. In this post we're going to take a dive into these factors of online businesses and dive into what they really mean and how they apply to your website.

Here are five essential things that you should know:

1. Understand your target audience: You need to have a deep understanding of your target audience to create an effective marketing strategy. This means identifying their needs and preferences, as well as their online behavior, such as which social media platforms they use, what type of content they engage with, and what influences their purchase decisions.

2. Optimize for mobile: With the rise of mobile devices, it's crucial to optimize your ecommerce website for mobile devices. This means using a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and providing a smooth mobile user experience.

3. Provide excellent customer service: Providing excellent customer service is crucial for the success of any ecommerce website. This means providing fast and effective responses to customer inquiries, offering easy returns and exchanges, and being transparent about shipping times and fees.

4. Use high-quality images and product descriptions: The visuals on your website can make a huge impact on a customer's decision to buy. Make sure you use high-quality images that accurately represent your products, and provide detailed product descriptions to help customers make informed decisions.

5. Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technology: The ecommerce industry is constantly evolving, and it's essential to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies to stay ahead of the competition. This includes staying up-to-date with the latest marketing strategies, payment options, and shipping solutions, among other things.

Understanding your target audience

Understanding your target audience is a crucial aspect of running a successful ecommerce website. When you have a deep understanding of your audience, you can create a more effective marketing strategy, tailor your product offerings, and improve your overall customer experience.

Here are some important aspects to consider when trying to understand your target audience:

1. Demographics: Understanding the basic demographics of your target audience is essential. This includes information such as age, gender, income, education level, and geographic location. This information can help you tailor your marketing messages and product offerings to better resonate with your target audience.

2. Psychographics: Psychographics refer to the personality traits, values, attitudes, and interests of your target audience. Understanding these factors can help you create marketing messages and product offerings that resonate with your target audience on a deeper level.

3. Online behavior: Understanding your target audience's online behavior is also essential. This includes which social media platforms they use, what type of content they engage with, and what influences their purchase decisions. This information can help you target your marketing efforts more effectively and create a better user experience on your website.

4. Pain points: Understanding the pain points and challenges of your target audience can help you create products and services that solve their problems. This information can also help you create marketing messages that speak directly to their needs and concerns.

To gather this information, you can use a variety of tools such as surveys, social media analytics, website analytics, customer feedback, and market research. By gathering and analyzing this information, you can create a more effective marketing strategy, improve your product offerings, and create a better overall customer experience on your ecommerce website.

Optimising your ecommerce site for mobile

In today's digital world, it's essential for ecommerce websites to optimize for mobile devices. With the majority of online shoppers now using their smartphones and tablets to browse and purchase products, failing to optimize your website for mobile can result in a poor user experience, lost sales, and even harm your website's search engine rankings.

Here are some key aspects of mobile optimization that ecommerce website owners should consider:

1. Responsive Design: A responsive design is a web design approach that allows your website to adapt to different screen sizes, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. This ensures that your website is easy to navigate and read, regardless of the device that the user is accessing it from. A responsive design can improve your website's usability, speed, and search engine rankings.

2. Mobile Navigation: Mobile navigation is a critical aspect of mobile optimization. On a mobile device, your website's menu and navigation should be easy to use and quick to access. A well-designed mobile navigation system will help your users find what they are looking for quickly and easily.

3. Mobile Checkout: The mobile checkout process should be simple and streamlined. Long, complicated forms can lead to cart abandonment and lost sales. A good mobile checkout process should be easy to use, intuitive, and require as little user input as possible.

4. Mobile Speed: Mobile speed is essential for providing a positive user experience. A slow-loading website can frustrate users and lead to lost sales. Optimizing your website's images, code, and content for mobile can help to improve its speed and performance.

5. Mobile SEO: Mobile optimization is also important for SEO. Google's mobile-first indexing means that websites that are optimized for mobile will rank higher in search engine results pages. Optimizing your website for mobile can help to improve your website's search engine rankings and drive more traffic to your site.

Overall, optimizing your ecommerce website for mobile is essential for providing a positive user experience, improving search engine rankings, and increasing conversions. By considering the aspects listed above, you can improve the overall mobile experience of your ecommerce website and attract more customers.

