The Ernie Ball Music Man(EBMM) Custom Shop website is a concept project that allows customers to build their own custom guitar by selecting every detail down to the finish.
Starting the Project
Project Goal
Create a responsive website for the new EBMM Custom Shop that allows customers to choose every detail of their guitar build and place & pay for their order from any device.
Target Audience
Ernie Ball Music Man is a well-known builder of high-end guitars & basses. Their guitars are used by famous artists young, old, famous and unknown. One caveat of the brand is the relatively high cost of entry for higher end models and the custom shop would be no exception. The target audience for this app is Male/Female, age 25-60.
My Role
My role is as the lead Researcher & Experience Designer. My responsibilities included competitive research, wireframing, ideation, design system development, prototyping, testing & final design.
Key Challenges
The online custom guitar building tool space is not completely new - big companies such as Fender have already put a stake in the ground. The key challenge is creating an experience that feels unique to EBMM, offers a clean visual representation of the product (that is not a drain on bandwidth), and can be completed by the customer from any device.
Research & Ideation
Research Study Details
The research for this project included a competitive audit and user interviews. As a guitar player I used my past experiences with online builders and reached out to other guitar players to get their take. In reality, these types of “custom shop” level options are not as widely available as I had imagined (on the high-end side of brands) but there are large brands, like Fender, who have tackled the issue. In speaking with other guitar players it was indicated that a more easily accessible option from a high-level builder would be well received.
Initial Design Concepts
Crazy 8’s allows for quick iteration and consideration of ideas under the time crunch.
The development of this custom shop user flow was, in one part, about getting all of the necessary steps in place and looking for opportunities to create a more efficient flow, and in a second part about finding ways to make the process feel unique.
The process itself is straightforward: choose you woods, choose details (pickups, hardware, etc.), pick a finish and place your order. How easy would it be to go back to a step of the process? How can this process feel more connected to the staff that would actually be building the instrument? I aimed to tackle these questions and more in my design.
I start with marker and paper. Remove the preciousness and get to the bottom of what works.
Wireframes
After completing my research and ideation, I dove into creating wireframes. I like to start with marker and paper so that I keep things moving quickly and don’t get stuck on any one idea too early in the process. The less precious I treat this step, the easier I find it to focus on the end user and their needs. See a full lo-fi prototype of the user flow here.
User Testing
User testing revealed some key insights that led to refinements in the hi-fidelity stage. Those include creating a better understanding of button priority/hierarchy within the ordering steps so users knew what to do next, creating a more “custom” feel to the flow (re: it felt too similar to the standard EBMM site), and adding a “save my build” option (this option is a phase 2 development item for the time being.)
Hi-Fidelity Prototype & the Final Design
Hi-Fidelity Prototype
User testing revealed a need for a more “custom” feel to the experience as well as some key attention to button priority and the ability to go back to steps within the ordering process.
Visual Identity
EBMM has a long legacy of industry-leading designs and features. It was important to me that I brought something new to the design of the custom shop ordering site that both honored their past as well as the people who have a hand in building in each instrument.
Conclusion & Next Steps
The completion of the Ernie Ball Music Man Custom Shop guitar ordering site will put Ernie Ball above their competitors who offer a custom ordering service. This level of interaction will further cement the brand as a leader in the guitar building world.
Early in this project I learned there is far more to a guitar than I first thought! As a player for more than 20 years I have taken for granted the unique details that make my favorite instruments feel so special. Giving access to absolutely every option has its drawbacks in the length of the user flow, but it is important to maintain the feeling that the customer is in control and is getting a truly custom guitar.
Next Steps
1.
I will expand the options to include at least one more model type as well as various wood & finish option mockups.
2.
I would like to add a “share my build” option for users to show their new guitar builds to friends & family via text/email/social media.
3.
I ultimately want to present this project to a rep from EBMM. Ernie Ball is a family-owned, legacy company who I think would love to see a path forward for their own Custom Shop.