Introduction & User Research
October 2025
The Problem
Gamers shopping for gaming accessories often struggle to compare similar products due to scattered information, inconsistent specifications, and unclear differences between options. Existing retail and review experiences tend to prioritize product listings over meaningful comparison, forcing users to mentally track details across multiple pages. This makes the process feel overwhelming and reduces confidence in their final choice.
Goals & Objectives
Enable gamers to browse different types of gaming accessories by category or platform
Support quick, side-by-side comparison of key product attributes
Reduce cognitive load during product evaluation and decision-making
Design and validate intuitive interaction flows for browsing and comparison
Assumptions & Constraints
This project was completed as a solo, time-boxed effort over approximately five weeks. The design assumes a consumer-facing mobile app intended for gamers who are familiar with purchasing gaming accessories online.
To keep the scope manageable, the project focuses on validating core browsing, product detail, and comparison flows. While the broader app concept supports multiple categories of gaming accessories, console controllers were selected as the primary use case for exploring these interactions in depth.
The prototype prioritizes demonstrating key interaction patterns rather than full feature coverage. Secondary actions, edge cases, and some navigation paths were intentionally left non-interactive, as the goal was to evaluate primary user flows and information hierarchy rather than create a production-ready experience.
User Research Approach
To understand common challenges faced by gamers when purchasing gaming accessories, I conducted lightweight secondary research by reviewing existing e-commerce platforms, product comparison experiences, and community discussions related to gaming hardware. This was supplemented with insights based on common online shopping behavior and my own experience purchasing gaming accessories.
The goal of this research was not to validate a final solution, but to identify repeated points of confusion or frustration that design could help reduce.. These insights were used to guide early design decisions, inform proto-personas, and shape the primary browsing and comparison flows.
Key User Pain Points
Based on the research and problem exploration, several recurring user pain points emerged:
Overwhelming Number of Options
Users are often presented with a large volume of gaming accessory options, making it difficult to quickly narrow down products that align with their preferences, play style, or budget. This abundance of choice can lead to decision fatigue and prolonged browsing.
Difficulty Comparing Similar Products
Many existing experiences do not support direct, side-by-side product comparison. As a result, users are forced to open multiple tabs or rely on external sources to track differences between similar accessories, increasing cognitive load and frustration.
Unclear or Overly Technical Terminology
Casual or less technical gamers may encounter unfamiliar terms and specifications when evaluating products. Without clear explanations or prioritization of meaningful attributes, users may struggle to understand differences and feel confident in their decisions.
Low Trust in Reviews and Product Information
Users may question the credibility of product reviews due to concerns about sponsored content, inconsistent quality, or outdated information. This lack of trust can make it harder for users to rely on reviews as part of their decision-making process.
Research Summary & Influence on Design
How Research Influenced Design Decisions
The identified pain points and user archetypes directly shaped the design focus of the app. To address decision fatigue, the browsing experience prioritizes clear categorization and visual hierarchy. To support both casual and enthusiast gamers, the product detail pages balance high-level summaries with access to more detailed attributes.
Most importantly, the lack of effective comparison tools across existing platforms informed the decision to prioritize side-by-side comparison as a primary interaction flow. Console controllers were selected as the initial use case to validate this comparison-driven experience before scaling to additional accessory categories.
Why Personas & Journey Mapping Mattered
The proto-personas helped anchor design decisions around two distinct user needs: users seeking clarity and reassurance, and users seeking detailed evaluation and comparison. They were used to guide information hierarchy, determine which product details should be surfaced early versus progressively disclosed (revealed as the user dives more into the product details), and shape how comparison functionality was presented to support both lightweight and in-depth decision making.
The user journey map was used to visualize how user needs and emotions shifted across the purchase process, from initial problem recognition through browsing, evaluation, and final selection. It highlighted that uncertainty and cognitive overload peaked during the browsing and comparison stages, while trust and confidence were most critical early and late in the journey. These insights directly informed the decision to prioritize clear categorization, simplified filtering, and side-by-side comparison as core interaction flows, ensuring the experience addressed the most impactful moments of friction.