Providing excellent customer service for your online customers

Providing excellent customer service is crucial for the success of any ecommerce website. Good customer service can help to build trust and loyalty with your customers, increase customer satisfaction, and drive repeat business. Here are some important aspects of providing excellent customer service:

1. Fast and effective responses: Customers expect fast and effective responses to their inquiries. Make sure you have a system in place to respond to customer inquiries promptly and efficiently. This can include offering a live chat service, a support email address, or a customer service phone line.

2. Easy returns and exchanges: Customers appreciate a hassle-free return or exchange policy. Make sure your return policy is clear and easy to understand. Provide a simple and straightforward process for customers to return or exchange products.

3. Transparency about shipping times and fees: Being transparent about shipping times and fees can help to build trust with your customers. Make sure your customers know how much they can expect to pay for shipping and when they can expect to receive their order.

4. Personalized experiences: Personalized experiences can help to make customers feel valued and appreciated. This can include offering personalized product recommendations, personalized email newsletters, or special promotions and discounts.

5. Follow-up and feedback: Following up with customers after a purchase can help to improve their overall experience. This can include sending a post-purchase email to gather feedback on their experience, asking for a review of the product, or offering a special promotion for their next purchase.

By focusing on these aspects of customer service, you can create a positive and engaging experience for your customers. This can help to build trust and loyalty, increase customer satisfaction, and ultimately drive more sales for your ecommerce website.

Using high-quality images and product descriptions

Using high-quality images and product descriptions is critical for the success of any ecommerce website. Good product images and descriptions can help to attract potential customers, increase conversion rates, and reduce the likelihood of returns.

Here are some key aspects of using high-quality images and product descriptions on your ecommerce website:

1. High-quality images: High-quality images are essential for showcasing your products in the best possible light. Make sure your product images are clear, sharp, and show the product from multiple angles. Use a white background to ensure that the product is the main focus of the image. It's also a good idea to include lifestyle images that show the product in use, as this can help potential customers to envision how they might use the product in their own lives.

2. Detailed product descriptions: Detailed product descriptions are important for providing potential customers with the information they need to make an informed purchase decision. Make sure your product descriptions are clear, concise, and provide all the necessary details about the product, including its features, specifications, and dimensions. Use bullet points to break up the text and make it easy to scan.

3. Video content: Video content can be an effective way to showcase your products and provide more information to potential customers. Consider creating product videos that show the product in use or highlight its key features. This can help to engage customers and increase their understanding of the product.

4. User-generated content: User-generated content, such as customer reviews and photos, can be a powerful way to showcase your products and build trust with potential customers. Encourage your customers to leave reviews and share photos of your products in use. This can help to provide social proof and increase the credibility of your products.

By using high-quality images and detailed product descriptions, you can provide potential customers with the information they need to make an informed purchase decision. This can help to increase conversion rates, reduce the likelihood of returns, and ultimately drive more sales for your ecommerce website.

Staying up to date with the latest technologies

Staying up-to-date with the latest trends and technology is critical for the success of any ecommerce website. As the ecommerce industry evolves, new trends and technologies emerge that can help you stay ahead of the competition and provide a better experience for your customers.

Here are some key aspects of staying up-to-date with the latest trends and technology in ecommerce:

1. Mobile optimization: Mobile optimization is becoming increasingly important as more and more people use their smartphones to shop online. Make sure your ecommerce website is optimized for mobile devices, with a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes and mobile-friendly features like large buttons and simple navigation.

2. Voice search: Voice search is becoming more popular as people use voice assistants like Siri and Alexa to search for products online. Make sure your ecommerce website is optimized for voice search, with natural language product descriptions and keyword-rich content that matches the way people speak.

3. AI and machine learning: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are revolutionizing the ecommerce industry, enabling new features like personalized product recommendations and chatbots that can provide customer support 24/7. Consider using AI and machine learning technology to provide a better experience for your customers and improve your ecommerce operations.

4. Social media: Social media is an important marketing channel for ecommerce websites, with platforms like Instagram and Facebook offering new ways to reach potential customers and build brand awareness. Stay up-to-date with the latest social media trends and best practices, and use these platforms to showcase your products and engage with your customers.

5. Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity is a growing concern for ecommerce websites, with data breaches and cyber attacks becoming more common. Stay up-to-date with the latest cybersecurity trends and best practices, and ensure that your ecommerce website is secure and compliant with industry standards like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

By staying up-to-date with the latest trends and technology in ecommerce, you can provide a better experience for your customers and stay ahead of the competition. This can help to drive more sales and grow your ecommerce business over the long term.

