Reducing Checkout Drop-off
for Photo Tiles App
Redesigned the Photo Tiles creation flow to reduce friction in screen switching and increase confidence in photo selection.
Duration
4 months
May - August 2025
Company
PlanetArt
FreePrints & Its sibling apps
My Role
Product Strategy & Design Intern, Mobile R&D Team
Defined UX strategy and developed prototyping based on internal and external usability testing.
Advisors
4 product managers, 2 engineers
Impacts
5
2
Reduce screen switching for photo selection
-35%
Cut Task Time in prototype usability testing
+30%
Increased User satisfaction in prototype usability testing
The Challenge
How might we help users pick the right photos for photo tiles with less effort?
Remove friction
A simple
horizontal swipe
to select photos
A simple horizontal swipe gesture on the bottom cloud bar changes the image of the selected photo tile at the top.
Increase user confidence
Adjust your wall
to match your
photos and space
Allow users to see how their product will look in their space by matching photos with their wall colors.
Increase user confidence
Customized wall
for preview
I designed a customized preview based on users’ wall color, increasing users’ confidence in their photo selection.
Intro
FreePrints Photo Tiles is a mobile app for home décor
and memory keeping.
Photo Tiles is one of the sister apps of FreePrints, which ranked #2 in the photo printing category on the App Store, and is designed for photo tiles.
Context
60%+ of users dropped off between cart and checkout.
Confluence analysis showed a high drop-off between the shopping cart and checkout among potential buyers, and the YoY conversion rate also declined.
Hypothesis
Mapped the journey to find where users get stuck.
I broke down the full purchase journey to identify potential friction points at each stage. Two areas stood out as likely culprits behind the drop-off.
⚠️ Users may find it difficult to know whether their selected photos will match their home.
⚠️ Users may spend significant time and effort selecting and editing photos.
Problem
Difficulty selecting photos that match their walls leads to low confidence, which ultimately leads to drop-off in check out.
The data confirmed both hypotheses. Users felt unsupported throughout the photo creation process — and that uncertainty was driving them away at checkout.
Problem 1
Frequent screen switching between selection, editing, and preview wears users out.
Users had to leave the layout view every time they wanted to swap a photo — losing context, losing momentum, and losing confidence in their choices.
Solution
Removed screen switching with a simple horizontal swipe for photo selection.
Usability Testing
Design Iteration
We removed screen switching with a simple horizontal swipe for photo selection.
1st Prototype
Stacked View
Our 3-tile pack at $9 is the top seller, with the 4-tile pack close behind. Harder to view multiple tiles at once.
Final Prototype
Grid View
Changed to Grid Layout for easier to view multiple tiles at a glance; encourages larger purchase.
Problem 2
Generic preview images don't reflect the user's actual space.
Ideation
Explored ideas
Each idea was evaluated against three criteria: does it stay in context, is the gesture lightweight, and is it feasible within timeline?
Solution 2
Customize wall color in preview
Allow users to customize the wall color in the preview. According to a survey, over 70% of European users have walls in colors other than neutral tones.
1st Prototype
Letting users choose materials as well
Considered adding a wall material option, but too many choices could overwhelm users and decision fatigue.
Final Prototype
Simplified the options
Limited customization to color only and reduced the color picker's footprint to expand the preview area.
Manager Review
"She skillfully leveraged her creative talents and existing qualitative research experience while quickly adapting to incorporate quantitative analysis. …"
"… Her background in UX design proved to be a tremendous asset, as she skillfully leveraged her creative talents and existing qualitative research experience while quickly adapting to incorporate quantitative analysis. This allowed her to ideate several informed hypotheses, culminating in a final presentation that provided insightful, actionable changes and features which we are actively considering for our roadmap.
Jiwon consistently brought a positive and joyful demeanor to our office. This cheerful attitude was perfectly balanced by a serious and thoughtful approach to her work. She demonstrated exceptional self-motivation, requiring minimal oversight to produce deliverables against deadline. …"
— Adam Black
Sr. Director of Product Development @PlanetArt