This project was interesting because almost every design decision was shaped by very specific constraints. Unlike the internal system, this platform was built for external customers; small retailers who needed to place frequent, bulk orders, often on their phones, and often while doing other work.

From the start, it was clear that mobile-first wasn’t just a layout decision. Retailers needed to be able to browse inventory, understand availability, and place large orders without friction, all from a small screen. That meant being intentional about what information mattered most in the moment and what could be deferred or abstracted away.

One of the more challenging parts of the project was deciding how much detail to show about each product. Oscar Soles’ inventory is complex, with multiple sizes, variants, and conditions, and there was always the option to expose more granular SKU-level information. In practice, too much detail quickly became overwhelming, especially for repeat customers who already knew what they were buying. Instead of drilling down into every individual SKU, we focused on surfacing just enough information to support confident ordering, like availability by size and quantity, without forcing users into deeper views.

Keeping everything on a single page became essential. Rather than moving customers through a sequence of product pages, carts, and checkouts, the experience was designed to unfold inline through dropdowns, expansions, and bulk actions. This made it easier for customers to build and adjust orders as they went, without losing context or having to restart their progress.

Another layer of complexity came from the long-term product vision. While the platform initially supported customers placing orders, it was also designed with the expectation that some of those customers would eventually onboard as administrators themselves. That meant the system needed to feel simple enough for ordering, but flexible enough to support more advanced responsibilities like managing inventory, pricing, and fulfillment over time. Designing with that future state in mind influenced decisions around structure, permissions, and consistency across the interface.

This project reinforced how important constraint-driven design can be. Mobile usage, repeat ordering, and future scalability weren’t just requirements to satisfy—they actively shaped the experience. Balancing speed with clarity, and simplicity with flexibility, became the core of the work. It was a reminder that good wholesale experiences don’t look like traditional e-commerce, and that designing for repeat, operational use requires a very different set of tradeoffs.