Dollamur, a leading manufacturer in the sports mat industry, faced significant challenges. The demand for large-sized mats not available in their standard catalog was a major issue they needed to address. Their customers often required custom-sized mats with designs tailored to their preferences.

Interpreting customer design preferences with high accuracy was the primary challenge Dollamur faced. Gathering information about design preferences, precise measurements, and specific details required intensive effort and often posed a risk of errors. This resulted in significant time and resource losses.

To address these challenges, Dollamur aimed to create a technological solution. With this technology, Dollamur aimed to:

1. Improve the customer experience in mat ordering.
2. Enhance competitiveness.
3. Achieve successful international market expansion.
4. Reduce production errors.
5. Attain a higher level of design consistency.
6. Increase efficiency in the ordering process.
7. Minimize order errors.

In order to achieve Dollamur’s desired goals through the Interactive Mat Design tool, I chose to implement User-Centered Design (UCD). With UCD, the primary focus is on users, namely Dollamur’s customers. I understood that to address the challenges and achieve Dollamur’s goals, it was crucial to deeply understand user needs and preferences. Therefore, I conducted an inclusive exploration phase to listen to users’ experiences and barriers in ordering custom mats. This information guided the design of an interactive tool that effectively addressed these issues, making the UCD approach a key foundation for creating a solution that was truly relevant and beneficial to Dollamur and its customers.

To determine the next steps, I conducted a workshop with 10 Dollamur customers, Priscilla Andero, and several other Dollamur team members. We spent a significant amount of time thoroughly understanding all requirements. Through this workshop, I gained deep insights into Dollamur’s business, goals, conditions, as well as in-depth interviews with their customers, understanding their frustrations in the ordering and customization process.

From this, I learned about Dollamur’s target market, which includes various segments in the fitness, education, and commercial sports industries, among others. These segments include fitness and wellness centers, wrestling and martial arts schools, schools and universities, professional sports events, entertainment events, the military and government, as well as individual consumers. With this diverse target market, Dollamur had vast potential for expansion.

I noted all important findings, and the main problems the Dollamur team experienced were:

1. Special Customer Requests:
   Dollamur customers often had specific needs for their sports mats that couldn’t be met with products already in their catalog. This created difficulties in meeting diverse customer demands.
2. Difficulty in Interpreting Customer Preferences:
   The Dollamur team faced challenges in interpreting design preferences and desires of customers regarding sports mat design. This often resulted in discrepancies between customer expectations and the final product received.
3. Complexity in the Ordering Process:
   The custom mat ordering process became complex and time-consuming, especially because customers struggled to communicate their design preferences clearly to the Dollamur team. This hindered the efficiency of the ordering process.
4. Miscommunication and Product Mismatch:
   Miscommunication between customers and the Dollamur team led to the final product not meeting customer expectations. This resulted in customer dissatisfaction and additional costs to rectify the issues.
5. Market Expansion:
   Dollamur aimed to attract new customers seeking custom sports mats. However, to do so, they needed to address the above-mentioned issues to provide a better experience to new customers.

From the customer’s perspective, they faced the following frustrations:

1. Difficulty in Communicating Preferences:
   Customers found it challenging to accurately communicate their mat design preferences to the Dollamur team. This often resulted in a mismatch between customer expectations and the received product.
2. Complex Ordering Process:
   The custom mat ordering process was complicated and time-consuming. Customers had to deal with various technical details and design aspects, which could be confusing.
3. Lack of Supportive Tools:
   Customers lacked tools that allowed them to interactively participate in the design process. This made them feel limited in expressing their preferences.
4. Design Uncertainty:
   Customers worried that the final mat design wouldn’t meet their expectations due to the lack of tools enabling them to view and interact with the design directly.
5. Order Delays:
   Due to communication problems and complexities in the ordering process, some customers experienced delays in receiving their mat products.
6. Customer Dissatisfaction:
   Frustrations experienced by customers due to the mentioned issues led to dissatisfaction, which, in turn, could affect Dollamur’s reputation.

These issues prompted the Dollamur team to seek a technological solution to help them overcome these challenges, increase efficiency and accuracy in the ordering process, and ensure products matched customer preferences.

