Mother Africa Arts

Online expansion for a small business

Project Role

Web Designer - UX/UI Designer - Front-End Developer - Social Media Marketing

Project Type

E-commerce website

About the client

“We have been importing goods from Africa for the past 20 years. Originally from Ghana, we wanted to share some of the great things we have to offer knowing that not everyone will get the chance to visit.”

Project Background

A seasoned veteran in the physical retail space is looking to expand online. Due to the pandemic and changing of the global landscape, their in-person sales slowed down significantly. Despite these challenges, their passion for the items they sell remains strong, motivating them to find new ways to reach a global audience and share their unique products with the world.

Problem

Mother Africa Arts had no online presence. Every sale was done in person including promotion and marketing. The business needed to expand into the online world to reach customers and sustain its business during these changing times.

Goal of this project

The goal of this project is to establish a robust online presence for Mother Africa Arts. This includes creating an engaging and user-friendly website, setting up a social media presence, and implementing effective digital marketing strategies through the use of things like email marketing and targeted ads. By transitioning to the online world, the company aims to reach a broader audience, increase sales, and ensure business continuity despite external challenges such as the pandemic.

First iteration of the Mother Africa Arts website

Simple product page layout for the website

Early ideaton

Originally, I wanted to call the business Sub-Saharan Arts because the owners being my parents didn’t even have a business name. They were known personally, but not by the name of their business, even though customers loved them. I decided against the name after some research and settled on Mother Africa Arts after playing around with a few other names.

With this project, I was trying to get it off the ground quickly. The pandemic came swiftly, but that didn’t mean that bills stopped. I chose a template for the initial design so I wouldn’t have to worry about designing every single page, which gave me time to take pictures and work on descriptions of the products.

I then started to create additional content that the business would need in the online marketplace, such as thank you notes, shipping and privacy policies, setting up online credit card processors, business emails, hosting, inventory, and other miscellaneous things before getting started on the website.

I then created a logo in Adobe Illustrator that could be used to represent the brand. Like a name the company did not have a logo either. I took inspiration from a piece of fabric that Mother Africa Arts sells called the kuba cloth. I wanted it to feel modern but not stray too far from what the actual business represents.

Design Process

Before starting the process of designing the website for Mother Africa Arts, I looked at many successful e-commerce websites. One that stood out to me was Zara. I admired their bold use of fonts and captivating images, which I believe would work well with the products Mother Africa Arts has to offer. In my original design for the website, I kept it simple, but looking back, it may have been too simple. By examining Zara’s site, I have discovered how to balance the design—making it simple enough for the artwork to stand out, yet complex enough that the pages don’t seem boring.

I compiled all the fonts and colors I wanted to use for the business when it came to branding. Having everything in a clean, simple design layout like this increased my workflow by allowing me to see all the information I needed that could be easily accessible.

I redesigned the homepage in hopes of bringing a premium feel to the brand and improving conversions. I wanted to showcase all the beautiful items that Mother Africa Arts has to offer so I created a big hero section that rotates through their top categories provided with stunning imagery to draw in users attention. There are also many instances throughout the page that prompt users to take action. In improving this it moves the brand inline with their goal of improving the user interface of the site and the greater goal of improving sales.

Results

I also designed the item page with users in mind. My goal is to make check out quick and easy. I made sure to include accent details like the border on the thumbnail images in the colors of MAA to make all the pages feel cohesive and inline with the brand image.

I decided to put the images in boxes of their own to make the shop page look more concise. I wanted to leave the images in their original ratio due to the fact that every item is unique. I want users to see each item clearly.

Working on this website has taught me so much about design and marketing. As long as I continue to learn and continue to grow so will the site. It serves as a testing ground for new ideas and a place where I can craft my skills in real time.

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Online expansion for a small business