Prompt: QuickCycle is a startup online bicycle retailer. One of the core features of their website will be the interface by which users find the ‘right’ bike within QuickCycle's sizable inventory. Design both the UX and visual look for this interface.

Proposed Solution: The core issue seems to be figuring out what determines the 'right' bike for a user. There are a couple of key factors which might influence what kind of bike they might want or need:

A feature that allows users to sort through the inventory based on these requirements seems to be the most important thing to include, especially for those who aren't necessarily bike-savvy. Of course, if someone has a specific model in mind already, a search function would be necessary to direct these users straight to what they want. Below are some sites that I found useful.

Performance Bicycle: The site itself is a little clunky and not necessarily 'great' to look at, but it does the job of sorting by multiple factors nicely. It's easy to use and functional. It could just look nicer.

Superb Bicycle: Of all of the bike retailers that I came across, this was my favorite website because it was clean and easy to navigate. It was easy to sort through different merchandise, and the thumbnails were really clear. When you found a model you liked, you could hover over it for the model name and price, and click on it for more information. My biggest complaint is that this is mostly aesthetic driven, and doesn't really give the user a clear idea of its intended use until you hover over the image or click on it.

Jessica Hische: Yep. This girl. Superb Bicycle's site actually reminded me of how viewers can sort through her work, and this site is beautifully designed. I like how she filters her work, and then you can click on each thumbnail to get into the nitty-gritty details.

Fab: This site handles a ton of inventory in an easy, clear, and beautiful way. Users can sort by departments, prices, designers, featured, colors—you can find exactly what you need. The name of the product and price is clearly labeled under the thumbnails, as well as tags when there are only a few left in inventory.

As you can see, I gravitate towards thumbnails with a verticle scroll that are a) large enough to see and b) small enough to compare with other models side by side. However, I also prefer being able to sort through quickly by checking off my own needs and shrinking the inventory available to me. Too many choices are overwhelming, but too few and my needs might not be met.

On the home page, the user will be greeted with two choices: Do they know what specific bike they want? Yes, and a search bar comes up that allows them quickly get to the product that they want if QuickCycle has it in inventory. No, and a form will come up to put in data for the computer to filter the inventory for the user. This will bring up thumbnails based on the criteria listed, which the user can refine as they wish with a navigation bar on the side. When the thumbnails are hovered over, their name and specific price will appear, and more details will appear on a separate page when it's clicked on. Users can add it to their cart, like it, tweet it, or pin it for future reference. There will be checkout and confirmation pages, and an opportunity to sign up for QuickCycle's newsletter.