Negative impacts of these problems on Dollamur and their customers include:

1. Production Uncertainty:
   Communication issues with customers led to uncertainty in the production process. The Dollamur team produced products that didn’t align with customer expectations, resulting in cost and time losses.
2. Unsatisfied Customers:
   Errors or discrepancies in the final product resulted in unsatisfied customers. This could adversely affect Dollamur’s reputation and reduce customer trust.
3. Efficiency Decrease:
   The complex and inefficient ordering process made the Dollamur team spend more time and effort on communication with customers rather than product development.
4. Project Delays:
   Communication difficulties and a complicated production process led to project delays for sports events or activities that required sports mats, causing inconvenience to customers.
5. Lack of Engagement:
   Customers felt less engaged in the design process, reducing their sense of ownership over the final product.
6. Cost Uncertainty:
   Due to communication and ordering process uncertainties, customers faced uncertainty regarding project costs, making budget planning challenging.

To solve these problems, I used the “How Might We” (HMW) method to generate effective and innovative solutions. Some HMW questions I created were:

1. How might we make the mat design tool more intuitive and user-friendly for customers to clearly convey their design preferences?
2. How might we simplify the custom mat ordering process to minimize miscommunication between customers and Dollamur?
3. How might we create a mat design solution that can adapt to various mat types like wrestling, martial arts, or yoga while maintaining low complexity?

In facing the challenges of creating the Interactive Mat Design tool, I understood that maintaining consistency with Dollamur’s brand identity was crucial. Therefore, I ensured that the design of this tool utilized visual elements already known in Dollamur’s branding, including the logo, colors, and design style. This helped create a strong impression that the Interactive Mat Design tool was an integral part of the Dollamur ecosystem.

Furthermore, I focused on consistent brand messaging. In every communication and marketing material related to this tool, I ensured that the message conveyed aligned with Dollamur’s values and vision. Thus, this tool not only became a functional tool but also a strong component in strengthening Dollamur’s brand image in the eyes of customers.

Using data from previous brainstorming sessions, I successfully gathered various best solutions along with the reasons behind my decisions on innovative solutions for the Interactive Mat Design tool. Here are some solutions I presented:

1. User Interface (UI) Optimization:
   Simplifying the user interface to ensure ease of use and intuitive navigation.
   Design Template Options: Providing a variety of mat design templates that users can choose as a starting point for their creative designs.
2. Easy Mat Model Selection:
   Allowing users to easily select the type and model of the mat that suits their needs.
   Mat Type Information: Providing detailed information about different mat types and their functions so that users can make better decisions.
3. Size and Shape Options:
   Offering size and shape options that can be customized to user preferences.
4. Quick Correction and Saving:
   Giving users the ability to quickly make corrections to their designs and save their results.
5. Zoom Feature:
   Allowing users to zoom in to view mat design details more clearly.
6. Realistic Display:
   Displaying each mat with a realistic and authentic look so users can clearly see how their mat will appear.
7. Direct Design Guidance:
   Providing interactive design guidance that users can access on the same page, assisting users in every step of the design process.

To facilitate the integration of these solutions into the design, I planned them in a sitemap and sketched them using the ‘crazy 8’ method.

How can all successfully generated solutions function effectively in the tool being created? I continued to rely on previous data. Good solutions must be optimized with the right design. Therefore, from the crazy 8’s results I created, I explained them to the users and to the Dollamur team. From there, I obtained the best sketches, which I would transform into a high-fidelity UI.

