Jiji Marketplace

Overview

Jiji is one of Africa's largest online marketplaces, connecting buyers and sellers across categories such as electronics, fashion, vehicles, and properties. The platform enables users to discover products, communicate directly with sellers, and complete transactions through listings and in-app interactions.

The goal of this redesign was to improve the overall user experience by creating a cleaner, more intuitive, and visually modern marketplace. The redesign focused on reducing interface clutter, improving usability, strengthening visual hierarchy, and making it easier for users to browse products and take action confidently.

The Problem

Although the platform was highly functional, the interface felt visually overwhelming. Multiple elements competed for attention at the same time, making it difficult for users to identify important information quickly.

Research revealed several key issues:

• Cluttered layouts with too many competing elements

• Excessive badges and promotional labels

• Weak visual hierarchy

• Overwhelming product cards

• Poor information grouping

• Inconsistent spacing and alignment

• Too many competing call-to-action buttons

• Difficulty scanning information quickly

• An outdated visual feel lacking breathing space and refinement

These issues increased cognitive load and made the overall experience feel noisy and difficult to navigate. Instead of guiding users toward important actions, the interface often required additional effort to process and understand information.

Design Goals

The redesign focused on five primary objectives:

• Improve visual hierarchy

• Reduce information overload

• Make navigation easier

• Increase user trust

• Create a cleaner and more intuitive interface

The intention was not to remove functionality but to simplify how information was presented and prioritize the elements that matter most during the buying and selling journey.

Design Decisions

Listing Page

The listing page is one of the most important areas of a marketplace because it directly influences product discovery and browsing behavior.

The original listing cards felt overcrowded. Too many badges, labels, and pieces of metadata competed for attention, making products difficult to scan quickly. There was also weak hierarchy between product images, titles, and prices, causing users to spend more effort identifying key information.

To improve the experience, I reduced the number of visible badges and labels, simplified the card structure, prioritized product imagery and pricing, improved spacing and alignment, and refined typography hierarchy.

The goal was to make browsing feel faster and less overwhelming. Users should be able to identify important information within seconds without experiencing visual fatigue.

Details Page

The product details page lacked proper organization. Information felt dense and visually compressed, making it difficult to process important details quickly. Primary actions and seller information did not stand out clearly enough, reducing readability and decision-making efficiency.

The redesign introduced clearer content sections, stronger hierarchy for pricing and seller information, improved spacing between information blocks, and a simplified layout structure. Primary actions were also given greater visual prominence.

Since users reaching this page have already shown interest in a product, the redesign focused on helping them make decisions faster by presenting information in a cleaner and more structured way.

Search and Filter Experience

Search and filtering are core marketplace functions, yet the original experience felt cluttered and overwhelming. Too many filter options appeared simultaneously, and poor grouping made navigation more difficult than necessary.

The redesign simplified filter organization, improved spacing and content grouping, refined the search hierarchy, and reduced visual clutter throughout the filtering system.

The objective was to create a more guided search experience that helps users find products quickly while reducing frustration during browsing.

Post Ad Experience

Posting an ad should feel simple and straightforward, yet the original experience felt long and intimidating. Large amounts of information appeared at once, and weak hierarchy between form sections made the process feel overwhelming.

To improve usability, I reorganized the form structure, grouped related fields into clearer sections, improved spacing, and simplified the overall layout.

The redesign transformed the experience into a more guided and approachable process that feels easier to complete.

Outcome

The redesign significantly improved usability and clarity across the platform. Badge usage was reduced from approximately twelve competing indicators to four essential labels, making product cards easier to scan. Improved hierarchy allowed users to identify product titles, prices, seller information, and primary actions much faster.

Cleaner layouts and simplified content organization reduced cognitive load, while improved spacing and typography introduced a more polished and modern visual experience.

Key Takeaway

This project reinforced the importance of clarity, structure, and intentional restraint in UX design. Rather than relying on visual complexity, the redesign focused on improving hierarchy, reducing cognitive load, and creating smoother interactions through better spacing, content organization, and prioritization.

The result is a marketplace experience that feels cleaner, easier to navigate, and better aligned with modern e-commerce expectations.

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