Atown Reimagined
A beloved local shop in the heart of Texas gets an updated redesign for their e-commerce website—built for clarity, community, and digital ease. Scroll to see how I redesigned the experience from the ground up while maintaining the essence of Austin in this conceptual project.
BACKSTORY
Austin's Favorite Gift Shop
Atown is one of those magical Austin shops where every corner holds something new — quirky gifts, local art, and the unmistakable spirit of the city. But their website didn’t reflect that experience: it felt flat, confusing to navigate, and disconnected from the store’s charm. I saw an opportunity to redesign it from the ground up, creating a digital space that felt just as vibrant, intuitive, and full of discovery as walking through the shop itself.
TIMELINE
2 week sprint
TEAM
Tiana Olivo
TOOLS
Figma
Illustrator
Procreate
Google Suite
Adobe Express
RESPONSIBILITIES
UX Design
Branding & Identity
Project Management
Website Development
LISTEN + LEARN
Revealing the Gaps
I recruited 4 participants from my personal social media account, who shop locally for gifts then gave them simple tasks to complete on Atown's current site including browsing for a gift and checking out.
Lost in Translation
Shoppers failed to narrow down the search for Austin-themed gifts (rather than locally-made)
Too Many Choices
A navigation bar of 10+ categories left shoppers feeling overwhelmed.
Filtering Fell Short
Limited filter options made it hard for shoppers to find what they were looking for.
Guiding Atown to Success
Shoppers completed their tasks, but not without friction. The site’s navigation was inconsistent, some pages were empty, and filters weren’t useful — all of which led to confusion and drop-off.
Atown needed a full redesign: clearer navigation, smarter filters, and a visual identity that matched its in-store charm. I set out to explore how similar brands were solving these same problems online.
Crafting a Competitive Edge
I chose three distinct companies for comparison: Anthropologie for its upscale variety, Hallmark for its traditional gift-shop model, and Austin Gift Company for its curated, locally inspired site that closely aligns with Atown.
What do they have that Atown doesn't?
A carefully crafted logo and branding
Catered shopping experience for specific gift budgets, preferences, occasions, and/or recipients
Organized and intuitive shopping experience, making it easier to explore options
Stylish and inviting user interface
Hours & location
THE PROBLEM?
From Insight to Action
It wasn’t surprising to hear shoppers were confused — the cracks were visible from the first click. But just how deep did the usability issues go? I set out to find out if a few tweaks could fix things… or if Atown needed a complete rethink.
Shoppers need a seamless way to find and purchase the best Austin-themed gifts that align with their preferences, budgets, and occasions, without feeling overwhelmed or uncertain during the process.
Drafting the Journey
Listed below are the 3 main points I wanted to address according to shopper's needs with potential solutions for each one. I then sketched a few basic screens to start illustrating how this could come into play.
Make it easier to locate specific products on site
reorganize the nav menu
incorporate filters by category
change the way search results appear
Find better ways of informing users
cater to the preferences of gift recipients
create a clearer sense of what the store is about through branding
include store hours & location
Help users feel more connected to the store
improve hierarchy, especially for "About" section
use consistent branding to create a better experience
display local brands first
From Sketches to Strategy
My ideal solution combined most of my sketches into a multi-navigational system, inspired by Anthropologie's website. Research showed shoppers approach searches differently—some use the search bar, others browse headings, and some rely on filters. To accommodate diverse user behaviors, I focused on organizing information clearly and accessibly, starting with a user flow for browsing products.
Browse with Ease
Added a “Browse By” sidebar to keep navigation clear, organized, and easy to explore by category.
Navigation Overload
The Card Sort
4 participants, recruited through social media
Goal: to determine how users categorize the miscellaneous items that Atown offers
Tough to categorize items such as magnets and playing cards fell into the category: "El Arroyo"
4/4 users
completed the tasks in under 10 minutes with no errors
used the "Browse by" filters to refine their search
3/4 users
scrolled down to look at the "Local Brands" section
expected to receive feedback after adding an item to cart
2/4 users
scanned the entire homepage before making a decision
immediately clicked on the feature "Shop T-shirts"
A Shopper’s Journey Refined
In round two, navigation felt smoother, but shoppers wanted clearer cart feedback. I added a confirmation overlay and refined the Austin-focused filters, which shoppers loved. With usability on track, I shifted focus to strengthening the site’s branding for a more cohesive experience.
Painting the Town
Honestly, I loved that Atown didn’t have a set brand — it gave me room to play with color and build a visual style that captured their fun, playful vibe. I’d still recommend they invest in a proper logo to boost their identity and stand out. For now, I pulled inspiration from their storefront sign and used the bold, youthful colors (celadon, mustard, sky blue) with handwritten fonts to bring that eclectic charm to life.
My goal: make it feel like you’re already inside the shop — even if you’re just browsing from your couch.
Shades of Inclusivity
To ensure an accessible and vibrant experience for all users, I tested various color combinations for optimal contrast. Of course, black on white provided the best readability, making it perfect for small and large text blocks. Buttons received a touch of black on blue, balancing style and clarity, while white on dark green stood out beautifully in the footer. For a subtle pop, I used red on green and yellow sparingly, reserved for larger text elements.
This thoughtful approach allowed me to create a colorful website that’s not only visually appealing but truly inclusive.
Before & After
Homepage
Original Website
Unrelated color scheme
Carousel that accidentally displays a "slideshow" instructional pop-up & lacks relative information
New Design
Cohesive color scheme & clear logo
Cover page displays local art
Immediately features popular item shortcuts
Navigation Menu
Original Website
Displays a plethora of navigation titles
Additional titles are grouped in "More Links"
Lack of consistency in the titles
Local Brands Feature
Original Website
These brands are displayed at the very bottom of the page even though it's a large part of the shop's offerings
Logos are all different sizes & unaligned
New Design
Displayed closer to the top of the page
Increased number of brands & created cards for each brand to have consistency with size and alignment
Moved "Illuminidol" from navigation menu to brands feature
Browse by Category
Brand new feature that allows easy access to all categories within a specific title from the navigation menu
Product Listing Page
Original Website
Font size, images, & buttons are large and non-responsive to page size
Additional images of product are bigger than the first & stacked vertically; must scroll down to see them all
Colors missing from thumbnail
New Design
Main image is the largest; additional images displayed below & replace the large image when clicked
All product info is displayed in viewport, no need to continuously scroll down to see everything
Footer
Original Website
Footer is so large that you need to scroll to see all of it
"About Us" is linked here
The color is unrelated to the shop's brand
Entire site is missing shop address, operating hours, & shop photo
New Design
Moved "Best of Austin" seal from floating in the middle of the homepage to the footer so it shows up on every page
Included shop hours & address
Added a photo of the storefront & a map to make Atown easy to find
FINAL THOUGHTS
Please Exit Through the Gift Shop
PRESENTATION DECK
Click the Pic
Designed using Google Slides