Maynooth
Maynooth Furniture is a new business selling affordable high-end design furniture made in Ireland.
Product: E-commerce web and mobile platform for affordable high-end furniture
Role: User Researcher & UX/UI Designer
Responsibilities: User research, competitive analysis, wireframing, UI design, prototyping
Goal: Improve product discovery, visual clarity, and user confidence while supporting informed purchasing decisions
Outcome: Delivered a responsive, visually consistent, and user-centered shopping experience that enhances navigation, trust, and inspiration
Tools: Adobe XD, Miro, Figma Make
Design Process Quick Links:
Introduction:
This project focused on the UX/UI design of Maynooth Furniture, an e-commerce platform for affordable high-end furniture made in Ireland. The objective was to improve product discovery, visual presentation, and user confidence while supporting decision-making across web and mobile platforms.
As part of an Adobe XD UX/UI Design course, I developed this project end-to-end, applying user research and iterative design to create a cohesive, intuitive shopping experience aligned with business and user goals.
Interaction Design Deliverables:
UX research insights and usability goals
Competitive analysis and market evaluation
High-fidelity website and mobile wireframes
Responsive UI mockups, interactive prototypes
Moodboard and visual direction
Challenges:
Managing complex navigation across wide product categories
Ensuring consistency across web and mobile platforms
Supporting confident purchasing through better visualisation
Providing design inspiration and guidance
Improving trust through high-quality visuals and content
01 Research & Discovery Phase
To understand user needs, market standards, and business requirements in order to inform a research-driven design approach.
Mobile App Mockup
Main goals for the project were to:
Improve navigation and product categorisation
Enhance product visualisation and information clarity
Support users with inspiration and editorial content
Ensure responsive, mobile-first usability
Build trust through reviews and customer-generated content
Methods:
Conducted user interviews to identify goals and pain points
Performed competitive analysis of Westwing, Kave Home, and KARE
Evaluated shopping journeys across desktop and mobile
Analysed visual branding and product presentation
Reviewed customer engagement and support features
Developed a moodboard to guide visual direction
Competitive analysis of Westwing, Kave Home, and KARE
The analysis revealed gaps in navigation, search functionality, and mobile optimisation across competitors. These insights informed opportunities to create a more intuitive, visually consistent, and user-centred shopping experience.
User interview insights:
“Too many choices make it hard to decide without good filters.”
“I want to see how the furniture looks in real homes.”
“I need inspiration to imagine how pieces fit together.”
Design Moodboard
Key Findings and Insights:
Users felt overwhelmed by large product selections
Limited visual information reduced purchasing confidence
Lack of inspiration made decision-making difficult
Competitors showed gaps in navigation and mobile optimisation
Users valued high-quality imagery and authentic reviews
Design Decisions:
Implemented advanced filtering and search tools
Added detailed product specifications and reviews
Integrated user-generated photos and video content
Designed curated collections and inspiration galleries
Standardised layouts and navigation patterns
Ensured visual consistency across platforms
Deliverables from this Phase:
User interview insights
Competitive analysis documentation
Moodboard and visual references
Design recommendations
Navigation and content strategy
02 High Fidelity Website Wireframes
Objective
Translate research insights and usability goals into functional, user-centered layouts that support efficient browsing and purchasing.
Category Page/ Living Room Page Wireframe
Category Page/ Living Room Page Mockup
Homepage Mockup
Homepage Wireframe
Homepage Mockup Prototype
Process:
Created low-fidelity sketches to explore layouts
Developed high-fidelity wireframes based on research
Tested flows and navigation structure
Refined screens for clarity and responsiveness
Integrated required pages (Homepage, Category, Product)
Applied accessibility and usability principles
Living Room Page Prototype
Outcome
A clear, research-driven wireframe system that supports product discovery, comparison, and confident purchasing across devices.
Product Page/ Sofa Wireframe
Product Page/ Sofa Mockup
Product Page Prototype
03 Design
This phase focused on transforming validated wireframes into polished, visually consistent, production-ready interfaces.
Category Page/Living Room Page Prototype
Design Focus:
Established strong visual hierarchy for scanning and browsing
Applied consistent branding and typography
Optimised layouts for mobile and desktop
Used spacing and imagery to reduce cognitive load
Preserved usability across all key flows
Mobile App Mockup
Key Challenges & Solutions
Understanding user decision-making
Research showed users needed better support to compare and visualise products. I addressed this with detailed product pages, reviews, and high-quality visuals.
Ensuring cross-device consistency
Responsive layouts and unified components ensured seamless experiences across web and mobile.
Supporting inspiration and trust
Curated content, editorial articles, and customer imagery helped users feel confident and engaged.
Outcome & Reflection
This project resulted in an intuitive, visually engaging platform that balances business goals with user needs. By grounding design decisions in research and competitive insights, I delivered a responsive and trustworthy shopping experience.
The project strengthened my ability to manage complex content structures, translate qualitative data into UI decisions, and maintain consistency across platforms.
Web Design Mockups
Category Page/Living Room Page Mockup
Product Page/ Sofa Mockup
Mobile App Design Mockups
Sign Up/Log In Mockup
Sign Up Mobile App Mockup
Log In Mobile App Mockup
Homepage Mobile Mockup
Sofa Page Mobile Mockup
Living Room Mobile Mockup
Product Page Mobile Mockup
What I Learned
How to design scalable navigation systems
How to build trust through visual and content strategy
How to support decision-making in e-commerce
How to balance inspiration with usability
How to translate research into high-fidelity design