CHALLENGE
Setting the Stage
GROUNDED IN USER INSIGHTS
We began by listening. Through two extensive rounds of moderated user interviews in key markets like the UAE and India, we dug deep to understand existing pain points. We observed users interacting with both our current site and early prototypes from our design sprint, benchmarking against top competitors.
After rigorous analysis spanning six intense weeks, we pinpointed clear improvements: solutions not just to customer frustrations, but powerful enhancements aligning directly with Desertcart's ambitious billion-dollar vision
Building a Team for Scale
Greenlight secured from leadership, the clock was ticking—peak shopping season was fast approaching. As the newly appointed Head of Design, I swiftly assembled a dedicated external & internal team: three talented freelance designers, three front-end developers, and one backend developer.
Recognizing the tight timelines, we embraced agility. Our strategy was iterative, rolling out one high-impact component at a time, prioritizing robust foundational UX and creating structures primed for future scalability.
FAST, SCALABLE, FUTURE-PROOF
Today, just months into our intensive redesign journey, we've successfully revamped the entire homepage, product listing pages, search, and navigation across all 160+ supported countries—a monumental milestone. Simultaneously, we constructed a scalable, token-based design system, significantly accelerating the pace of development.
We're also embracing cutting-edge AI tools like Cursor and Claude, transforming design handoffs into React components—sharply reducing our build cycles from weeks to mere days.
BEYOND BORDERS
BEYOND BORDERS
