EXPERIENCE
THE POWER OF USER FEEDBACK INCITING CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
Users started petitions on change.org to try and influence Ravelry to revert back to their previous design, in the hopes that they would be able to access their patterns and projects again without negative physical repercussions.
Again,
Ravelry
didn’t
respond. Finally, in July of 2020, almost 2 months after the redesign, Jessica, one of Ravelry’s founders, responded with a
WRIT TEN BY: DEB GELMAN,
EVP, EXPERIENCE DESIGN, BOTTLE ROCKET
blog post, acknowledging the deficiency in their response, stating “I first would like to apologize for any stress and uncertainty that the Ravelry site redesign has caused in
For those of us who knit, crochet, spin,
However, it was Ravelry’s disregard for
what is already a difficult year. I am so sorry
and weave, Ravelry is the definitive global
accessibility that ultimately lost a chunk of
that our actions, or inactions, have made
community of like-minded crafters sharing
its avid followers. In June of 2020, Ravelry set
anyone in the community feel unheard. We
ideas, patterns, techniques, and stories.
about redesigning its web site, creating what
acknowledge that our responses up to this
The largest repository of crochet and
amounted to an inaccessible experience
point have been insufficient.”
knitting patterns in the world, Ravelry’s
for its neurodiverse users. People with
message boards, projects, and yarn lists are
migraines, vertigo, and seizure disorders
unparalleled, bringing together fiber artists
suddenly found themselves unable to use
across the globe.
the site. Called “New Ravelry,” or “NuRav,”
Now, you may be asking yourself, how broad a reach could a website for knitters and crocheters have? Well, as of March 2020, Ravelry had 9 million registered users. NINE. MILLION. That’s HUGE for a niche crafting
the sharp color contrast, motion, and font changes caused neurological responses in some users, leading to an outcry among
March on Washington in 2017 and promoting “craftivism”
in
causes
promoting
the
progressive agenda. In 2019, Ravelry posted in its blog that it would ban all expressions of
support
for
then-president
Donald
Trump and his administration, stating “We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy. Support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy.”
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usable and accessible. It took the voices of millions of crafters to invoke change.
see in 2022 and beyond, a change we are
by the new design and fixing them or rolling
and crochet patterns ahead of the Women’s
different “modes” to make their experience
This is representative of a change we will
13,674 in global internet engagement .
stance, avidly promoting the Pussyhat knit
design, allowing users to choose between
original design. Instead of acknowledging the issues caused
Ravelry has been quite vocal in its political
Ravelry made significant changes in the
loyalists for Ravelry to change back to its
site. In fact, as of this writing, Ravelry ranks
Not one to shy away from controversy,
But it wasn’t until February of 2021 that
back to the original design, Ravelry founders turned off comments on both Instagram and on Ravelry itself, creating additional concern and confusion.
already hearing requested from clients and partners – allowing customers to either select from a curated set of experience frameworks, or allowing them to create their own from a set of offerings, to cultivate the most meaningful, usable, intuitive, and delightful experience that works for them, as consumers and as humans.
