In 2017, KitBash3d decided to transform how premium 3D assets are created and distributed. From movies to video games, they saw that every production was rebuilding the same assets over and over again. When their website first launched, they immediately made it easier for film and game studios, freelancers, and hobbyists to produce compelling 3D environments using flexible assets. In the years after launch, their products were utilized by over 500 film and game studios, and tens of thousands of artists in over 80 different countries.
While they were making it easier for other people to build beautiful environments, the KitBash3d team started to realize that their website and the cumbersome product delivery process they were utilizing did not reflect the impeccable design and flexibility of the assets they sold.
They got in contact with Elva – a full-service design group driven by branded commerce experiences – to help guide them through the process. After some discussion, KitBash3d realized that they wanted a site redesign that clearly communicated their brand story, displayed their work in a gallery format, and provided a digital delivery system that was as flexible and easy to use as their assets.
Elva had many ideas for improving the UX design and, in order to execute the design to its fullest potential, they reached out to Sellry. “From a creative standpoint, Sellry does a great job of paying attention to the little details that make a difference, fidelity of the motion, timing of the motion, placement of the text, design fidelity,” said the Elva team.
Over the course of eight weeks, Elva and Sellry joined forces to design and implement a better-looking, better-trackable, higher-converting frontend for the KitBash3d’s Shopify Plus site.
Collaboration
When Elva and KitBash3d first connected, Elva spent a significant amount of time getting to know KitBash3d, their business, and their needs. Elva recognized that KitBash3d was a startup and that this was still a side hustle for most of the team members. One objective of the site build was to help the team stay lean and meanwhile building up their legitimacy through trust signals throughout their website.
To do that, Elva wanted to build trust and make information readily accessible to customers. Fewer customer support calls would mean saved time for the KitBash3d team, less frustration on the customer end, and increased trust. Elva focusing on providing high-quality information and visuals on the homepage and product pages, educating users, driving viewers to explore additional kits, and sharing stories throughout the site. Sellry executed this vision without sacrificing load time or other site functionality. The main objective in the site design was to have users get lost in inspiration.
On the original Kitbash3d site, customers did not have a complete grasp of the full potential of the 3D products they were purchasing. In the rebuild, it was essential to provide more visuals and better design around images and videos that communicated the full range of product uses. The goal was to make the videos on the site as immersive as some of the games and movies the assets are later used in.
Prior to the partnership, one major pain point KitBash3d and their customers were experiencing was their customer detail page. KitBash3d sells to customers ranging from hobbyists to large studios and their pricing for the same product differs depending on the purpose they are licensing it for. On the previous website, some mistakes were made at purchase and the teams assumed that was largely due to confusion around licensing rather than malpractice. That whole world of licensing gets really complicated, so Elva and KitBash3d wanted to make sure customers were educated on what purchasing category they fall into prior to purchase. The teams anticipated that if customers were given the opportunity to self identify their category correctly, clearly, and easily, they would. In the new website, customers selected the user category attached to their profile which determined their pricing on future purchases.
In comparison to some of the changes on the website, this change may seem smaller, but it made a huge difference on the business side and helped address the needs of the various user groups making KitBash3d products more readily available to everyone. Elva did the heavy lifting on the UX design portion of the rebuild and Sellry put together a functioning backend that made transactions, product downloads, and gallery viewing seamless.
Digital Delivery
Dealing with virtual products is atypical for most online retailers so while there are a number of solutions out there for inventory management and shipping solutions, KitBash3d was struggling to develop an efficient delivery method for their products. The experience was really clunky. It took about 3 or 4 hours for customers to download their products and get them set up.
Sellry determined the best of breed file delivery system for KitBash3d’s use and, after integrating the app, Sellry did extensive customization beyond the app default to in order to ensure that the delivery system fit the overall UX experience Elva designed.
As a result of the new system, customer download time down went from 3 to 4 hours to a few minutes. KitBash3d was always interested in appealing to hobbyists and the new ease of download made engaging this customer segment much easier.
In addition to customizing the delivery system, Sellry customized the Shopify checkout to allow for digital delivery and created personal galleries for user accounts that allowed customers to download previously purchased assets.
In the past, if customers wanted to download a previously purchased product, they would have to initiate a customer service interaction to redownload that software. Now they can download all previously purchased products from the new account section, saving time for the client and for Kitbash3d’s small team.
Using the new website, customers could browse the asset gallery, purchase and immediately download their products in a range of file types, and return to their account to view and download the products they have previously purchased — all options that were not previously available. All in all, the development work done by Sellry and the UX work done by Elva increased site functionality and the value delivered to users considerably.
Results
KitBash3d’s industry revolutionizing business idea and excellent execution brought them into prominence with some of the biggest game developers and film studios including EA, Ubisoft, and MPC. Their site design has helped amplify their business by providing stronger delivery mechanisms, sufficient product information and customer education, and a gallery that can support their beautiful, high-resolution images and video, and making their user experience seamless and intuitive.
Upon site launch, KitBash3d saw an immediate 63% lift in conversions. Their team has been flooded with positive customer feedback and they anticipate higher numbers of new and returning users due to their website’s ease of use and the enjoyment users experience exploring their assets. Repeat purchases are important to every industry, but when you are reinventing and really pioneering an industry, it is even more important.
The combination of design and technical knowledge in this build sets it apart. Companies with a compelling product need an equally compelling web experience to represent their brand. When KitBash3d needed someone to help communicate their beautiful 3D work to customers through their ecommerce experience, they were able to lean on Elva for their UX expertise and on Sellry for their technical knowhow. Through multiple conversations, KitBash3d was able to communicate their goals and Elva and Sellry were able to translate those goals into real design and digital solutions. The trust between the teams and behind the build translated into an impeccable end product that ultimately builds trust for the customer as well.
“We can’t thank you enough for helping us making this site and update a reality. Our users have flooded us with messages about how great everything looks and how easy it is to use.
This was a big project for us and because of your efforts it was the smoothest launch we’ve ever had. We know there were a lot of technical challenges and your ability to consistently problem solve and overcome those issues was amazing. Having worked on hundreds of projects it is quite refreshing to find partners like you who go the extra mile every time to make our work the best it can be.
We cannot thank you enough and please know that we are going to take a moment to enjoy this victory and catch our breath but we are already brainstorming new projects to work on together. Let us know in the meantime if there’s anything we can help you with or if you make it to LA so we can take you out to dinner.
Your friends,
Banks & Maxx”