TradeHUB
Investigates the trends and impacts of trade in agricultural commodities, and wildlife
Problem statement
Business owners within the private sector need a roadmap to facilitate just and sustainable trade. They need better guidance on implementing sustainable and equitable distribution of social, economical and environmental benefits on the impact of global trade in agricultural commodities and wildlife trade
Solution
Redesign the current Tradehub website to compliment educational materials on trends and impact of global trade in agricultural commodities and wildlife
User Types
The user types for TradeHub were curated by the team by analysing previous records from Google Analytics of the old website. Primarily, we relied on the knowledge shared by the clients of who their target audience is and the type of information shared on the website.
We also looked at the impact these user types will have through the information provided on the website. In hindsight, we would have loved to conduct user research to confirm the assumptions being made about the target audiences of TradeHub
Business owners within the private sector
This user type represents small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners or entrepreneurs engaged in trade activities. They may use the TradeHub website to access resources, tools and guidance on equitable practices in their business operations. They are interested in maximising their social, economic and environmental impact
Governmental officials with the public sector
This user type comprises policymakers and government officials. They use the TradeHub website to stay informed about best practices, research findings and case studies related to just and sustainable trade. They seek evidence-based insights to inform their decision-making processes and may also engage with the platform to collaborate and share their initiatives and policies
Fairtrade advocates, NGOs & Academia
This user type represents conscious consumers, advocacy groups, and NGOs concerned about global trade's social and environmental impacts. They visit the TradeHub website to learn about ethical sourcing practices, fair trade certifications and sustainable consumption habits. They may also use the platform to discover and support businesses prioritising environmental stewardship and community development
Project Goals
The project goals are a mix of the output objectives for TradeHub as well as the impact in changed behaviour we hope the users will have when informed about just trade and sustainable practices.
Provide easily accessible resources, tools and information related to just and sustainable trade practices
To raise awareness of the importance of equitable and environmentally conscious trade practices among business stakeholders
To foster a mutual exchange of knowledge through collaboration among business stakeholders to promote the adoption of fair trade policies and practices
To create an engaging user experience that encourages active participation, feedback and dialogue among users by fostering a vibrant community around the promotion of just and sustainable trade
Wireframes
The wireframes were designed by a fellow UX/UI designer within our team after being reviewed by peers as well as the clients and permissions review.
The clients had the intention of sharing the wireframes with a print designer to work on the UI designs however it quickly became apparent to them that the scope and direction of the final designs were being lost in the decorative 2D interpretations and had very little accessibility considerations. Therefore, our team had to advocate for the UI designs to be recreated in-house
Introducing purpose
The homepage, feature sections spotlight crucial elements that demonstrate just and sustainable trade. The intention is to guide users through the length of the page as they learn about the introduction to TradeHub and its purpose
The page showcases highlighted articles, tools and resources accompanied by compelling call-to-action that encourage users to explore various topics
Filtering through information in a way that makes sense
To enhance user navigation on the website, I incorporated complementary features for filtering resources, organising topics into categories to establish a media section comprising of articles guides, reports, policies and case studies.
The main intention was to acknowledge achievements countries were able to obtain through initiatives that promote just and sustainable practices in trade
Through intentional collaboration with the developer working on TradeHub, we were conscious of time and the tight budget.
We discussed creating features and components that the developer could recreate effectively while maintaining the integrity of the user experience
Reflections on lessons learned
Through this project, I honed skills in organising and structuring content effectively, crafting intuitive navigation systems and optimising the user flow to ensure seamless access to necessary information.
I also developed proficiency in creating high-fidelity designs in a short amount of time ( and actually enjoyed the challenge! ), informed by wireframes crafted by a fellow designer ( and reiterating the designs as new information arises)
Additionally, I gained expertise in prototyping to visualise/showcase the TradeHub website’s user flow, functionality and user interface elements.
I felt that I understood the importance of fostering collaboration through driving iterative design enhancements with stakeholders, developers and project managers as we strived to ensure the success of the website launch at the intended deadline
