lokalein.kaufen
lokalein.kaufen [localshop.ping] was an independent, free of charge platform designed to support local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–22). It provided a simple online directory of local delivery and pick-up services for my hometown Celle in Northern Germany.
Simplicity is efficient.
I designed, developed, published and administered this platform voluntarily. This documentation includes insights into the goals, analysis, research, design decisions, backend structure, public reception and a final conclusion.
Goals
The general goal of lokalein.kaufen was supporting the local economy and society (including residents in quarantine) in Celle. Based on this, two concrete objectives were defined:
- Simple connection. The platform ensures a lean and fast connection between customers and businesses, avoiding content overload and reducing incongruent data.
- Open exploration. The design allows a fun and friendly discovery, creating a positive contrast to the global pandemic.
Analysis
Every business is different and every business works with different variables. To accomodate this diversity while maintaining the autonomous consistency for reaching the first goal, the platform focused on providing enough content and functions, but not too much.
Content
- title for identifying the business
- link for immediately connecting with the business
- phone number as additional means of contact (crucial for smaller businesses in Celle)
- tags for revealing the business areas
- shipping options (pickup or delivery) for customers in quarantine
Functions
- clickable link for establishing the connection
- clickable phone number for establishing the connection
Research
By gaining broad perspectives, several design considerations were explored and selected.
- While a traditional list was considered (and even used for the simple start of coding), it was too boring. Instead, a grid layout was more dynamic and engaging, meeting the second goal.
- The design needed to be responsive to ensure it worked seamlessly across various devices and screen sizes.
- Although visual elements like images could enhance the visual appeal, concerns about rapid obsolescence, updates and copyright issues led to prioritizing a simpler, text-based design.
Design
Based on analysis, research and several ideas, the layout was a responsive grid with tiles for achieving both goals.
Tile
By aligning the title, details and contact information vertically, the design was straightforward and ensured easy scanning of the information within the borders. The title was prominent, while lower priority details were smaller and less emphasized. Even though the contact links were placed below the details, they were highlighted for showing their importance.
This layout achieved the first goal of simple and fast connections. To achieve the second goal as well, the design was casual. The playful font, 3D tile design and the animated color gradient made the tile fun and relaxing.
Grid
The minimalist tiles were arranged in a responsive grid with up to three columns. They were sorted chronologically rather than alphabetically to keep the most recent updates at the top and make the site more engaging for repeated visits.
While the tiles remained simple, their increasing number necessitated improved navigation. Two features were added based on the research:
- open search offering a free filter
- filter tags suggesting possible categories and making them easy to find
These improvements, combined with the playful design, ensured that the grid effectively met the two goals of simplicity and enjoyable exploration.
Page
Upgraded with a clean and concise header, the design of the page was complete. It included essential links to additional details and social media, as well as a brief introduction to the purpose of the site.
Backend
The backend was built with Kirby. It was as clean and simple as the platform itself, ensuring easy management and scalability to potentially add more cities and users to the system.
Public (Selection)
lokalein.kaufen gained positive feedback from users and local businesses alike. While the city administration and the biggest local newspaper tried excluding the project from publicity, it resonated with the actual community. The playful yet functional layout was seen as a refreshing change from cluttered and complex online offerings.
- Celle heute “Lokal und schlicht: Neuer Online-Einkaufsführer” (2020)
- Möbel Wallach “#supporteachother: Gemeinsam durch die Krise” (2020)
- several mentions on social media (2020–21)
Conclusion
During the COVID-19 pandemic, lokalein.kaufen was not just another business directory or advertising platform; it was a free resource for connecting businesses with locals.
Connections mean profit.
Through my design process, I broke down the topic, made decisions and interacted with the businesses and the public. The final minimalist yet playful design achieved the goals and fostered a community solidarity.
Learnings
- Lack of collaboration with the city government and the local newspaper. Despite the potential for mutual reinforcement, the city Celle only promoted its own detailed and therefore alphabetically sorted and hierarchically structured database. They, as well as the largest newspaper Cellesche Zeitung, chose to ignore a different, complementary approach. It was very disappointing, as it overlooked the value of diverse ideas and goals. This experience reinforced the importance of collaboration and openness to different ideas. I will stay open to diverse perspectives that will lead to richer outcomes.
- Experimental freedom. Free from economic constraints, the decision to sort the listings non-alphabetically proved to be effective and meaningful. For future projects, I will keep an open mind and embrace unconventional approaches, as they can lead to unique and effective solutions.
- Inclusive design. While the website was designed to be fun and engaging, it faced challenges in terms of accessibility. I will prioritize it in future projects to ensure that all users can fully use and enjoy my work.
- Data minimization. This focus was not only a practical decision given my limited time and resources, but also a strategic one. By providing only the most essential information, it gave the businesses the autonomy to manage and update their data independently. This was an interesting perspective for different roles in a project.