Information
Architecture
Case Study
Crate&Barrel
by Elizabeth Schroen
Business Goals
More Findable
Understand competitive landscape and competitor product organization online.
Improve findability of products for:
• Known-item shoppers
• Browsers/window shoppers
• Sales hounds
• Repeat visitors
More Inspiring
Improve desirability and inspirational display of products.
More Action Driving
Increase traffic, products added to carts, and conversion rate.
My Process
1 Conduct a content inventory
2 Develop personas
6 Deliver an interim report
on findings
3 Conduct a competitive audit
7 Develop an improved
site map
4 Propose revised information
architecture
8 Develop user journeys
and task flows
5 Test new information
architecture with a card
sorting exercise
9 Develop wireframes
10 Present final strategy
Content Inventory
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
What’s Working
Areas for Improvement
Goal: Findable
Goal: Findable
• Optimized for SEO
• Confusing top navigation
• Robust product categorization and meta data
• Mixed label types, such as material, use,
and brand
• Prominent promotion of Registries and Gift Cards
Goal: Inspirational
• Strong brand identity
• Clean visual identity with white space
• Appealing product photos
• Special Features that curate product collections
and themes
Goal: Action Driving
• Special offers docked to top of page
• Confusing branded terms like Best&Buys
• Fragmented navigation in Customer Service
Goal: Inspirational
• Few interactive tools besides catalog
and Bedding Planner
Goal: Action Driving
• Low utility category pages don’t show products,
only subcategories
• Rating system for products not well promoted
• Social sharing not prominent on product pages
• Add to Registry not enabled across the board
Personas
Consumer Insights
Primary Segments
• Furniture buyers
• Frequent houseware buyers
• Gift registrants
Demographic Trends
• Female
• 30-35 years old
• $100,000 household income
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Site Behavior
• Approximately 20 percent
use search
• Search used for categories,
not specific products
• Sale page is popular
Highest Converting Pages
• FAQs
• Promotions
• Clean Slate
• Favorites
• Quick Looks pop-up
Personas
Jen, Bride-to-be
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Biography
Jen, 32, is a graphic designer from St. Louis, Missouri.
She’s marrying her fiance, Ryan, in the fall and recently
purchased a renovated townhome in the city.
Objectives
Provide her wedding guests with a variety of gift options.
Although Jen and Ryan have both lived on their own and
acquired many household items, this is a chance to invest
in quality pieces, unify their decor, and splurge on nice-tohave items they wouldn’t normally buy themselves.
“I want
our new
home to be
coordinated
and stylish.”
Personas
Jen, Bride-to-be
Shopping Habits
Gradually replacing hand-me-downs and
mismatched items.
Aesthetic
Clean, simple, modern design.
Brand Loyalty
High. Loves the style of Crate & Barrel.
Technical Savvy
High. Very comfortable shopping online.
Uses Pinterest and blogs for design ideas.
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Time
Constraints
High. She is very busy
planning her wedding.
Financial
Constraints
Medium. She and
her fiance have two incomes and no kids,
but they will be paying for their wedding and
recently purchased a new home. They hope
their wedding guests will purchase higherend items they can’t afford right now.
Personas
Dan, Furniture Buyer
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Biography
Dan, 35, works in data analytics in Santa Rosa, California. He lives in
a modern apartment.
Objectives
Dan has been redecorating his living room for the past six months,
picking up items here and there to coordinate with a rug he found
at a boutique. He’s looking for the perfect sofa to pull the entire look
together.
“I’m looking
for the
perfect sofa
to complete
my room, and
I’m willing to
invest in it.”
Personas
Dan, Furniture Buyer
Shopping Habits
Doesn’t mind looking at many stores to find
the perfect item. Has high standards.
Aesthetic
Eclectic. Likes stylish pieces that tell a story.
Brand Loyalty
Medium. Has shopped at Crate & Barrel
before but also likes West Elm, Pottery Barn,
and high-end furniture shops.
Technical Savvy
High. Is very comfortable shopping online
but likes to shop in person for furniture.
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Time
Constraints
Low. Has a flexible
work schedule and
lots of time for
socializing
with friends.
Financial
Constraints
Low. He makes a lucrative salary and doesn’t
mind investing in the right item.
Personas
Donna, Housewares Buyer
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Biography
Donna, 38, is a stay-at-home mom of two middle school aged kids.
She’s married and lives in a large home in the suburbs of Boston,
Massachusetts. She has two Golden Retrievers.
Objectives
Donna is always on the lookout for eye-catching household items.
She likes swapping out home decor each season and prides herself
on her home being stylish and refined.
“I enjoy fine
things in my
home, and I
try to freshen
up my home
decor often.”
Personas
Donna, Housewares Buyer
Shopping Habits
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Time
Constraints
Often impulse buys on routine shopping trips
to the mall. Subscribes to daily deal e-mails. Medium. Her kids’
schedules keep her
busy.
