My Tie is an app that helps men select their ties. The idea surfaced when I was listening to a friend drag on about how he found selecting a holiday party tie annoying. Thus, I decided to do a little digging and discovered this was a common irritant for men. Through interviews, research, and trial-and-error, I landed on a design solution in the form of an iOS app.
With a proposed problem statement in mind, my next step was interviewing men. I purposely select 6 different men – variety of occupations, ages, and personalities. Below are some of the key insights that I found.
Hard to define personal style
Play it safe with colors and patterns
Dislike shopping
Need reassurance
Buy for necessity, not desire
After all of those interviews, two deciding factors seemed apparent: event and outfit. A man's tie was decided by what they were doing and what they were wearing.
Paper prototype testing emphasized that users need an “escape hatch” – a workaround when they don’t want to input an event or outfit. Also, users don’t necessarily correlate a wedding with a navy suit. Users need a way to sort simply and then, add details back in if need be.
The Escape Hatch
Simplified Filters
Name: Theo(dore)
Status: Single, but dating
Occupation: Business Analyst
Personality: Social Introvert
Problem: Needs various ties to match his shirts/suits during wedding season
Goal: Look as dapper as Ryan Gosling and get a first date
Think about Theo and our ideal user flow. What’s Theo's end goal? How will Theo use My Tie from a basic level?
