Qstyled - Product & Case study
Qstyled - Product
& Case study
Overview
Qstyled is a Saas platform designed to enhance how customers discover, save, and communicate hairstyle inspiration while helping salons showcase their work through a modern, visually driven experience.
Industry
Hairstyle
Fashion
Date
January 2026
My role
UX Research
Product Strategy
UI UX Design
Branding
The Product
Qstyled was developed from a common experience shared by many people: walking into a salon with uncertainty about how to explain the haircut they wanted. Even with photos, expectations and outcomes often didn't align.
The project began as a curiosity sparked while waiting for a haircut and observing the behaviours of both customers and salon owners. It quickly became clear that there was an opportunity to improve the experience through UX. Early research and conversations provided positive validation, leading to the decision to develop a potential solution one that was tested, refined and eventually brought to life.
The goal was to reflect what the business stands for - which is help users discover style and save time
Customer app
The customer app helps users discover hairstyle inspiration, document their personal style journey, find nearby salons and barbers, and browse curated beauty products - all in one seamless experience.
Device
Web
iOS
Android
Business side app
The business web app enables salons and barbers to manage walk-ins, showcase their work, document client styles, and connect with customers through a streamlined digital platform.
Throughout the design process, emphasis was placed on:
Clear visual communication
Intuitive navigation
Save time for customer
Streamline business flow
Product Experience
Hairstyle discovery
Personal style collections
Salon discovery
Visual communication with stylists
Scalable product ecosystem
Tools & Steps involved
Figma • FigJam • Manus AI • Prototyping • UX Research • Design Systems • Branding
Case Study
Problem
How might we help customers get affordable haircuts with less waiting and clearer communication?
The Story - Problem & Opportunity
Scenario 1: “Ahh, I’ll do it later.”
It’s a nice weekend. You’re at the shopping centre doing the week’s grocery shopping. Your hair has grown a little too long, and you think, this would be a good time for a haircut.
You walk past the salon and look inside.
It’s crowded.
You immediately change your mind.
“Ahh, I’ll do it later.”
But when?
During the week, you need to take time away from work. You could book an appointment somewhere, but that often comes at a higher price. And if you have four kids who all need haircuts too, the cost quickly adds up. Shopping-centre salons are often the more affordable and convenient option.
The problem is… so does everyone else.
So you put it off. Again.
Scenario 2: “Oh my God… you look like a Grade 7 student.”
This time, you decide to wait.
Forty minutes in the queue later, it’s finally your turn.
Yay!
You sit down and explain exactly what you want. The stylist is new to the country and their English isn't great, but they seem to understand everything.
The haircut begins.
Everything seems fine… until you open your eyes and realise they have worked really well for every dollar you paid.
Your hair is now much shorter than you expected.
There’s no turning back.
You accept your fate, go home, and your partner sees you.
“Oh my God… look at you. You look like a Grade 7 student.”
Scenario 2: “Oh my God… you look like a Grade 7 student.”
This time, you decide to wait.
Forty minutes in the queue later, it’s finally your turn.
Yay!
You sit down and explain exactly what you want. The stylist is new to the country and their English isn't great, but they seem to understand everything.
The haircut begins.
Everything seems fine… until you open your eyes and realise they have worked really well for every dollar you paid.
Your hair is now much shorter than you expected.
There’s no turning back.
You accept your fate, go home, and your partner sees you.
“Oh my God… look at you. You look like a Grade 7 student.”
This problem is primarily observed in men’s haircut experiences, where walk-in salons are more common. Unlike women’s hair appointments, which are typically booked in advance due to longer and more time-intensive services, men’s haircuts often rely on a walk-in model.
The women’s hair experience presents a different set of challenges and will be explored as part of the second phase of the project.
Research
Research
Before exploring a solution, I wanted to understand the real-world behaviour of both customers and salon businesses. Rather than making assumptions, I observed the day-to-day flow of walk-in salons and spoke directly with shop owners and stylists.
Areas I explored -
Customer drop-off - How often do customers walk away after seeing a long queue or wait time?
Waiting behaviour - What do customers do while waiting, and how does the wait affect their decision to stay?
Style communication - How do customers currently communicate the haircut they want, and where do misunderstandings occur?
Business frustrations - What challenges do salon owners and stylists face when managing walk-in customers?
