MULTI Toys — Structuring Collectible Shopping Through Clearer Discovery and Purchase Cues

The project was not about introducing an entirely new digital product. The existing website already supported shopping, but it did not present the brand and its products as clearly or intentionally as it could.

Within the available timeline, I focused on high-impact improvements across product presentation, browsing structure, information hierarchy, purchase-decision cues, and responsive behavior.

During initial discovery, I did not have access to prior user research or product analytics. Initial understanding therefore came from an audit of the existing website, the client and project context, and benchmarking comparable collectible and branded-commerce experiences.

The audit suggested that the problem was not missing content. Important actions, campaigns, categories, and merchandise often occupied the same visual layer, making it harder to understand what deserved attention first, where browsing should continue, and which information mattered during evaluation.

The audit findings were synthesized into three structural problems that connected interface presentation with browsing and evaluation.

I compared a range of branded-commerce and collectible retail experiences to understand how large catalogs could balance exploration with retrieval. Across these references, two broad interaction patterns emerged: some experiences emphasized visual discovery through large imagery, curated product groups, thematic browsing, and guided entry points, while others prioritized structured retrieval through denser catalogs, stronger categorization, search, filtering, and more direct product access.

Discovery-oriented Pattern

1

Large product imagery

2

Curated product groups

3

Thematic browsing

4

Guided entry points

Retrieval-oriented Pattern

1

Denser catalogs

2

Stronger categorization

3

Search and filter emphasis

4

Direct product access

Rather than choosing between a purely editorial discovery experience and a dense catalog-first marketplace, I used the comparison to shape a direction that could support more direct product access when shoppers had clearer intent, while still creating opportunities for exploration through franchises, campaigns, collections, and related merchandise.

From there, the redesign was guided by three principles: strengthen visual focus around products, create clearer paths for product discovery, and support purchase decisions through clearer signals. These principles became the basis for restructuring the homepage, catalog browsing, product presentation, and supporting interactions throughout the experience.

The final direction combined stronger hierarchy, clearer navigation, curated discovery paths, structured catalog browsing, clearer product information, more visible supporting actions, and responsive behavior.

The redesign was later evaluated through a comparative test with 14 participants. The findings reflect participant ratings and interpretations, not post-launch conversion or observed customer behavior.

I compared the existing experience and the redesign with 14 participants to evaluate whether the changes supported the three intended design goals: stronger product focus, clearer product discovery, and better support throughout the purchase journey. Participants rated both experiences on a 7-point scale, alongside open-ended questions about what they understood and remembered from the interface.

Across the four measures, the redesign received higher average ratings, with the clearest improvements appearing in product exploration and managing selected products toward purchase.

The audit, client context, and benchmarking identified presentation opportunities. The later comparison with 14 participants showed higher average ratings for the redesign across all four measures and revealed how participants interpreted both versions. However, it did not establish dominant behavior among actual MULTI customers, post-launch conversion impact, or performance in real purchasing contexts.

Today, I would separate what the current product shows, what comparable products suggest, what participants report in a comparative test, and what actual customers demonstrate in context. I would investigate whether customers arrive with an exact item, begin from a franchise or category, discover elsewhere and use MULTI only to evaluate, or meaningfully browse without a known target.

That evidence would determine whether known-item retrieval, partially known exploration, or open-ended discovery should receive the strongest hierarchy rather than assuming all three are equally important.

The comparative test showed how participants rated and interpreted both interfaces. A future iteration would examine whether the interaction model supports actual shopping behavior in context.

Redesign work creates a temptation to move directly from a structurally weak interface to a solution. Audits can reveal hierarchy problems, inconsistency, unclear navigation, and missing information. Benchmarks can reveal established patterns and possible interaction models. Neither automatically explains why users behave as they do.

I would still use audit and benchmarking early because they efficiently explain the existing product and solution space, but I now treat them as inputs for hypotheses, not substitutes for behavioral evidence when a decision depends on actual user behavior.

The comparative test added evidence about perceived clarity and preference, but it still did not substitute for observing actual shopping behavior.