Online Auction Redesign

Background

Since 2011, Ten-X has hosted online auctions to facilitate the trade of multi-million dollar properties. In 2017 a new brand identity was developed and the design was testing well on other areas of the website.

Problem

The online bidding experience had unclear information architecture, did not support mobile web, and misaligned with the new brand identity.

Desired outcomes

Simplify the experience of placing bids online.
Mobile-friendly design
Achieve brand consistency
Do not negatively impact bidding

Process

Went behind the scenes of a live auction

Joined customer calls to understand auction dynamics alongside the online experience

Interviewed auctioneers about bidding strategy

Designed a progressive disclosure strategy leading to a drastically simpler and more readable interface.

This solution was the result of analyzing the current information architecture, and linking each element to user success at each point in the journey.

Insight: Irrelevant details persisted on the interface throughout the auction

Explored different layout strategies with wireframes and mockups. A key constraint here was the need to integrate with minimal changes to the existing page structure.

Solution

We chose and tested a design which contained the auction bidding within a “card” layout. This card was able to persist above the fold, fit well into the overall page design, and is inherently mobile-friendly.

Before