Biljana Kovačić Baničević

Product Designer · Stockholm

All stories

09

Search & Navigation

Designing product discovery around different user intentions.

  • Research
  • Data
  • Information Architecture
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01The problem

Products could be discovered through search, categories, Offers, New Arrivals, eCatalogues and campaigns.

As these entry points grew, users needed a clear way to navigate them without understanding the business structure behind the catalogue.

02How I knew

I combined a UX audit with behavioural data on search usage, category opens and eCatalogue entry points.

I then tested the proposed architecture through realistic usability-testing scenarios.

03My role

I worked across search and navigation from audit and data analysis through information architecture, prototyping, usability testing, iteration and implementation-ready design.

04Key constraints

Permanent product categories had to coexist with frequently changing commercial content, while the experience remained scalable across mobile and desktop.

05Design process

  1. UX audit
  2. behavioural data
  3. IA hypotheses
  4. prototype
  5. usability testing
  6. iteration
  7. specifications

Testing focused on whether users could find content where they naturally expected it.

06Key decisions

I designed around three discovery intentions:

Known product → Category exploration → Commercial discovery

I gave Offers and New Arrivals dedicated paths rather than forcing changing commercial content into the permanent category hierarchy.

07Trade-offs

Greater commercial visibility could increase exposure but also make navigation unstable and harder to understand.

I separated stable product structure from changing commercial content, while keeping both easy to discover.

08Solution

A discovery framework connecting search, category navigation, Offers, New Arrivals and eCatalogues across mobile and desktop.

  • 01 Search behaviour
  • 02 Category architecture
  • 03 Commercial discovery
  • 04 Responsive behaviour

09Result

Four usability-testing scenarios validated and refined the information architecture, resulting in an implementation-ready discovery framework grounded in behavioural data and user testing.

10What I’d do differently

I’d test the architecture with more open-ended discovery tasks earlier, not only predefined scenarios.

That could reveal navigation behaviours and entry points I had not anticipated.