Truly Tasteless Tees
A niche e-commerce brand selling edgy, funny, and sometimes shocking custom t-shirts
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The Problem: While the brand had strong social engagement, sales conversions on its website were underwhelming.
Challenge: Improve the e-commerce experience to increase conversions and reduce bounce rate, especially on mobile.
Goals
- Increase conversion rate from 25% to at least 50%
- Reduce bounce rate by 20%
- Improve mobile usability and product discovery
- Maintain the brand’s edgy, humorous tone while improving trust and usability
My Role: As the lead UX designer on this initiative, I:
- Conducted a hueristic review of the site
- Interviewed 10 users
- Analytics deep dive
Research and Insights
Hueristic Review
I conducted a heuristic evaluation of the original site and found the following issues:
- Poor product categorization (only 2 categories: “Men’s” and “Women’s”)
- Confusing CTAs: multiple “Buy” buttons on one page
- No customer reviews or sizing help
- Mobile layout broken on some iPhones
User Interviews & Surveys
10 customer interviews revealed:
- Many were referred by memes or social shares
- Customers wanted to quickly find themes (e.g., political, rude, retro)
- Uncertainty around sizing and shirt quality led to hesitation
Analytics Deep Dive
- 74% of users visited from mobile
- Bounce rate on mobile: 68%
- Checkout drop-off: 58% on shipping page
UX Strategy
We took a Lean UX approach—design, test, iterate quickly. Key priorities:
- Simplify navigation and add humorous product filters
- Redesign mobile experience with thumb-friendly CTA placement
- Add reviews and sizing guide
- Rework cart/checkout flow to reduce friction
Design Highlights
Navigation & Discovery
- Recommended filter tags like "Offensive", "Pun-Based", "Pop Culture", "Dad Jokes"
- Switched from horizontal scrolling to vertical product list on mobile
- Sticky "Add to Cart" on mobile for quick taps
Product Pages
- Added review system with star ratings and photo uploads
- Implemented a Fit Finder tool to recommend size based on user input
- Humor-infused microcopy to build trust without losing edge (e.g., "This tee is soft enough to make your grandma forgive you.")
Checkout
- Reduced checkout steps from 5 to 3
- Added progress bar and autofill for shipping info
- Recommended upsells ("Want a matching hat to go with that snark?")
Results (60 Days Post-Launch)
| Metric | Before | After Redesign |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion Rate | 25% | 50% |
| Bounce Rate | 68% | 49% |
| Avg Order Value | $23 | $35 |
| Monthly Revenue | $2,280 | $3,465 |
| Return Customer Rate | 12% | 28% |
Key Learnings
- Funny ≠ Functional: Humor builds brand loyalty but can’t replace intuitive UX.
- Mobile First Always: 74% of traffic came from mobile, so we prioritized it early.
- Frictionless Checkout = Cash: Smoothing the checkout boosted revenue substantially.
- User Reviews Build Trust: Especially when the product is unconventional or edgy.
Screens
Reflection
Working on Truly Tasteless Tees was a lesson in balancing personality with performance. It pushed me to create a design that was not just usable, but also true to the brand’s bold, irreverent voice.
Here’s what stood out:
Design with empathy, even for bold brands: Just because the content is edgy doesn’t mean the experience should be chaotic. Users still crave clarity, trust signals, and predictability—even when shopping for something outrageous.
Microcopy is UX’s secret weapon: Using humor intentionally in tooltips, empty states, and error messages helped preserve brand voice while improving clarity.
Analytics are your compass: Knowing where users dropped off or hesitated gave me specific, data-backed areas to improve. Design shouldn’t rely solely on instinct, especially in e-commerce.
The small things matter: A sticky CTA, an easy-to-use sizing tool, and a clear progress bar were little changes that created major impact.
This project reaffirmed my belief that UX is not just about aesthetics or usability—it’s about aligning user goals with business goals, and doing so with authenticity.