Trellis

My role: UX Research, UX Design

Duration: 9 Weeks

Methodology: User Centered Design

Project type: Team project (Team of 3)

Tool: Google form, Lucid chart, Figma, Google G-Suite

Background and Goal

Trellis is an online website platform where consumers can connect, identify, and explore minority owned small businesses for their consumer needs. It is also a place where users can find local volunteer or internship opportunities to give back to their community and work with local small businesses in creating more unity and more representation in their area.

Trellis aims to bridge that gap by designating a platform all to minority communities and businesses for users to easily search through and find what fits their needs.

"How might we bridge the gap in representation by designing an interactive platform that promotes and celebrates minority-owned small businesses and connects consumers with community opportunities?"

Problems

As social movements gain momentum, more people are seeking ways to spend their money ethically and intentionally. Yet, finding minority-owned small businesses that meet specific needs can be time-consuming without recommendations or word of mouth. Similarly, discovering community volunteer events or internship opportunities is often challenging, as this information is rarely centralized or easy to access.

Process Overview

Explore Topics

Research Planning

User Research

Data analysis

Prototyping

Usability study

Design Solution

Ideation

Research Methods

1. User Interview

I invited and conducted 3 semi-structured 1-on-1 in-depth interview with 4 small business owners representing minority-owned business owners.

I sent out screener via social media and reached out to family and friend for recruiting participants. Every business owners has different value and mission for their business. I decided to conduct interview to understand as local business owner.

2. Focus Group

After reviewing screener response, and demographic data, I decided to conduct customer focus group who preferred to shopping at local stores. I invited 3 participants and had interactive discussion around their shopping experience, habits are and frustrations/barriers.

3. Survey

2 surveys, targeting consumers and business owners, were shared across Slack channels, social network, family and friends. A total of 26 responses provided sufficient quantitative data to identify patterns in consumer behavior and minority owned small business owners overall experiences.

Affinity Map

Based on session note and recordings, I transcribed using Google spreadsheet, and created affinity map to organize ideas by groups and themes.

Persona

Based on user interview and focus group, and survey analysis, I created 3 qualitative personas: primary, secondary and tertiary to convey the research findings. I included survey data because interview and focus group is too small. Even with the survey data (26 responses), sample size is small.

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Design Requirement

After synthesised interview and survey data, I came up with 5 design requirements.

Searchability:
- Users should be able to search for local businesses and view results on a map. Filters should include options such as price, location, distance, business hours, accessibility (e.g., handicap accessible, LGBTQ+ friendly), ownership (e.g., minority-owned), and business type (online or physical).
Shareability:
- Users should be able to easily share the application and local business listings on social media.
Rateability:
- Users should have the ability to rate, write reviews, and upload photos of businesses they visit.
Visibility:
- Business owners should have opportunities to promote their services and raise awareness about their mission or causes.
Community Engagement:
- Users and business owners should have access to a shared space to connect, support local initiatives, and promote community events.

Ideation

Based on our design requirements, I first sketched to visualize the platform design and refined initial sketch and created low-fidelity.

Sketch

After sketching and created low-fidelity, I worked on storyboard narrative focused on shopping for holiday, searching for volunteer opportunity, and Leaving a business review and rating to illustrate users' journey. Storyboard created by one of team member.

Competitive Analysis & MVP

To prepare for the development of a retail directory and community-focused application, I conducted a competitive analysis and reviewed feature parity across minority owned web platforms and local discovery platforms like Nextdoors and Yelp.

This analysis revealed key insights into opportunities for differentiation and informed the design of a unique user experience:

Streamlined User Experience
- A clean, intuitive interface that improves on the cluttered and outdated designs found in many existing minority-owned business directories.
Identity-Based Filtering:
- Robust filters that allow users to discover businesses by ownership identity (e.g., Black-owned, LGBTQ+-owned, women-owned) and other inclusive categories.
Integrated Review Insights:
- Embedded ratings and reviews from Yelp, along with curated feedback from trusted professional critics, offering a well-rounded view of each business.
Community Impact Score:
- A unique metric that highlights businesses’ involvement in local causes, social initiatives, and contributions to their communities.
Volunteer Opportunity Matching:
- A built-in feature that connects users with local organizations and businesses seeking volunteer support, making community engagement easier than ever.

Usability Testing

Following the ideation phase, I developed a clickable medium-fidelity prototype with Figma and conducted remote usability testing with 6 participants. Participants were recruited through my personal network of friends and family.

Landing

For usability testing, I created task-based scenarios and gathered both qualitative and quantitative feedback. Sample questions included:

On a scale of 1 to 7 (1 = very easy, 7 = very difficult), how would you rate the usefulness of this tool?
What was the most challenging task today, and why?
Based on the prototype, how likely are you to use a platform like this and its services (1 = not likely, 7 = very likely)? Which features would you use, and why?
Would you recommend this platform to friends or colleagues? Why or why not?

Design Solution

Based on the usability testing results, I focused on addressing key findings and implemented several improvements in the high-fidelity prototype.

This included developing a new slogan and logo for Trellis, refining the wording and visual design, and restructuring the information architecture to better represent racial and ethnic categories. I also enhanced the filtering system, added dedicated contact and sign-up pages, and introduced an “Internships and Opportunities” wizard to support deeper community engagement.

Site map and User Flows

Demo

Please try Trellis platform demo. It will open a new browser and direct you to the high-fidelity prototype once you click the picture below.

Final Reflection

I have a deep appreciation for the dedication of small business owners and the effort it takes to keep their businesses going. During this project, I had the opportunity to speak with several business owners who are deeply committed to social causes and community impact. Despite their good intentions, many face significant challenges—especially around visibility and the technical maintenance required to manage their websites or online storefronts.

One key lesson I took away from this experience is that designing with intention is difficult. While I aimed to create thoughtful and inclusive design solutions, usability testing reminded me that I am not the user. What seems intuitive or meaningful to me may not resonate the same way with others. This insight reinforced the importance of continuously validating design choices with real users.

Although I wasn’t able to conduct as many usability sessions as I would have liked due to time constraints, I see this as an area for future growth. More frequent and iterative testing would have helped uncover deeper insights and refine the experience further.

Overall, this project reminded me why I care so deeply about User Centered Design (UCD) creating tools that empower people, especially those whose voices are often overlooked. I hope to carry these lessons with me as I continue to grow as a designer and researcher.