Led UX design for Plastiks’ Shopify app, driving sustainability by enabling merchants to contribute to plastic recovery projects with each sale. By ensuring seamless integration with Shopify’s design system, the app simplified merchants’ ability to support environmental initiatives while enhancing brand value and customer loyalty.
Designing the Shopify App for Plastiks was a unique challenge. Plastiks is a sustainability company that supports plastic recovery projects worldwide. This plugin enables merchants to contribute to these projects when customers make purchases. Additionally, merchants can display a widget on their sustainability page, showcasing the amount of plastic recovered through their store’s contributions and customer support.
I was the main UX designer on the Plastiks team, leading another UX designer who assisted me, and working alongside a graphic designer, a product manager, two developers, and the CTO, who was occasionally involved.
Creating a Shopify plugin requires strict adherence to Shopify’s design system to ensure consistency and avoid confusing merchants. Since merchants have established mental models, maintaining a familiar interface was crucial for a seamless experience.
Competitive Analysis: We explored similar Shopify plugins and sustainability-focused applications for insights and best practices.
Sitemap & Task Flows: We mapped out each required screen and defined key merchant task flows.
Content Model: We structured the content to ensure clarity and ease of use.
Low-Fidelity Wireframes: Initial sketches helped us gather quick insights and validate the structure.
High-Fidelity Designs: We refined the UI while maintaining Shopify’s design guidelines.
User Testing: We tested with various merchants to ensure the plugin was intuitive and aligned with their expectations.
Developer Handoff: Clear documentation and assets were provided to ensure smooth development.
Quality Assurance: We conducted thorough testing to verify the app functioned correctly before release.
By following a structured approach and leveraging Shopify’s established design patterns, we created a seamless and user-friendly plugin that empowers merchants to support sustainability efforts effortlessly. This project reinforced the importance of research-driven design, usability testing, and collaboration to achieve a successful outcome.
Align your goals with exceptional user experiences.
