Enhanced Catalog Page experience

 
 

Context

Fuel is a Print-on-Demand (POD) fulfillment platform designed to empower entrepreneurs by simplifying the process of creating and selling custom products. The platform provides the infrastructure for sellers to create and sell custom products without managing inventory or logistics. 

The Fuel/POD App handles inventory coordination, catalog integration, and order fulfillment through vendors, who supply stock and production services. Sellers customize and list products on their own online stores (Etsy, Amazon, Shopify, etc.), while buyers purchase from them. Fuel automates fulfillment, letting sellers focus on marketing and sales.

 

Problem Statement

  1. Fuel lacks a dedicated, easily accessible catalog page that users can navigate to directly from the platform’s main interface. Currently, the only way to view the product catalog is by entering the “Create Product” flow, which requires multiple steps. This creates friction for users who simply want to explore Fuel’s offerings without immediately starting the creation process.

  2. As Fuel continues to introduce new features and product offerings, there is a growing challenge in ensuring visibility. With no centralized place to showcase new products and their capabilities, features often compete for attention or rely on external communication efforts. This means that if users miss an announcement, they might never discover certain features, making it difficult for them to make informed decisions about which products to sell.

 

Solution

1. A Functional Catalog Page

An enhanced catalog page experience that is accessible from the nav bar. Giving users quick access to what we have so they can see, whether they are new or seasoned, if we have what they need.

 

2. Intuitive Product Cards

A product card that allows quick scanning so sellers can see what each product has to offer so it can boost their decision making process to create products and fulfill orders.

 

Process

 

1. Laying the Foundation / Cross-Team Collaboration & Research

I initiated a kickoff meeting with key stakeholders, including:

  • Customer Service (CS) & Account Management (AM): Gathered user insights and common pain points from direct interactions with sellers.

  • Fulfillment & Operations: Collected product data to understand what details could be leveraged to improve discoverability.

  • Engineering: Assessed technical feasibility and implementation constraints.

2. Identifying the Users & Their Needs

After analyzing the data, I identified two primary user types for the catalog:

Type 1: Users who are looking for specific products – These users have a product in mind and need to locate it quickly.

Type 2: Users who are just browsing – These users want to explore Fuel’s offerings and compare them to competitors.

To further refine our approach, we:

  • Analyzed frequently asked questions from CS and AM teams to identify areas where the platform could proactively provide answers, reducing support inquiries.

  • Reviewed product data structure to determine how it could be categorized and filtered for better navigation.

 

3. Research & Competitive Analysis

I conducted a comparative analysis of Fuel’s product catalog and competitors to evaluate:

  • Data hierarchy – How product details were presented and prioritized.

  • User flow – Common patterns that helped users find and select products efficiently.

  • Key feature opportunities – Elements that could improve Fuel’s catalog usability and discoverability.

Using affinity mapping, I categorized recurring patterns and identified essential components for our catalog page.

 

4. Defining the Solution & Alignment

I compiled all research insights into a Product Requirements Document (PRD), detailing project context and objectives, features to be implemented and their priorities, Dependencies across teams, potential user flows, phased rollout plan

• Communication strategy to align the launch with content updates

This ensured company-wide alignment on the problem, the solution, and each team’s role in execution.


I compiled all research insights into a Product Requirements Document (PRD), detailing project context and objectives, features to be implemented and their priorities, Dependencies across teams, potential user flows, phased rollout plan, communication strategy to align the launch with content updates

This ensured company-wide alignment on the problem, the solution, and each team’s role in execution.

 

5. Wireframing & Prototyping

With a clear plan in place, I:

  • Created low-fidelity wireframes to explore different catalog layouts.

  • Developed interactive prototypes in Figma, structured to match the user flows outlined earlier.

  • Conducted internal reviews with AM, CS, Fulfillment, and Engineering teams to validate usability and feasibility.

To improve engineering efficiency, I:

  • Labeled Figma files with Jira ticket numbers for seamless tracking.

  • Created a prototype page aligned with the documented user flows.

  • Provided detailed annotations for interactions, transitions, and product details to ensure accurate implementation.

 

6. Launch & Impact

Thanks to our redesigned catalog experience and clear user flows, we observed strong engagement metrics - Catalog Viewed and Product Selected events consistently rank among the top 5 platform events, both in unique and total counts.

→ This indicates that users are actively browsing and choosing products—validating the catalog’s role in supporting their journey from discovery to order creation.

 

Catalog Viewed ranks #3 among unique user events, right after Product Created and Product Selected

→ High discoverability and relevance (many users are finding and using the catalog)

 

Catalog Viewed ranks #5 in total activity, highlighting repeated use and high interaction volume

→ High engagement (users are returning to browse and select products repeatedly)