BACKGROUND.

Since Kia’s last redesign of their site, they’ve noticed a significant drop-off rate, especially from the model pages. KMA has made large investments in creating content for this section including a beautiful showcase experience and a story behind each model. They want to preserve the integrity of the content but explore User Experience enhancements to reduce drop off rates.

THE ASK.

Redesign the model page experience to encourage longer engagements and stimulate purchase intent.

MY ROLE.

I was the Creative Director on this assignment. We were extremely short on staff so I also worked on the UX and UI Designs (storyboards, wireframes, use case scenarios) and the Visual Designs (Layered and Layer Comped PSDs). I was responsible for walking clients through our concepts, our wireframes, and our designs. I also worked with the in-house development team at KMA to ensure that the experience translates from mock to code.

MY PROCESS.

The former Kia site had a lot of sexy content but was overwhelming because there was so much going on. Each model page has 4-7 “stories.” Within each “story” there was an additional 1-6 “chapters.” All the stories and chapters for each model lived on the same page, which required users to scroll down vertically to go from one “story” to another. Users would then have to horizontally scroll to see the different “chapters” within that “story.” This experience was tedious and confusing, particularly on smaller devices as this site was responsive.

Inspired by the “story” metaphor, I redesigned the model page to house an interactive “table of contents.” Upon rollover, the user is able to see the various chapters within that story allowing him/her to preview before clicking. Clicking on the link takes the user to a new page where s/he only has to scroll down in 1 direction to see the “chapters.” At the end of the page, there is an interactive pagination that allows the user to continue the journey without having to go back to the main model page.

Of course purchase intent was not ignored throughout the experience. On each page, quick links are easily accessable (on the right for desktops & tablets, and on the bottom for smartphones). Upon scroll, they tuck in to limit distraction. Upon hover, they expand to reveal links to Payment Calculator, Trade-In Value, Get a Quote, and Build and Price.

THE RESULT.

The new site design saw tremendous lift in engagement as well as purchase intent. Online leads have increased drastically as a result. JD Power ranked this redesign highest in the “most improved in consumer satisfaction” category. Client was happy.