Customer retention - What do businesses currently do when customers are about to leave because of a long wait?
Customer acquisition - What platforms, products or services do businesses use to attract and retain customers?
Walk-in vs booking models - How do customer journeys, workflows and potential revenue differ between walk-in, booking-only and hybrid businesses?
Workflow impact - Would introducing a digital queue create additional work or disruption, particularly during busy periods?
Busy vs quiet periods - How does the business operate differently during peak weekends compared with quieter weekdays?
As a part of research I have been visiting the many shops choosing on busy weekends and waiting in the queue to observe how customers and business owners behaviours.
Things I tried to observe -
How many drop outs? (Customer who walks away seeing the waiting)
What they do while waiting?
How they commuincate?
Business frustrations
What business owners/stylist do to retain customers who tends to walk away?
What products they use to get customers.
Try walk-ins and bookings only shops to see how the customer journey are and profits looks like
Do adding a new work flow like a queing obstruct theur work flow on busy days?
How are less busy weekdays looks like?
I observed based on above factors to understand the business flow. Interviewd shop owners on non-busy days . Started with going for sessiosn and starts friendly conversations. They mostly like to talk and make customer foendly to retain the customer. So it was easy to get started and slowly ask them without introuding with questions. Made them comfortable to give me a context of my questions.
As a part of research I have been visiting the many shops choosing on busy weekends and waiting in the queue to observe how customers and business owners behaviours.
Things I tried to observe -
How many drop outs? (Customer who walks away seeing the waiting)
What they do while waiting?
How they commuincate?
Business frustrations
What business owners/stylist do to retain customers who tends to walk away?
What products they use to get customers.
Try walk-ins and bookings only shops to see how the customer journey are and profits looks like
Do adding a new work flow like a queing obstruct theur work flow on busy days?
How are less busy weekdays looks like?
Business side frustration
Large number of customers choose walk-in and thats where the profit is in industry.
Small business owners managing multiple salon locations often find it overwhelming to coordinate operations and staff across all shops.
Customer side frustration
Long waiting and inaccurate results
Ai apps doesn't always guarantee a reality of your style
Some customers take photographs of their last haircut and present it to their stylist.
Some use Instagram, Pinterest and Google for reference
Some of customer interview feedbacks
Customer Personas
These two personas were developed from different aspects of everyday life, based on the behaviours I observed and feedback gathered during the research.
An Australian dad on a weekend
A young professional
Findings
These two personas were developed from different aspects of everyday life, based on the behaviours I observed and feedback gathered during the research.
UX Opportunity
Create a free platform that helps customers make better use of their waiting time and discover styles, while giving businesses a streamlined way to manage queues and operations across multiple locations.
Design Process
The solution evolved through wireframing, iterative design and prototyping. Early concepts were tested and refined through feedback, helping identify usability issues and improve the experience before moving into the final UI.
User journey tested from check-in through to session completion.
This helped identify key interactions, potential friction points and opportunities to make the experience more seamless from start to finish.
This helped identify key interactions, potential friction points and opportunities to make the experience more seamless from start to finish.
Business journey tested from managing the queue through to completing customer sessions.
This helped identify workflow gaps, operational friction and opportunities
to streamline day-to-day salon management.
Multiple scenarios were tested to observe customer and stylist journeys
Customer side - Checkin > Onboarding > Session > Rating & Feedback
Single customer
Group customers (Family with kids)
Group customers who choose different stylist
Customer who didnt showed up after checkin
What happens when a customer comes late after their time slot
Shop discovery
Price and rating
Stylist side - Customer token flow > Style analysis > Session > Checkout
Single stylist shops
Multiple stylist shops
Business owner side - Customer flow > Stylist > flow > Conversion
Business flow on multiple shop
Customer satisfaction
Stylist ratings
Customer feedbacks
Revenue history
Outcome
Testing helped validate the core concept and refine the experience across both customer and business journeys. The feedback highlighted opportunities to simplify the queue flow, improve communication between customers and stylists, and make the business dashboard easier to manage during busy periods.
The final concept brought these insights together into a connected experience that helps customers spend less time waiting and communicate their desired style more clearly, while giving businesses a simpler way to manage their queues and customers.
Future
Qstyled was designed as a foundation for a broader hair and styling ecosystem. Future iterations could extend beyond queue management to create a more complete customer experience.