I created a UI style guide to make the design process faster and more efficient. In designing this final solution, I did several things, such as:

1. Grouping information, items, and action components on the toolbar neatly so that users can easily recognize components, interact with them, and use them effortlessly. Some functions included in the list of functions I determined for this mat design tool are the ability to save, download the design results, undo, redo, clear, and zoom.
2. Making the canvas area look spacious with information about the canvas size currently in use. This would be a highly enjoyable feature when users can see real-time results of their creativity for their mat needs.
3. Simplifying the properties panel area with a clear layout that is easy to understand, even for users who have never used a design tool before. In the properties panel section, I created different editor views for different types of mats being designed. This was not done without reason; I did it to make it easier and quicker for users to recognize the unique characteristics of each mat type they design. Because creating each type of mat requires a personalized approach to avoid confusion and complexity. This was one of the biggest presentations that became the key strength of the Interactive Mat Design tool I created.
4. To further facilitate users in quickly customizing and maintaining consistent designs, I created an area to select templates based on their needs. With these templates, users could easily customize without starting from scratch. Users only needed to change a few aspects, such as colors, size, shape, and adding their branding.

Some solutions that are less detailed would also be highly influential, although I cannot explain them in detail.
With the above decisions, I was confident that I could resolve the issues between Dollamur and their customers. With this Interactive Mat Design tool, Dollamur could achieve the goals they hoped for.

When carrying out the design process with the Crazy 8’s guidelines I had created, I sometimes encountered constraints where some aspects would come to mind after I had done the design. However, to efficiently use time, I only wrote those down in my small UX notebook, which would also serve as a reference when I wanted to conduct testing. This would be a basis for comparison and correlation between the test results and the notes I had made.

There were no serious issues with the Dollamur team when I showed them the design results. They were pleased and enthusiastic. However, I did not want to hand over my innovation results without testing their feasibility and usefulness. Therefore, through the next workshop, we tested the design of this tool together with the Dollamur team and their users. How did it turn out? Some parts needed improvement, and I agreed with that feedback. Some results obtained from the testing were:

1. Users were satisfied with the ease offered by the tool. Most of them said, “This is really hassle-free, unlike typical design tools where we have to make extra efforts to understand the rules and requirements for using the functions. With different editor views created for the types of mats they wanted to design, the process became faster, which was very useful and easy.”
2. They also praised the functionality and customization capability, where all their needs, from branding, custom size, color selection, mat type, and others, were well met.
3. With this tool, both from the Dollamur team and the users, they agreed that they could confidently proceed without doubts when delivering and processing their unique preferences.
4. The Dollamur team and users said that the complicated process of ordering and designing was now more streamlined and easier.

However, some parts needed improvement, such as:

1. Users could use this tool to design and save the results, but some users might leave Dollamur, and with the current design, the Dollamur team could not follow up with them.
2. Users also found it difficult to contact the Dollamur team when they wanted to send requests or messages to them.

To respond to these issues, I tried to solve this problem from the user’s and the Dollamur team’s perspective. I used the HMW method again to generate effective solutions to solve this problem effectively. The HMW question was:

“How might we provide the ability for the Dollamur team and users to easily give and receive feedback, making the workflow more precise in communication?”

With this HMW question, I came up with various solutions, and one of the solutions I want to highlight is:

1. Adding a “Get a quote” function on the toolbar to allow users to send messages or questions to the Dollamur team.
2. Improving the “Save” feature by requiring users to enter project information and their email so that designs created by users could be followed up by the Dollamur team, minimizing customers who only used this tool and then became material for them to create for competitors.
3. Creating an “Email” button on the toolbar as a user action when they want to submit or deliver their design results to the Dollamur team.

With these solutions, the issues faced by users and Dollamur could be overcome. This was proven during the next testing, and this final design was already suitable and of high quality for development.

After 6 months of launching this tool, I received satisfying news from Priscilla Andero that the solutions I provided through the Interactive Mat Design tool had helped Dollamur achieve their goals. Some of the results I achieved were:

1. The communication process and the mat ordering process became more efficient and effective.
2. The accuracy of the mats produced by Dollamur met user expectations, and customer satisfaction increased by 58%.
3. An 18% increase in the number of orders was achieved, effectively addressing issues of orders being canceled due to uncertainty about the expected results.
4. Dollamur successfully expanded its international market, gaining customers from over 150 countries.
5. The ordering and production processes became more efficient in terms of time and resources.
6. Dollamur became more trustworthy and reliable in the eyes of customers.

I am proud of the success of my solution, and it is still used by the Dollamur team. This proves that the solution I created for them was truly appropriate and long-lasting for their diverse customer needs.