I'd love to hear what you think of this list of essential things that ecommerce site owners should know. Do you have anything you would add to this list? Let me know in the comments!

Understanding brand identity and why it's important for your online business

Creating a brand is like building an avatar - every little choice you make is part of bringing the business to life

Branding and identity are two important aspects of any business, including online businesses. Your brand is the overall image or perception that your business conveys to your customers and the public, while your identity refers to the visual and tangible elements that represent your brand.

In simpler terms, branding is the way in which you communicate your business's values, mission, and personality to your target audience. It's the message that you want people to associate with your business. Your brand should be consistent across all channels, including your website, social media, advertising, and any other interactions with customers.

Your brand identity, on the other hand, is the visual and physical representation of your brand. It includes things like your logo, color scheme, typography, and other design elements that are used in your marketing materials, website, and other branded content. Your brand identity should be visually appealing, memorable, and representative of your brand's personality and values.

Having a strong brand and identity is important for any business, as it helps to differentiate you from competitors, establish trust with customers, and create a strong and recognizable image that can help to attract new customers. As an online business owner, it's important to invest time and resources into developing a strong and consistent brand and identity that resonates with your target audience and accurately represents your business.

Brand identity and website design

Your brand identity should be a central part of your website design, as it is one of the most important touchpoints between your business and your online audience. Here are some ways in which your brand identity can be implemented in your website design:

1. Color scheme: Your website should use the colors from your brand identity, which can help to reinforce brand recognition and create a cohesive look and feel. Make sure to use colors that are appropriate for your business and target audience, and that create a visual hierarchy that guides visitors to the most important information.

2. Typography: Your website's font should match the typography used in your branding, which can help to reinforce consistency and recognition. Make sure to choose a font that is easy to read and appropriate for your brand's personality and style.

3. Logo: Your logo should be prominently displayed on your website, preferably in the header or footer of each page. Make sure to use a high-quality image of your logo that is optimized for web use.

4. Imagery: The images used on your website should be consistent with your brand identity and style, and should help to convey your brand's values and personality. This can include using images that reflect your brand's color scheme or that convey a particular emotion or message.

5. Tone of voice: The tone of voice used in your website's copy should be consistent with your brand's personality and values. Make sure to use language that resonates with your target audience and that helps to establish trust and credibility.

6. User experience: The overall user experience of your website should reflect your brand's values and personality. Make sure to design a website that is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and optimized for speed and mobile use.

By implementing your brand identity into your website design, you can create a cohesive and memorable online presence that resonates with your target audience and helps to establish your business as a leader in your industry.

Building your brand

As a new online business owner, one of the most important investments you can make is in the development of a strong brand identity. A strong brand identity helps you to stand out in a crowded online marketplace, establish trust with your target audience, and create a lasting impression that keeps customers coming back.

That's where Marshall Arts comes in. We are a design agency with a passion for creating visually stunning and memorable brand identities for businesses of all sizes. Our team of experienced designers and brand strategists will work closely with you to understand your business's values, personality, and target audience, and to create a brand identity that accurately reflects those qualities.

Here are some reasons why you should choose Marshall Arts to design and implement your brand identity:

1. Tailored to your needs: We understand that every business is unique, and we take the time to understand your specific needs and goals. Whether you're a startup looking to establish your brand or an established business looking to refresh your identity, we'll work with you to create a custom solution that fits your budget and timeline.

2. Experienced designers: Our team of designers has years of experience creating brand identities for businesses of all types and sizes. We stay up-to-date with the latest design trends and tools, and are committed to creating designs that are both visually stunning and effective in achieving your business goals.

3. Focus on strategy: We don't just create pretty designs - we take a strategic approach to every project, ensuring that your brand identity is designed to resonate with your target audience and achieve your business goals.

4. Comprehensive service: We offer a comprehensive range of services, from logo design to website design and everything in between. We can help you create a cohesive brand identity that is consistent across all channels, helping you to establish a strong and recognizable online presence.

At Marshall Arts, we are committed to creating brand identities that make a lasting impression and help businesses achieve their goals. If you are starting up a new online business we would be love to work with you to create a brand identity that reflects your business's unique personality and values. Contact us today to get started!