Sonasetu - Retailer

Step 1. Overview & problem statement

• The challenge
  The retailers this product was built for are local jewellery shop owners from tier one and tier two cities in India many of whom have little to no prior experience with digital tools or technology platforms. Designing a dashboard for this audience meant throwing out every assumption that comes with designing for tech-savvy users. The interface had to be immediately understandable to someone picking up a digital product management tool for the very first time.
  
  

• My role
  Led the complete UX research and dashboard design for the retailer side from on-ground research with local retailers in Lucknow to final UI handoff..

  Stage 2. Research & design strategy

1. Research
   I connected with local jewellery retailers through calls facilitated by the founders, who had existing relationships with shop owners in the region. These conversations gave direct access to how retailers currently managed their shops, how they tracked customers, and what their day-to-day workflow actually looked like. The founders' network made it possible to get honest, ground-level insight without the barrier of cold outreach and that context shaped every decision that followed in the design.
   
   

2. What the research revealed
   Retailers were unfamiliar with dashboards and data-heavy interfaces too much information on a single screen caused immediate confusion and disengagement.
   
   Most communication with customers happened verbally or over WhatsApp the booking management system had to feel as simple and familiar as that.
   
   Shop owners cared most about three things: how many bookings they had, who was coming, and what was selling everything else was secondary.
   
   

   Language and iconography mattered as much as layout labels needed to be plain, direct, and free of any technical terminology.
   
   

3. Design strategy
   The strategy was built around radical simplicity design for the least digitally experienced retailer in the room, and the rest will follow. Prioritise the three core actions they care about most, keep the layout uncluttered, and use visual cues over text wherever possible to guide them through the interface.
   
   

Stage 3. Flows, wireframes & system design

• Defining the flows
  Before any visual design, I mapped the complete retailer journey onboarding their shop, uploading portfolio items, receiving and managing booking requests, and reviewing sales activity. Each flow was stripped to its absolute minimum steps, removing anything that wasn't directly necessary for the retailer to complete their task.
  
  

• Wireframing for a non-tech audience
  Wireframes were approached differently here than a typical dashboard project. Every layout decision was tested against one standard: could a shop owner who has never used a software product before understand what to do on this screen without being told? Navigation was kept flat and visible, actions were large and clearly labelled, and the information hierarchy was built around what retailers checked first bookings, then portfolio, then sales.
  
  

• Design system
  Built a complete design system tailored for the retailer console with a clean, high-contrast visual language, large touch targets, simplified iconography, and a type system that prioritised legibility above all else. The system was designed to scale as the product grew without ever adding complexity to the retailer's experience.