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Digital Design

Castle Building Supplies

Designed a clean, intuitive Store Locator app for Castle’s nationwide customer base — improving search, navigation, and real-time access to store information across Canada.

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Role:

Lead UX/UI Designer

Responsible for end-to-end app design, including user flows, interface design, component system development, and map interaction UX. Worked closely with developers, project managers, and stakeholders through weekly sprints to deliver a production-ready iOS + Android experience.

Overview:

Castle Building Supplies needed a more efficient way for customers to find local retailers across Canada. Their existing locator tool felt outdated, slow, and difficult to use on mobile — despite mobile being the primary device for most users.

 

The goal was to turn this essential function into a standalone, modern mobile app that made it incredibly easy for homeowners and contractors to locate nearby stores, view details, and navigate quickly.

Challenge:

The original locator presented several issues:

 

  • Poor mobile usability

  • Slow and outdated interface

  • Limited filtering options

  • No clear UX around map interactions

  • Inconsistent UI with Castle’s updated branding

  • No unified visual system shared with the main website

 

Castle needed not only a UI refresh, but a complete UX overhaul tailored to mobile usage.

 

The project ran over several months, covering discovery, user journey mapping, prototyping, multi-round stakeholder reviews, and close dev collaboration.

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Approach:

1. User Flows & IA
 
I mapped out the core user paths for homeowners, contractors, and first-time visitors:
 

  • Quick search from the home screen

  • Filter by distance, store type, and available services

  • Map-first browsing for users on the go

  • Clear “Store Details” view with hours, location, and contact info

 
This ensured that the app served the widest range of user intents with minimal friction.
 
 
2. Interface & Interaction Design
 
I designed a modern mobile interface with:
 

  • A simple onboarding flow

  • A clean search field anchored at the top

  • Fast, thumb-friendly filtering controls

  • A map-first experience with location previews

  • Detail pages showcasing store info, hours, and directions

 
The UI emphasized clarity, legibility, and quick scanning — crucial for mobile contexts.
 
 
3. Design System
 
To unify the web and mobile ecosystem, I developed a shared system including:
 

  • Spacing / grid rules

  • Buttons, toggles, and inputs

  • Cards and list layouts

  • Store detail modules

  • Map pins & interaction states

  • Light + dark usability considerations

 
This allowed devs to build faster and maintain consistency after launch.

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Outcome:

The Store Locator app now provides a fast, reliable way for customers to find local stores anywhere in Canada.

 

Key improvements include:

 

  • A modern, mobile-first map experience

  • Faster search and filtering

  • Consistent UI across web and app

  • More reliable navigation and store info

  • Cleaner brand presence

 

Impact (from broader Castle digital efforts):

 

  • 254% increase in app downloads

  • 90% improvement in user retention

  • 37% increase in contest signups

 

The app is now live in the App Store and supports thousands of customers across Canada.

Let’s build something together.

© Alexander Braga

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