Classic, refined style.
Aesthetic
Brand Loyalty
Medium. Also frequents Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Technical Savvy
Medium. Is comfortable shopping online.
Financial
Constraints
Medium. Donna and her family are financially
secure, but she would rather purchase small
items to update the home instead of large
investment pieces.
Competitive Set
Primary Competitors
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Type Registries
# of Stores
Crate&Barrel
FurnitureYes170
& Housewares
Pottery Barn
FurnitureYes194
Room & Board
Furniture
No
12
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Housewares
Yes
1,471
Williams-Sonoma
Housewares
Yes
248
Secondary Competitors
Restoration Hardware, West Elm, and Sur La Table
Competitive Set
Homepages
Pottery Barn
Room & Board
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Williams-Sonoma
Insights
• Feature sale items, Best Bets, popular items, and seasonal items
• Carousels have clear navigational arrows and indicators to browse slides
• Clear promotion of sister sites with tabs (Pottery Barn)
• Inspirational images pull an entire look together with multiple products
(Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma)
Competitive Set
Navigation
Pottery Barn
Room & Board
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Williams-Sonoma
Insights
• Shop by Brand and well-known designers are more prominent
• Category-based browsing, with some instances of material-based browsing
• Mixture of shopping by room and by product type
Competitive Set
Gallery
Pottery Barn
Room & Board
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Williams-Sonoma
Insights
• Quick Look to browse product details without leaving the gallery page
• Ratings featured prominently
• Clear and simple ways to narrow your choices
• Persistent left navigation allows users to jump to other product categories easily
Competitive Set
Product Detail
Pottery Barn
Room & Board
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Williams-Sonoma
Insights
• Social sharing options are prominent and above the scroll
• Large product photos
• Ratings information in section with product details
• Clear call to action buttons
• No left navigation at this level (different than gallery pages, which do have left
navigation)
Competitive Set
Competitor Summary
Findable
• Clear identification of sister sites in design
• Category-based browsing, with some instances of
material-based browsing
• Mixture of shopping by room and by product type
• Clear and simple ways to narrow your choices on
gallery pages
• Persistent left navigation allows users to jump to
other product categories easily
Inspiring
• Homepage inspirational images pull an entire look
together with multiple products
• Large product photos
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Action Driving
• Feature sale items, Best Bets, popular items, and
seasonal items on homepage
• Quick Look to browse product details without
leaving the gallery page
• Ratings featured prominently on gallery pages
• Social sharing options are prominent and above
the scroll on product pages
• Ratings information in the same section
as product details
• Clear call to action buttons on product pages
Draft Information
Architecture
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
What’s Different
• Elevated product categories
to top navigation
• Elevated Gift Cards and Gift Ideas
to the top navigation
• Collapsed and simplified
second-level categories
• Alphabetized product categories
and subcategories (other sections
organized with like task and pages
close together)
• Added All, Best Selling, Top
Rated, New, Outlet, and Sale
to all categories
• Separated Bedding and Bath
• Relabeled Clean Slate to Cleaning
and Storage
• Relabeled Inspiration to Design
& Inspiration
• Simplified About and Customer
Service sections
• Combined section for Designers
and Corporate Clients
Card Sort
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Closed Online Card Sort
Optimal Sort Test
• Cards: 80 Cards sorted into 1
3 categories (sampling of almost
every section)
• Participants: 23 completed surveys
• Gender breakdown: 17 women
and 6 men
• Age range: 17 to 64
• Average time to complete:
14 minutes
The Results
The draft information architecture
performed well overall
Card Sort
Incorporating Feedback
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Changed Informed
by Feedback
• Cross-listing: Users asked us to
cross-list furniture and storage
items in related room categories
• New category: Food & Drink was
mentioned by several users as
separate from Kitchen & Dining
• Browsing by type: Outdoor Furniture
by Type tripped up several users;
I relabled it Outdoor Furniture and
listed different types (chairs, tables)
in third-level navigation
• Too many categories: Users said
there were just too many sales
categories; I simplified the options
Site Map
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
User Journey
Jen, Create a Registry
2
1
HOME
3
4
REGISTRIES
FIND A REGISTRY
CREATE A REGISTRY
REGISTRY BENEFITS
MANAGE YOUR REGISTRY
14
5
6 KITCHEN & DINING
7
COOKWARE & BAKEWARE
CUTLERY
DINING STORAGE
DINNERWARE
DRINKWARE
FLATWARE
KITCHEN & DINING FURNITURE
KITCHEN GADGETS & TOOLS
KITCHEN ORGANIZATION
GRILLING
SERVEWARE
TABLE LINENS
SHOP BY BRAND
ALL | BEST SELLING
TOP RATED | NEW
OUTLET | SALE
8
9 10
BATH
11
BATH ACCESSORIES
BATH ORGANIZATION
BATH RUGS
BATH TOWELS
SHOWER CURTAINS & RINGS
ALL | BEST SELLING
TOP RATED | NEW
OUTLET | SALE
12
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Findable
Jen wants to jump between
categories while registering
without annoying extra clicks.
