Here’s a **fully rewritten, senior-level case study** for **Brownells / ARFCOM**, tailored for your UX portfolio. It’s structured to showcase your process, strategic thinking, and design impact — exactly what hiring managers or high-level clients expect.
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# **Brownells / ARFCOM — UX & UI Redesign**
### *Improving the user experience for a high-volume firearms community and e-commerce platform.*
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# **Overview**
Brownells, a leading firearms retailer, and its community platform ARFCOM (ArmsForum.com) faced usability challenges across their e-commerce and forum experiences. Users struggled with navigation, product discovery, and community engagement due to outdated design patterns, inconsistent layouts, and complex information architectures.
I was engaged to redesign the **e-commerce and forum experience**, streamline navigation, and improve the **overall user journey** for both customers and community members.
**My Role**
Lead UX/UI Designer
UX Strategy · Information Architecture · Responsive Web · E-commerce Flow · Community UX
**Team**
Product Manager · Marketing Lead · Engineering Team · Community Moderators
**Timeline**
10 weeks
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# **The Challenge**
Brownells and ARFCOM faced three primary challenges:
### **1. Complex navigation**
Users struggled to find products, forum threads, or community discussions. E-commerce categories were nested and inconsistent, and ARFCOM’s forums were difficult to browse on mobile.
### **2. Poor visual hierarchy**
Critical information — product details, pricing, forum threads, and moderation tools — was buried or inconsistently styled, making the experience confusing for both new and returning users.
### **3. Lack of mobile optimization**
Both the store and the forum had desktop-first designs, resulting in a frustrating experience for mobile users, who account for a growing percentage of the audience.
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# **Goals**
### **Business Goals**
* Increase e-commerce conversion
* Improve forum engagement and retention
* Standardize design patterns across Brownells and ARFCOM
* Make mobile experience as robust as desktop
### **User Goals**
* Quickly discover products or relevant threads
* Browse community discussions easily
* Engage in forums and post content without friction
* Complete purchases efficiently across devices
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# **Research & Insights**
I conducted:
* Heuristic review of Brownells’ e-commerce flows and ARFCOM forums
* Comparative analysis against competitor platforms (MidwayUSA, Guns.com, other community forums)
* Mobile usability testing on iOS and Android
* Stakeholder interviews with moderators and marketing leads
### **Key Insights**
* Users wanted **fast product discovery** and **clear filters**
* Forum members valued **thread visibility**, **notifications**, and **trust signals**
* Mobile layouts were cramped and lacked hierarchy
* Inconsistent patterns across the store and forums caused friction
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# **Design Approach**
### **1. Unified Information Architecture**
* Restructured e-commerce categories with intuitive filtering
* Simplified forum navigation with clear categories, pinned threads, and search enhancements
* Created a consistent header and footer across both platforms
### **2. Visual System & UI Patterns**
* Introduced modular components for products, threads, and community highlights
* Established typographic hierarchy and spacing for better scannability
* Updated buttons, cards, and icons for consistency
* Optimized imagery for products and user-generated content
### **3. Mobile-First Design**
* Fully responsive layouts for products, forums, and discussion threads
* Collapsible filters, sticky headers, and bottom nav on mobile
* Improved tap targets and touch interactions
### **4. Engagement & Trust Enhancements**
* Added forum badges, thread highlights, and reputation indicators
* Prominently displayed shipping guarantees, product ratings, and reviews on product pages
* Implemented clear micro-interactions for actions like “reply,” “quote,” and “add to cart”
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# **Before & After Highlights**
### **Before**
* Confusing product categories
* Cluttered forums with inconsistent typography
* Desktop-first design, poor mobile navigation
* Weak visual hierarchy and inconsistent trust messaging
### **After**
* Clear, modular layout for both e-commerce and forum
* Streamlined filters and search experience
* Consistent design language across platforms
* Mobile-first experience with enhanced readability and navigation
* Trust and engagement signals surfaced strategically
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# **Accessibility Enhancements**
* Increased contrast on buttons, text, and tables
* Clear heading hierarchy for better screen reader support
* Touch-friendly interactions and larger tap targets
* Semantic markup for forum threads and e-commerce listings
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# **Outcome & Impact**
### **Qualitative Results**
* Marketing and community teams reported easier content management
* Forum moderators noted reduced navigation friction and better thread visibility
* Users commented that both platforms “feel more modern and intuitive”
### **Preliminary Metrics**
* Longer session durations on mobile
* Increased forum engagement and replies
* Higher click-through and conversion on key product categories
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# **Reflection**
This project emphasized **balancing commerce and community**. Users’ mental models for forums differ from e-commerce, yet both experiences had to feel unified under the Brownells brand.
Biggest lessons:
* Modular, reusable components are essential for scaling across diverse platforms
* Mobile-first thinking improves usability dramatically
* Trust and clarity must be communicated visually, especially for high-stakes purchases
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# **Next Steps**
I can also provide:
✓ Annotated wireframes & flow diagrams
✓ Visual component library
✓ Interactive prototype for mobile and desktop
✓ Short, recruiter-ready 1-minute summary
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If you want, I can **also rewrite Fossil, Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Norman Ward Architect next**, keeping the same professional, senior-level tone.
Do you want me to do the **next portfolio case study**?