“Our company has developed a highly accurate algorithm that predicts what people will want to buy next, according to their last three purchases.
We want to apply this algorithm to a wide range of software solutions. One of our ideas is to build an app that can help users pick out gifts for people.”
Through research I found out that although people were interested in the concept of a gift-giving service, most did not feel comfortable with giving out highly personal data such as purchase history.
In 2018, people expected to spend roughly 122 euros on Christmas presents
1 in 5 people consider it 'bad taste' to buy a partner a cheap present
Unsurprisingly, gift sales reach their yearly peak during the holiday season
68% of people spend between 15-25 euros on a birthday present.
Deb, 68
Deb is an older lady with five grandchildren. She has no idea what to give to her grandchildren during the holidays. Buying games for five kids is too expensive, so she would like some less costly options that her grandkids will still enjoy. Deb feels suspicious towards websites and apps that request access to personal data.
A way to utilize the algorithm without requiring a lot of personal data.
A way for users to browse within a set budget.
lissa, 31
Lissa works as a recruiter. Maintaining valuable relationships is crucial to her work, and one easy way to achieve that is by sending them a gift every now and then. Lissa knows choosing the right present is time-consuming, especially if you don’t know the recipient very well.
A premium gift wrapping and personalized message service intended to automate the gift giving process even more.
jonathan, 27
Jonathan is kind of a scatterbrain. He tends to forget birthdays and holidays, and in turn, he also fails to remember to buy gifts for these occasions. His friends don’t really mind, but he would like to get better at it.
The option to enable push notifications for gift recipients created by the user.
I had to slightly rethink my approach. It looked like our primary target group wasn't very trusting of tech and AI. I had to find a way to add a layer of humanity to the concept.
I came up with the idea to explore a Tinder-style swiping concept. The AI would no longer train using a recipient's purchase history– it would do so using a product list curated by the user.
As research pointed out, the holidays are the most popular time of the year for people to purchase gifts. I wanted to reflect that in the branding to a certain extent, but I also wanted it to hold up during the rest of the year.
Not only is a retro aesthetic always in vogue, it also invokes a sense of nostalgia for our primary target group. I wanted to borrow 50s design elements with contemporary UI practices to create a timeless and rich brand identity.
The base UI consists of a lot of sharp corners and edges. The only exceptions are the elements that can be interacted with.
The slanted corners aren't just a retro style choice; they also represent the idea of 'cutting corners'. You know, because Giftum makes it so easy to find the right gifts.
I used the Krona typeface as a base and extended the G through each character as a visual reference to a bow wrapped around a present.
The name Giftum is an onomatopoeia of the phrase “gift them”. Some other options that did not make the cut: Giftgiver, Gifter, Giftr, Giftly… but those all seemed a little overused.
Before users can start swiping, Giftum needs some personal details to kick off. Most information requested is optional, so if a user would rather not disclose something, that's possible.
Each recipient has an individual profile, which is characterized by an icon that displays their photo (if the user chose to upload one). This serves as a reminder of who is being swiped for to the user. If they do make an accidental swipe, users can use the undo button, or delete the liked product in the “Likes” tab.
Why should swiping be just for dating apps? The swiping motion is very similar to how we use clothing racks and shopping catalogs. It just feels natural. For each product rated by the user, Giftum’s suggestions get more refined.
Giftum’s primary user flow is intended to redirect users to participating webshops that sell the items shown.
However, if you’re busy and you still want to wrap your gift and attach a handwritten note, Giftum’s got you covered!
Giftum’s UX design borrows from well-known user interface patterns, most of which are not often paired together. I intended to consistently use font sizes and white space, but out-of-the-box rigid brand guidelines simply didn’t work for this brand design. The main takeaway for me was that while consistency is necessary, sometimes designs may benefit from leaving in wiggle room for deviations.
In my design process for Giftum, process stages often overlapped. I started working on the first wireframes about halfway into the information architecture process. After creating the brand identity, I went back to my wireframe to rethink some of the structure with a clearer vision of typography and color in mind. I feel like thinking one step ahead contextualizes your work, especially if you are working alone.
