UI/UX Designing Project, 1st year
Project Title:
Designing a Digital Platform to Preserve and Promote Endangered Traditional
Products of Rural India
Deadline: Wednesday, 20th of November 2024, 11:59 pm
Project Overview:
This project focuses on preserving and promoting ethnic and traditional
products from rural India that are at risk of becoming extinct due to
modernization, changing consumer preferences, or lack of market access.
Students will conduct online research to identify five such products, learn
about their cultural significance, and then design a simple digital platform (e-
commerce website or app) to raise awareness and create a market for these
products.
The goal is to develop a user-friendly digital experience that will help spread
awareness about these products, showcase their cultural heritage, and help
revitalize their demand through an online marketplace.
Objectives:
• Research: Identify five endangered ethnic or traditional products from
rural India that are at risk of extinction and need urgent attention.
• User Experience (UX) Design: Research and create a digital platform that
raises awareness and promotes these Endangered Traditional Products
of Rural India products.
The focus will be on creating a user flow, site map, and information
architecture to make the platform intuitive and easy to navigate.
• Design a Conceptual Platform: Create low-fidelity wireframes that
highlight key user interactions, including product discovery, purchasing,
and understanding the cultural significance of each product.
Project Brief:
1. Research Phase:
o Product Selection: Choose five endangered ethnic products that are
in danger of extinction if they are not preserved or promoted. These
products can include traditional handicrafts, textiles, musical
instruments, indigenous food items, or folk-art forms. The key here is
that the products should have cultural or historical significance and
are at risk of disappearing unless their production and use are
revitalized.
▪ Example Products: 1. Warli Paintings (Maharashtra), 2. Paitkar
Art (Jharkhand), 3. Madhubani Art (Bihar), 4. Dokra Metal Craft
(West Bengal), 5. Channapatna Toys (Karnataka), etc.
o Cultural and Historical Significance: Research the cultural history,
craftsmanship, and the community behind these products. Why are
they important to the region? What has contributed to their decline?
What challenges do artisans face in preserving and promoting these
products.
o Target Audience: Identify the potential target audience for these
products. Are they domestic buyers who appreciate cultural products,
international buyers, or both? Understand what kind of digital
platform (e-commerce, educational, or both) would be most effective
for reaching this audience.
2. UX Design:
o User Flow diagram: Design a simple user flow that represents how
users will interact with the platform. This could include steps such
as:
▪ Searching for products (by category, region, or type)
▪ Browsing products (by category, region, or type)
▪ Viewing product details (with a focus on cultural heritage,
artisan story, and product significance)
▪ Adding to the cart and completing the purchase
▪ Learning about the preservation efforts and social impact of
buying these products
o Site Map diagram: Develop a basic site map diagram that
organizes the digital platform's content. Key pages to include:
▪ Home: Highlighting featured products and categories
▪ Product Categories: Grouping products based on type (e.g.,
Handicrafts, Textiles, Food, etc.)
▪ Product Detail Page: For each product, providing detailed
information about the product, its history, artisan, and how
buying it helps preserve the craft.
▪ Cart & Checkout: A simple flow to complete the purchase
▪ About: Information about the platform’s mission to
preserve traditional crafts
▪ Contact/Support: Contact details and customer service
options
o Information Architecture diagram: Organize the information on
the platform in a way that makes it easy for users to discover
products, understand their cultural significance, and make a
purchase. Focus on accessibility and easy navigation to keep the
user experience simple.
o Low-Fidelity Wireframes: You can use Figma/Trello/Miro
board/Fig jam to create final design the key pages of the digital
platform but it is not mandatory.
These wireframes should include basic UI elements like buttons,
menus, images, and text, but don’t need to be visually polished or
high-fidelity. The goal is to focus on the structure and user
interactions rather than detailed design and appearance.
▪ Wireframe pages might include:
▪ Home Page with product categories, featured
products, and educational content and search bar on
top.
▪ Product Category Page with a list of products and
filtering options.
▪ Product Detail Page showcasing the cultural story, the
artisan, and product features.
▪ Cart and Checkout Page for easy purchase flow.
o Annotations: Add brief annotations to explain your design choices.
For example, explain why certain information is placed or how the
navigation flow is designed to guide users smoothly through the
platform.
Key Deliverables:
1. Research Documentation:
o A report or presentation that includes:
▪ The five endangered products selected for the platform
▪ Cultural significance and history of each product
▪ Challenges faced by artisans in preserving and promoting
the products
▪ Target audience insights: Who are the potential buyers, and
what are their motivations for purchasing these products?
▪ Any additional preservation efforts or social impact related
to promoting these products
▪ Include all the links to prove your research.
2. UX Deliverables:
o User Flow diagram: A simple diagram illustrating how a user will
interact with the platform, from browsing products to making a
purchase.
o Site Map diagram: A visual representation of the digital platform's
structure (e.g., home page, categories, product detail pages, etc.).
o Information Architecture diagram: An organized outline of the
platform's content, focusing on user navigation and access to
product details.
3. Wireframes:
o Low-Fidelity Wireframes: Simple, black-and-white wireframes
created in Figma representing key pages of the website or app.
o Annotations: Brief explanations of design decisions and user
interactions.
4. Presentation:
o A presentation summarizing:
▪ The research on the endangered products
▪ The UX design process, including user flow, site map, and
information architecture all stages of development.
▪ Wireframes demonstrating the platform layout
▪ A discussion on how the platform helps raise awareness and
promote the preservation of these products
Evaluation Criteria:
1. Research:
o Depth of research into the cultural significance of the products.
o Clear understanding of the challenges faced by artisans and the
need for preservation.
o Insightful analysis of the target audience for these products.
2. UX Design:
o Clarity and simplicity of the user flow and site map.
o Logical and user-friendly information architecture.
o Effective organization of content to highlight the products' cultural
importance.
3. Wireframes:
o Clear, functional wireframes that represent the structure and
layout of the platform.
o Attention to usability and user-centred design.
4. Creativity and Impact:
o How effectively the design communicates the cultural significance
of the products and raises awareness about the need to preserve
them.
o How the platform is designed to inspire users to engage with the
products and support preservation efforts.
Tools:
• Final Design: Figma (for wireframing, user flow, and information
architecture)
• Hand drawing: paper, pencils, pens etc. for showing your research and
iteration for wireframing, user flow, and information architecture.
• Research: online
• Presentation: PowerPoint/Figma