Context

Materials and printing processes are a fundamental aspect of 3D printing. They are the main factors in determining the finished quality of a printed object. As a 3D printing platform, the structure and communication of these materials and available processes, are integral to many of the core experiences and interactions across the 3D Hubs website.

Challenges

The main challenge of this project was to organize the hundreds of available materials into a structure that would be understandable to a variety of different types of users. The current implementation was an over simplification, that reduced the hundreds of materials into three materials/technologies. Both experienced and novice users found it frustrating to find what they were looking for, and as a result the checkout experience was performing poorly. Our goal was to create a structure that would work for a variety of users within 3D printing and encourage a broader selection of materials.

Process

In order to better understand our customers' decision making process we experimented and tested a variety of tools that could potentially help users find the right material. One of the tools that we created was material index that surfaced the hundreds of available materials into a library that was easily searchable and filterable. Through this, we discovered that there were three types of users. One type of user knew exactly what branded material they needed, and all they required was a simple text search to find what they were looking for. Another knew exactly what material properties their project required, for these users the material index was the perfect tool. Finally, our last and largest group of users had a general idea of what type of material they wanted, but the material index was far too detailed for them to simply decide on one material.

Solutions

By observing how our more advanced users interacted with the material index, we developed a simplified grouping of material families and properties that would help our more novice users find the right print material. We organized the materials into a four-level hierarchy, starting with type, then material family, proceeded by material option, and finally branded material. We developed a series of nested landing pages that would educate and allow user to progressively narrow down their selection and transition seamlessly to the checkout with their material of choice.