Brand
STM
Industry
Automotive
Application
Desktop / Mobile
Year
2020
Overview
Who doesn't like a nice car that is really fast and even louder? Even if you don't, you do. Some just like it more than others. Street Tuned Motorsport, "STM", specializes in performance parts for the Evo, DSM, GTR, 3000GT and Subaru models. They also offer in-house chassis dyno for AWD, FWD and RWD cars, as well as a full fabrication facility, custom alignments, performance maintenance and parts installation. With cars being another passion of mine, I wanted to redesign a company's website whom I have been following for some time now and often purchase auto parts from while building and working on my own vehicle.
Research
There's no doubting the guys at STM when it comes to building really fast cars and producing top-notch parts. Quality branding and nice web pages though are also just as important when it comes down to customer engagement. Inconsistencies in design patterns, confusing/ overcrowded layouts are some of the things that drive consumers to competitor sites. Taking away from potential browsing times allows for missed opportunities to arise when working toward higher sell rates but also an overall greater shopping experience that car enthusiast usually love and lean loyal to.
Mobile vs. Desktop
In a report written by OuterBox, statistics show that 62% of smartphone owners have used their mobile device to buy a product online at least once since they’ve owned it. This come as no surprise as most our phones can be synced to our financial accounts fairly easy. Despite this trend, desktop purchases still dominate the ecommerce industry.
Current Site
Inconsistencies within the STM's interface leads to user confusion and poor navigation while outdated layouts decrease the value of the users attention span. This taking away from potential browsing times allows for missed opportunities to arise when working toward better sell but also an overall greater shopping experience that car enthusiast love.
Challenges
My challenges for Street Tuned Motorsport were to change the site and branding so it was interesting and different enough from the original while creating elements and guidelines that could be easily maintained. I often enjoy completely reimagining the overall visual aesthetic when branding and redesigning a company web site, but for this personal project, I wanted the capture my subjects own vision and bring it into focus.
Initial designs
Initially, when I started redesigning and finished what I thought would be final iterations at the end of 2019. Although improved from Street Tuned Motorsports' current site, my initial designs were still clunky and not very well fit users IOS familiarity. I had reached my general scope and goals but my overall outcome was unsatisfying as many decisions needed to be corrected within my design.
Persona
"I love shopping at stmtuned.com and have been for some time now. They offer the best deals for after-market and OEM parts. They also make their own quality stuff that I have been putting own my cars since my very first build. STM work on some really fast cars, but their website is a little dated though. It reminds me of my old 96' Camry. It's reliable but is a bit clunky and slow looking. I don't mind a lot of things but hate traffic or anything else that slows me down. If something is boring or ordinary, it also got to go. I don't need a lot of options, just what's up to speed."
Devices
MacBook Pro / Iphone
Education
College Degree
Career
Music DJ / Promoter
Other
D.I.Y. Mechanic
likes
Spontaneity
Dislikes
Waiting Time
Personality
Attention Seeker
Social
Facebook, Instagram
Final Iterations
During my first round of designs, I worked within a screen dimension that I thought suited a larger range of users and devices. This another project that I would eventually revisit at a later date to appeal the latest systems.
Shop till you drop
According to Statista, back in 2014, global internet sales reached the $1 trillion milestone. Just 4 years later, retail ecommerce sales grew more than twice, reaching $2.8 trillion in 2018. In 2021 the global ecommerce sales for websites such as Amazon, eBay, etc., are projected to reach $4.8 trillion.
Next steps
One area that I would like to explore more with Street Tuned Motorsports is sellable brand merchandise. I believe this would serve as an opportunity to increase revenue at a low cost as consumers are increasingly becoming more attached to self-identification.
Next Project
