Pierc'd: Streamlining the Piercing Experience
Designed a comprehensive mobile app to solve fragmented information, unclear pricing, and aftercare challenges for piercing enthusiasts through unified booking, studio discovery, and healing guidance.
My Role:
UX Designer and Researcher
Project Type:
Duration:
16 Weeks
Overview
The Challenge
The market lacks a unified platform to address the needs of piercing enthusiasts. As someone with quite a few piercings myself (8 total!), I've met my fair share of frustrations in the piercing process, from booking appointments to finding help when faced with piercing irritation. Any time I wanted to find solutions, searches yielded inconsistent information, unclear pricing, and difficulty understanding aftercare progress. As I expressed these frustrations to those around me, I learned just how common these issues were.
The Solution
A one-stop app for anything you'd need, at any point in the piercing process. Pierc'd looks to streamline the piercing and appointment booking process by providing everything a prospective piercing recipient could or would need. The app targets people interested in body, face, and ear piercings, ranging from first-time clients to experienced enthusiasts. It appeals to users looking for reliable studios, clear aftercare guidance, and convenient tools for scheduling appointments. Pierc'd looks to provide be an informative and efficient companion at any point in the piercing process.
My Process
Research
Ideate
Design
Test
Research
Research Goal
Understand the pain points piercing enthusiasts face throughout their journey and identify what would make a unified platform feel trustworthy and useful.
Research Methods
User surveys with 20+ participants
Competitive analysis of existing piercing and booking platforms
Journey mapping to identify key touchpoints
Empathy mapping to understand user emotions and motivations
Key Insights
Trust is built through recommendations
Users primarily found studios through friends or online searches
Trusted reviews (especially from friends) significantly influenced decisions
Price, safety, and reputation were the most important factors
Booking is unclear and inconvenient
Walk-ins were preferred when possible
Finding clear booking guidelines was often difficult
Users wanted transparency around availability and pricing upfront
Aftercare is the biggest struggle
Many users struggled to keep up with aftercare routines
Forgetting cleaning schedules often resulted in infections or complications
Users needed guidance specific to each piercing type and healing stage
Information is scattered and unreliable
Google searches yielded inconsistent advice
Users couldn't tell which sources to trust
No single platform addressed discovery, booking, AND aftercare
Ideate
Journey Mapping
Journey mapping allowed me to visualize users' thoughts, emotions, and goals at each stage of the piercing process—from initial research through long-term aftercare. This revealed critical pain points where users felt frustrated, confused, or unsupported.
Empathy Mapping
Empathy maps gave me a more personal view of users' experiences, helping me understand not just what they do, but how they feel about the piercing process. This human-centered approach ensured solutions addressed emotional needs alongside functional ones.
Wireframes
When designing wireframes, I focused on the core functions identified through user research: studio discovery, appointment booking, and aftercare management. Before adding visual polish, I needed to ensure Pierc'd had all the necessary functionality to guide users seamlessly through their piercing journey.
Design
Key Screens
Studio Discovery
Search and filter by price, safety ratings, and reputation
Verified studio profiles with transparent details
User reviews and ratings for reliable feedback
Aftercare Management
Custom reminders for cleaning and care routines
Post-appointment aftercare tips specific to each piercing type
Dedicated resources to guide users throughout the healing process
Appointment Booking
Integrated online booking with real-time availability
Pre-payment options for convenience and security
Automated reminders to prevent missed appointments
Shopping
Browse piercing jewelry and aftercare products
Clear navigation and search functionality
Refined item cards for easy scanning
Test
Usability Testing
To evaluate Pierc'd, I conducted explorative click testing using Maze, followed by moderated user sessions. This approach identified key usability challenges and informed the next round of design iterations.
Testing Methods
Click testing – Tracked initial user interactions to assess navigation efficiency
User surveys – Collected feedback following each completed task
Moderated sessions – Observed user behavior and gathered qualitative insights
Iterate
Post-Testing Iterations
Based on user feedback, I made targeted design updates to improve usability, focusing on visual clarity, navigation, and interactive elements.
Studio Page
User Insights:
"I think the star ratings look nice, but I don't understand what's what"
"I get a little distracted with all the 3D elements, it had me a little confused where to go"
Changes Made:
Scaled back on nuemorphic elements
Refined the star rating graphic
Shopping Page
User Insights:
"The shopping screen kinda all blends together"
"I normally like searching for specific things when I'm shopping online"
Changes Made:
Added shopping screen navigation elements
refined item card UI
Added search function
Final Deliverable
A Unified Platform for the Piercing Journey
By consolidating studio discovery, appointment booking, and aftercare guidance into a single platform, Pierc'd provides users with reliable information and tools to make informed decisions and successfully care for their piercings throughout the healing process.
Outcomes
High-fidelity prototype validated through click testing and moderated sessions with 20+ participants
Improved navigation clarity by 40% based on task completion rates in usability testing
Reduced visual clutter on studio and shopping pages, leading to faster user decision-making
End-to-end experience addressing studio discovery, appointment booking, and aftercare management in a single platform
Established design foundation for future features including custom cleaning reminders and digital piercing profiles
What I learned
Simplicity is Key ◦ I was excited to use neumorphism, having just learned about it, but it ended up reducing visual clarity in some places. While I was able to iterate according to user feedback, a more straightforward design approach with a greater emphasis on functionality rather than visuals would have improved usability.
Prioritize Unique Features ◦ I focused on getting the core functionality right, but I should have spent more time developing standout features, like custom cleaning reminders and a digital profile to showcase piercings. Time constraints kept me from expanding on reminder or even adding digital pricing profiles, but they could have made Pierc’d more distinctive.
Progress over Perfection ◦ My attention to detail is a strength, but I sometimes get stuck refining small elements instead of moving forward. Taking a moment to move past elements in not completely satisfied with sooner would have given me more time to build the features that made Pierc’d unique in the first place. In the iterative process perfection doesn't exist, and coming back to those elements later allows me to have a better idea of what the bigger picture calls for.
Alex's Portfolio
Navigation