GearUp
The Design Process
User Flows
Based on the research insights and journey mapping, I focused on designing interaction flows that support product discovery, evaluation, and confident decision-making. The following user flows highlight the core paths users take when browsing gaming accessories and comparing products, with particular emphasis on reducing cognitive load during evaluation and comparison. These flows informed the structure of the information architecture and the design of key screens in the prototype.
Primary Flow: Browse → Product → Compare
This flow represents the most common path users take when evaluating gaming accessories and deciding between similar products.
Secondary Flow: Iterative Comparison
This flow supports users who refine their choices by swapping products and re-evaluating attributes before making a final decision.
Interaction Design Rationale
Prioritizing Comparison as a Primary Action
Decision: Product comparison was designed as a primary interaction, accessible directly from the product detail page.
Rationale: Research and journey mapping revealed that users experience the highest levels of uncertainty during the evaluation stage, particularly when choosing between similar products. Existing platforms often require users to manually compare specifications across multiple tabs, increasing mental strain.
User Impact: By making comparison easy to find and access, users can quickly distinguish key differences side by side without losing context, supporting both casual users seeking clarity, and enthusiast users seeking efficiency.
Showing the Right Amount of Information at the Right Time
Decision: Product detail pages were structured to present high-level summaries first, with more detailed attributes available as users explore further.
Rationale: The proto-personas highlighted differing comfort levels with technical information. Casual gamers benefit from simplified summaries, while enthusiast gamers want access to detailed specifications. Presenting all information at once would overwhelm some users and slow others.
User Impact: This approach lets users start with simple summaries and dig deeper only if they want to, helping avoid information overload while still supporting informed decisions.
Designing for Repeated Comparison, Not One-Time Decisions
Decision: The comparison flow was designed to support replacing and re-evaluating products rather than assuming a single, linear decision path.
Rationale: The journey map showed that comparison is often iterative, with users refining choices as they learn more. Locking users into a fixed comparison would not reflect real-world behaviour.
User Impact: This lets users explore different options without having to start over each time, increasing confidence and reducing frustration during evaluation.
Using Controllers as a Representative Use Case
Decision: Console controllers were used as the primary, fully detailed example within the prototype.
Rationale: Due to time and scope constraints, fully designing every accessory category was not feasible. Controllers were selected because they are widely understood, spec-rich, and well-suited for demonstrating comparison behaviour.
User Impact: Focusing on a representative category allowed the core interaction patterns—browsing, evaluation, and comparison—to be validated without overextending scope.
Intentional Prototype Limitations
Decision: Only key flows and screens were fully clickable, while secondary paths were left static.
Rationale: The goal of the prototype was to validate the primary evaluation and comparison flows rather than simulate a production-ready app. Additional clickability would have increased complexity without providing proportional insight.
User Impact: This approach kept usability testing focused on the most critical interactions, ensuring feedback was actionable and relevant to the project goals.
These interaction decisions directly informed the wireframes and high-fidelity screens used for prototyping and usability testing.
This project reflects my interest in designing intuitive interactions that make complex decisions feel simpler and more approachable.
Questions about this project? Feel free to contact me :)