It would be ideal if product
categories were listed in the
left navigation to make this
fast and easy.
Inspiring
Jen wants to reigster for
coordinating items. Related items should be easy to find and
add to the registry.
Action Driving
Jen wants to be able to easily add any product to her registry.
User Journey
Dan, Buy a Sofa
1
FURNITURE
2
3
BEDROOM FURNITURE
ENTRYWAY FURNITURE
HOME OFFICE FURNITURE
KIDS’ FURNITURE
KITCHEN & DINING FURNITURE
LIVING ROOM FURNITURE
OUTDOOR FURNITURE
FURNITURE CARE PRODUCTS
ALL | BEST SELLING
TOP RATED | NEW
OUTLET | SALE
4
5
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Findable
Dan might start on a product
page by landing there from
search. It needs to be easy
to navigate from deep linked
content back to categories
using breadcrumbs.
Inspiring
Dan needs to be able to sort
furniture by style, material,
cost, and other filters.
Action Driving
Dan might want to see a sofa in person before he buys it, so it
should be easy to find locations where the sofa is available. It
should also be easy to find dimensions of the furniture.
User Journey
Donna, Buy a Rug
1
UTILITY NAV
HOME
2
DECORATING
& ACCESSORIES
3
ART
BATH ACCESSORIES
BLANKETS & THROWS
CANDLES
CURTAINS & HARDWARE
GARDEN & PATIO
HOME ACCESSORIES
LIGHTING
MIRRORS
OUTDOOR ACCESSORIES
RUGS
VASES
ALL | BEST SELLING
TOP RATED | NEW
OUTLET | SALE
4
5
SHOPPING CART
CHECK OUT
CREATE AN ACCOUNT
SIGN IN
SEARCH
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Findable
From search, Donna wants to
see galleries of products.
Inspiring
Donna wants to be able to
compare products side by
side to see how dimensions,
colors, and other features
differ.
Action Driving
Donna wants to be able to add a product to her cart from the
comparison view and then check out immediately.
Wireframes
Current Homepage
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
What’s Working
• Carousel highlighting
products in a scene
• Featured discounts
• Large and prominent
search bar
• Categories are in alignment
with competitors
Wireframes
New Homepage
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Findable
• Use design to better identify sister
brands CB2 and The Land of Nod
• Add more intuitive navigation within
the carousel
• Relabel unclear items like Clean Slate
• Improve cross-listing
Inspiring
• Highlight trending, new, and popular
items on homepage
Action Driving
• Highlight sale items
• Add Find a Store to the utility
navigation
Wireframes
Current Gallery
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
What’s Working
• Displays product image
• Sticker price listed beside actual
price to show savings
• Free shipping and discount offers
clearly listed
• Easily share on Pinterest
• Quick Look option to view product
details
• Narrow Your Choices options
Wireframes
New Gallery
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Findable
• Make Narrow Your Choices
expanded by default
• Add left navigation of product
categories that’s persistent on
gallery pages (all competitors
have this)
Action Driving
• Add more social media sharing
options
• Add Quick Look for all products
• Clarify language for Top Rated
• Incorporate ratings
• Allow users to filter by rating
Wireframes
Current Product Detail
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
What’s Working
• Large product image
• Description, ratings, additional
images available, zoom
• Product details, price guarantee,
and return policies under collapsible
accordion
• View path and location of product
in breadcrumbs
• Simple layout of product page
less cluttered than competitors
Wireframes
New Product Detail
Inventory
Personas
Competition
Draft IA
Card Sort
Site Map
User Journey
Wireframes
Findable
• Place ratings on the right with the
rest of the product information
Inspiring
• Allow for all products to be added
to registry
• Add social sharing above the scroll,
integrated with the product image
In Summary
Findable
• Elevate product categories to top navigation
• Elevate Gift Cards and Gift Ideas to top navigation
• Simplify category labels
• Eliminate branded categories that are
unclear like Best&Buys and Clean Slate
• Don’t mix labels, such as groupings by
material, use, and brand
• Alphabetize product categories; group
by function or task in other categories
• Cross-list products based on customer
feedback in card sort
• Incorporate left navigation on gallery and
product pages
• Elevate store search to utility navigation
• Clearly identify sister sites in design
Inspiring
• Develop additional interactive tools like Bedding
Planner to help customers visualize products
together in a room
• Expand promotion of curated lists of products
like Special Features
Action Driving
• Better promote product ratings
• Make sorting product results pages more intuitive
with automatically expanded filtering options
• Make social sharing more prominent
• Promote best selling, top rated, and sale products
on the homepage and at the category level