Mobile App IA and Navigation Critique: SSENSE

Background Information: 

Founded in 2003, SSENSE is a Montreal-based luxury fashion platform known for its exclusive collections and unique mix of established and emerging designers. It started as a platform bridging the gap between fashion, art, and culture, and has grown exponentially to become one of the world's biggest destinations for luxury fashion online. 

SSENSE not only stands out for its product offerings but also for its editorial content. The platform frequently collaborates with various artists, creatives, and designers to produce editorial content including fashion, art, and multimedia, making it more than just a shopping destination.

Target Audiences: 

Ssense appeals to a diverse and global audience, but some general characteristics include:

Fashion-forward individuals: Those who constantly seek the latest trends and are willing to invest in high-quality, designer pieces. 

Luxury Shoppers: Individuals with a higher disposable income who see fashion as an investment are looking for exclusive, often limited-edition items. 

Cultural Enthusiasts: Given SSENSE's emphasis on art and culture through its editorial content, it also attracts those interested in the intersection of these areas with fashion. 

Tech-sharp Shoppers: Given the platform's sleek design, the site likely attracts a younger, tech-savvy crowd accustomed to online shopping and digital consumption who’s into minimalistic web design. 

Observations/Critiques: 

1. Homepage Structure: 

Observation: SSENSE's homepage features a minimalist design with distinct headers like "Men", "Women", and "Everything Else", and an editorial-focused footer. On desktop, shopping sections come after multiple editorial pages unless users click the header. Mobile users access navigation via a left-side hamburger menu.

Recommendation: Improve user experience by adding a carousel or condensed visuals. Current design blurs the line between editorial content and shopping, not adhering to Cooper's advice of “helping users stay oriented as to where they are on the long page”(Cooper, p.581). This change ensures quick access to shopping categories, reducing unnecessary scrolling.

2. Search Functionality: 

Observation: SSENSE's search bar, prominently placed, highlights a focus on user convenience. It categorizes queries into menswear, womenswear, and 'everything else', expanding categories upon recognizing brand inputs. While the search function on SSENSE meets all the requirements for a successful search including “auto-complete, auto-suggest, and faceted search”(Spencer, p.579), their minimalistic design might pose challenges for exploratory users due to the lack of visual auto-suggestions. Recall issues will be further discussed in the hierarchical structure section.

Recommendation: To augment the user search journey, consider integrating visual elements or spotlighting trending category links within the auto-suggestions. This could potentially drive user interest and increase product discovery. 

3. Hierarchical Structure: 

Observation: SSENSE's IA prominently features categories like "Men", "Women", and "Everything Else", leading to sub-categories and then specific products. After initial navigation, however, there's limited feedback on a user's position, contravening Spencer’s guideline: “it’s important to provide persistent feedback about where he or she currently is…common ways to do this are…and through breadcrumbs''(Spencer, p.575)—an issue amplified on mobile.

Recommendation: Boost navigation clarity, particularly on mobile, by adding breadcrumb trails, e.g., "Home > Men > Shoes > Sneakers", giving users context and easier back-navigation.

4. Navigation Menu Labeling: 

Observation: The header menu is logically segmented into "Men'', "Women", and "Everything Else", offering an intuitive navigation structure. While the header sections are straightforward, "Everything Else" is ambiguous, despite encompassing various items. Spencer notes, “The best labels are dull, boring and completely obvious”(Spencer, p.210). The vagueness of this category might dilute its diverse offerings' impact.

Recommendation: Enhance clarity by reevaluating "Everything Else". Using labels like "Lifestyle & Accessories" or adding a secondary navigation beneath it can better guide users and clarify product differentiation.

5. Responsive Filters: 

Observation: On the desktop platform, SSENSE provides a comprehensive filtering sidebar, facilitating refined searches via criteria like designers, sizes, and price brackets. The system instantly refreshes product listings based on selected filters. On the mobile platform, however, applying filters involves navigating through an overlay section, adding extra steps to the process. 

Recommendation: Given the constraints of the mobile screen, toggling between filters could be made more seamless, with a slide-out feature(drawer) that could provide users with a spatial orientation, or collapsable sections that users can expand a particular section (e.g., "Sizes") and collapse others, ensuring they aren't overwhelmed by all the options.

6. Mobile Navigation Bar: 

Observation: SSENSE's mobile version uses a hamburger menu for navigation, presenting a clear category hierarchy.When tapped, this menu neatly unfolds to reveal a clear hierarchy of categories and sub-categories. However, it lacks visual indicators for primary categories. As Spencer suggests, while it's essential to “think about the terms your audience knows and understands”(Spencer, p.212), visual cues are vital especially for fashion enthusiasts.

Recommendation: To optimize navigation further, adding visual icons next to primary categories could be beneficial. These icons can quickly communicate the nature of each category, allowing users to identify and navigate to their desired sections more efficiently. For instance, a shirt icon next to "Clothing" or a shoe icon for "Footwear" could enhance user recognition and speed up navigation.

7. Responsive Layout Adaptability: 

Observation: SSENSE displays a fluid transition between desktop and mobile interfaces. The responsive layout ensures that content is not truncated or misaligned, irrespective of the device's screen size. The header and footer transition smoothly in response to the screen size, turning from text to icons. However, in the utility navigation of the product page, the lack of a clear breaking point between each product and their brief description could be confusing to users not extremely familiar with fashion and the site, violating the recommendation by cooper of “you also should be generous with font and control sizes to improve usability for touch users and to improve scannability when the user scrolls''(Cooper, p.581).

Recommendation: The mobile version might benefit from more distinct visual breakpoints, ensuring that certain elements (e.g., product names or price) are consistently visible without necessitating user interaction.

8. Footer Navigation: 

Observation: The footer is well-organized, offering users vital links about the company, support, and various policies. Cooper says in his book that “You can see this pattern used to good effect on many media websites…another effective use of the footer is for persistent access to more rarely visited areas”(Cooper, p.583) SSENSE perfectly incorporated both of the opportunities But when transitioning to a mobile interface, the breadth of these links, although organized, can come across as a bit overwhelming given the limited display, the icons are small and cramped together, making them hard to click. Also, the links to policies and in a gray tone on top of the white background, making the readability very limited. 

Recommendation: On the mobile interface, navigating the extensive footer might be enhanced by incorporating collapsible sections or dropdowns. This would present information in a more digestible manner, fostering ease of access.

Overall Assessment

In the review of the SSENSE platform, we found key improvement areas. The lengthy homepage scroll, especially on desktop, delays quick access to products. A direct visual link to main product categories is essential. While search is strong for specific queries, it needs better visual cues for casual browsing. The site's layout is clear, but breadcrumb trails could improve user orientation, especially on mobile. The "Everything Else" section in the navigation menu needs clearer labels. Mobile navigation can benefit from more visual aids. Also, mobile features like filters and footer navigation should match the desktop's user-friendliness. Addressing these issues can boost user engagement and conversions on SSENSE.