Etsy Case Study
AcademicRole: UX Designer
January 2026 - April 2026
As part of my Master’s in UX Design program at MICA, I redesigned the product detail experience for Etsy. This project was informed by my experience as a top-rated Etsy seller with consistent 5-star reviews.
Custom gift shoppers often struggle to assess product quality and authenticity online, leading to hesitation and cart abandonment.
Through user interviews and usability testing, I identified a lack of clear, trustworthy visual proof as a key barrier to purchase.
I designed a solution that prioritizes user-generated content and artist shop transparency, and built it using scalable Figma components and structured layouts to ensure consistency and production readiness. Etsy’s design system is designed to support mobile and desktop and streamline future updates or iteration.
Custom gift shoppers often struggle to assess product quality and authenticity online, leading to hesitation and cart abandonment.
Through user interviews and usability testing, I identified a lack of clear, trustworthy visual proof as a key barrier to purchase.
I designed a solution that prioritizes user-generated content and artist shop transparency, and built it using scalable Figma components and structured layouts to ensure consistency and production readiness. Etsy’s design system is designed to support mobile and desktop and streamline future updates or iteration.
“How might we help Etsy custom gift shoppers better evaluate product quality and authenticity so that we increase conversion rates and reduce cart abandonment?”
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
High-Fidelity Designs & Prototype
Figma link here
The Process
View slide deck here to learn more about my UX research process.Usability Testing & Results
All participants (5/5) successfully completed the purchase flow without assistance, indicating a clear and intuitive user journey.100% of participants immediately engaged with customer photos in the carousel, citing them as critical for assessing product authenticity.
“The photo carousel was the most important to assess authenticity.” — Participant
This insight validated the decision to prioritize user-generated content at the top of the PDP and reinforced the importance of social proof and a local feature in reducing purchase hesitation.