Bonhams
Turning Organic Traffic into Actionable Engagement
Overview
I was hired by Bonhams to cover the maternity leave of the Senior UX/UI Designer for 6 months.
During this time I worked as the sole UX/UI designer within the Technology team and took on a wide range of projects, from undertaking minor updates to existing designs, to engaging with and resolving new challenges that arose through the evolving needs of the company and continual adjustment of the website, mobile app and other digital platforms used by staff.
Bonhams operates in a highly competitive international auction house market with multiple branches globally and serves high net worth individuals.
Problem
One of the key projects I worked on was redesigning how sold lot pages are approached on the website. When reviewing the data from Google Analytics, we discovered that a large number of users (exact figures withheld) were landing on Bonhams.com sold lot pages via organic search. However, only a tiny fraction of these users clicked on upcoming lots displayed at the bottom of the page.
Goal
We agreed that if we could increase engagement with upcoming lots, we could potentially boost registrations and bidding activity.
Impact
Increasing registrations and bids would pave the way for additional value generation for the company.
My Role
As the sole designer on this project, I conducted competitor and market analysis, synthesised insights and collaborated closely with stakeholders including web analysts and business analysts. I created wireframes and mockups, and presented my solutions to front-end developers to understand technical constraints and potential friction points.
Process
Understanding why users landed on sold lot pages through organic search was crucial. Users tend to search using general items or for product types, e.g. “sapphire ring”, with the intent to buy. However it meant users could end up on a lot page for an item meeting the search term that was sold years ago. This happens because search engine algorithms prioritise older pages with more historical traffic.
Example of a sold lot page on Bonhams.com
After extensive competitor analysis and collaborative sessions with the web analyst, we explored ways to increase engagement on a page that, for most users, was essentially a dead end. The solution: surface new lots related to the original keyword search. This tactic — commonly used in retail when an item is out of stock — offers users alternatives, boosting both engagement and potential sales.
M&S example showing how suggested items are displayed when stock is unavailable
I began designing screens that would preserve the original lot information while offering users something new. Since most users were arriving via generic search terms (e.g., “sapphire ring” rather than “Monture Cartier: Sapphire ring, circa 1985”), it was important to display as many relevant options as possible while maintaining the visual harmony of the page. Sold lot information is still valuable, especially for returning clients interested in viewing past auction items.
My solution included:
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A carousel at the top of the lot page (above the sold lot details), showing similar items pulled from our open-source search engine.
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A banner with a jump link informing users that the lot has been sold and allowing them to quickly navigate to its details further down the page.
After presenting the design to senior stakeholders, they highlighted another key business goal: increasing consignments.
There was already a consignment section on sold lot pages, but it sat below the lot information, making it easy to miss. I returned to the ideation phase and reworked the carousel to show four items, replacing one slot with a newly designed consignment card. This card featured a relevant image and a clear CTA to draw attention while maintaining visual harmony with the rest of the carousel. I titled the section “You may also be interested in...”, which aligned with the brand's culture and understated approach to customer engagement.
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Solution design: enhancing sold lot pages to promote upcoming lots and consignments
Conclusion
The final designs were well-received by stakeholders and are scheduled for implementation in an upcoming sprint.
Other key experience...
During my tenure at Bonhams, I worked on multiple other projects, including:
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Leading a redesign of the Homepage, Department Page, and Auction Calendar Page with a refreshed layout to better highlight recommended auctions, improve engagement, and increase conversion rates. I presented the designs to senior stakeholders, who responded positively.
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Redesigning a Sales Dashboard for the data analysis team to support internal decision-making.
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Continuing work on several long-term projects that began before my tenure, including design development for an in-house bidding engine, a registration engine, a new mobile app and a value management system.
In development sprints I have worked closely with front-end developers to fix errors or fill in missing design elements. My responsibility was also to uphold the existing design principles and to create new screens that stayed consistent with the current design system.
Overall Experience
Working at Bonhams has been a highly valuable experience, through which I have:
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Developed a nuanced understanding of the auction industry and serving high net-worth individuals and stakeholders.
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Collaborated closely with back-end and front-end developers, business and data analysts, alongside marketing, sales and IT security teams in a fast-paced environment where quality and attention to detail is prioritised.