Project Overview
Nature Cradle is a mobile-first e-commerce platform that offers grocery shopping, milk and dairy product subscriptions, and a unique feature allowing users to sell their homemade or homegrown goods.
This redesign aimed to enhance the user experience, re-prioritize core features like milk subscriptions, and incorporate user-driven improvements based on early feedback from the initial market release.
Industry
E-commerce (2022)
Target Users
Users of all groups — the app is targeted to users in India
Role
As the Lead UX Designer, I was responsible for:
-- Conducting a UX audit of the existing mobile app
-- Gathering and synthesizing user insights
-- Leading brainstorming sessions, defining task flows and redesigning information architecture
-- Designing and validating low-fidelity wireframes
-- Collaborating closely with the UI designer, client product team, and project manager
-- Driving usability testing and iterative design improvements
The initial version of the app had been developed and released in select locations to gather feedback—but users quickly ran into friction points that impacted usability and satisfaction. The client's primary goal with the redesign was not just to improve aesthetics, but to strategically rethink the user experience, particularly around core revenue-driving features like milk subscriptions.
From a UX perspective, the challenge was twofold:
-- Improve existing user flows that lacked clarity and ease of use, especially around subscription management, checkout, and support interaction.
-- Design entirely new functionalities, such as invoice history and a seller onboarding flow, in a way that felt native to the app's ecosystem without overwhelming users.
Additionally, the existing screens created by the previous vendor lacked a cohesive visual and interaction pattern. This led to usability concerns such as:
-- Inconsistent navigation
-- Missing error feedback
-- Hidden or unavailable actions (e.g., users couldn’t start a new subscription)
-- Lack of hierarchy in content and call-to-actions
The redesign also had to tackle emotional design—the previous version felt too utilitarian, especially for something as routine and personal as milk delivery or buying homely food. The client wanted the app to feel fresh, friendly, and familiar, especially for users in semi-urban and rural Indian markets, many of whom were less digitally mature.
Balancing simplicity, familiarity, and new functionality—all while ensuring the transition from old to new was smooth—was at the heart of this UX challenge.
DISCOVER
Redesigning an existing product requires more than just applying new visuals — it demands a deep understanding of the business goals, user needs, and product context. Our discovery phase focused on laying a strong foundation for decision-making by gathering insights from three key angles: business, users, and market.
Stakeholder Alignment & Business Understanding
We began with a kickoff workshop involving key stakeholders from the client’s product, marketing, and development teams. The goal was to uncover:
-- Business objectives and KPIs for the redesign
-- Target markets and expansion goals
-- Known limitations in the current version
-- Aesthetic and brand expectations
This alignment helped ensure that our UX decisions would be tightly connected to business impact—such as improving subscription engagement, increasing app stickiness, and enabling new monetization through user-generated sales.
Competitor & Market Analysis
To understand the broader ecosystem, I conducted a competitive benchmarking study across top-performing mobile apps in grocery delivery, milk subscription, and hyperlocal selling. We focused on:
-- Feature availability (e.g., subscription customization, invoice tracking)
-- UX patterns for onboarding, cart flow, and recurring purchases
-- Visual and interaction trends in the Indian e-commerce app space
-- Gaps and opportunities that Nature Cradle could leverageThis helped define baseline expectations for users and also inspired ideas for how we could simplify complex flows, such as setting a recurring milk delivery schedule.
UX Comparison
Features Comparison
DISCOVER & IDEATE
User Interviews
Although initial user testing was done before we joined the project, we reviewed those findings and decided to refine the research approach to go deeper into user motivations and behavior. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a mix of current app users and new users from the target demographic. Some were homemakers, others were working professionals and small-scale food vendors—giving us a broad spectrum of needs and expectations.
Heuristic Evaluation of Existing App
Since the previous designs and source files were under NDA with the former vendor, we conducted a heuristic analysis of the live app using Nielsen Norman’s 10 usability heuristics. Issues were categorized by severity: High Priority (blocking user flows), Medium-Proprity (causing confusion) and Low-Priority (aesthetic or inconvenient). Each issue was paired with UX improvement suggestions, validated through earlier interviews and competitor best practices. Key areas of concern included:
-- Inconsistency in UI components and navigation
-- Lack of system feedback or confirmation
-- Poor error prevention and recovery
-- Unintuitive hierarchy in content presentation
DESIGN
Sketches & Wireframes
Using rapid sketching and whiteboarding, I explored layout options that streamlined the subscription setup, checkout, and seller listing flows. I then created low-fidelity, grayscale wireframes in Axure RP 9 to present key redesigned screens, including:
-- New Subscription Dashboard
-- Enhanced Checkout Process with visible fees
-- "Sell Your Product" listing and moderation flow
-- Invoice history screen with PDF download option
These wireframes emphasized functionality and layout, intentionally omitting visual design elements to keep the focus on usability and interaction.
We iteratively refined the wireframes through internal reviews and user walkthroughs. The feedback loop was intentionally tight, with feedback gathered and implemented in weekly design sprints. This agile approach allowed us to stay lean and responsive to both business and user inputs.
TEST
Iteration, Feedback & Change Management
Evaluation was not a one-time activity—it was an ongoing, iterative process embedded into every design cycle. To ensure continuity and gather comparative insights, we invited the same set of users who had tested the original version to evaluate the redesigned screens.
As expected in any redesign, some users initially expressed discomfort with the new interface. This resistance wasn’t surprising—users often develop muscle memory for even flawed experiences, and any change can disrupt established habits.
To navigate this, we prioritized empathetic UX testing. By observing user interactions and listening closely to their feedback, we were able to identify areas where friction remained. Based on the majority input, we conducted 2–3 focused design iterations, refining layouts, copy, and flow nuances to reduce confusion and build trust.
Change Management Strategy
Implementing a new design in a live product environment requires strategic change management—especially when dealing with routine-based user behavior. We took a phased, user-centered approach to transition users smoothly into the improved experience.
Our rollout strategy included:
-- Incremental Releases: Rather than deploying the full redesign all at once, we rolled out small, manageable changes over time to reduce cognitive overload and allow users to adapt gradually.
-- Proactive Communication: We informed users in advance about upcoming design changes via in-app messages and email notifications, clearly explaining the benefits and addressing common concerns (e.g., better visibility of delivery dates, simpler checkout).
-- Guided Onboarding & Support: To aid user adaptation, we implemented instructional overlays and tooltips in key screens, helping users discover new functionalities without friction. We also prepared FAQs and support documentation to assist users during the transition.
-- 25 new subscriptions within 10 days of the update
-- Weekly orders doubled from 7 to 15 post-checkout redesign
-- Improved task success rate in usability tests (from 60% to 90%)
This project reminded me that good design isn’t always about what's new—it’s about what feels familiar, clear, and trustworthy. Redesigning a routine-based app like this required balancing improvement with user comfort.
One of the most important lessons I learned was how critical it is to design for trust—especially when changing user habits.
It challenged me to lead with empathy, communicate change clearly, and ensure every update genuinely solved a user problem. The result wasn’t just a better product, but a smoother path for users to embrace it.
