Project Overview
Public Locomotion's Arc is an everyday trainer with a wide toe box, zero drop and a full-zip upper. It also accommodates FeetFormers: removable toe spacers that attach to the insole. Customers can wear the Arc on its own or add toe spacing when they choose.
That choice was central to the online experience. Beyond the shoe itself, the site also had to explain complementary toe socks, sizing, movement research and how to set up FeetFormers. The store needed to show how those pieces fit together without turning the buying journey into a manual. Each of those questions mattered, but they could not all compete for attention at once.
Public Locomotion's footwear concept and movement philosophy set the direction. UXphoria worked on the content, buying journey and Shopify implementation, connecting product discovery with the practical details customers would need after purchase.
Platform: Shopify | New ecommerce launch
Scope: Shopify UX/UI, Shopify development, Ecommerce information architecture, Product page design, Mobile ecommerce UX, Product discovery, Content structure, Selected brand support
Start with the Arc
We structured the store with the Arc as the foundation of the range. FeetFormers and All-Day Toe Socks were presented in relation to the trainer, with each product's role explained. The homepage makes that order explicit: start with the Arc, then explore what can be added around it.
On the Arc product page, "Complete the Arc" brings complementary products into the same purchase context. Product media, size guidance, specifications and returns information remain accessible around the shoe decision. The page has to explain both what someone is buying and which additions are optional.
The important distinction was between a connected range and a compulsory bundle. FeetFormers belong with the Arc, but the Arc does not depend on them.
Give research its own place
Movement research matters to Public Locomotion, but the product page still has to help somebody buy a shoe.
We connected the product explanation to a dedicated Research That Guides Us page. The Arc page provides a "Research-Backed Design" entry point, while the research page has room for Public Locomotion's takeaways and the studies it references. Shoppers can explore that context without making the full research story a prerequisite for choosing a size.
This gave the two pages different responsibilities. The product page explains the shoe and supports the purchase decision. The research page explains the studies and thinking behind Public Locomotion's approach, including its acknowledgement that aspects of foot shape, gait and movement are still being studied. The research perspective remains the brand's; UXphoria's contribution was how it was organised and connected to the shopping experience.
Mobile needed its own information hierarchy
Purchase controls, sizing, feature explanations and complementary products all had to work on a smaller screen. The mobile design therefore included dedicated purchase, size-guide and product-story states, with attention to when each piece of information appeared.
One specific decision concerned the "Built Around Your Feet" section. The mobile design showed the feature explanations directly rather than requiring shoppers to expand each one. It also specified that the feature stories would progress in sequence as the user scrolled.
The intention was to keep those explanations in the reading flow, so shoppers would encounter important product differences as they explored the page rather than having to guess which panel to open. That was a choice about the visibility of product information, not simply a way to make the layout shorter.
Make room for setup and use
FeetFormers require more explanation than a product photograph can provide. Placement depends on the wearer, and setup includes positioning the spacers before attaching them to the insole. The dedicated How to Use Your FeetFormers guide combines a short video with illustrated placement steps.
The guide also covers how the spacers should feel, gradual adjustment, activity limits, getting in and out of the shoes, and care. It distinguishes walking and everyday wear from running or high-impact activities, covering the product's limits as well as its setup.
We treated that guidance as part of the ecommerce experience. The product page introduces FeetFormers and their relationship to the Arc; the guide gives those instructions the space they need. The aim was to answer practical ownership questions without making the main sales page carry the entire instruction manual.
Carry the decisions through to Shopify
UXphoria's role continued from research and content strategy through design and development. Our team wrote the site copy, designed the desktop and mobile experience, produced graphics and a product motion video, and completed the full Shopify implementation.
The Shopify build covered the wider store: product discovery, collections, product pages and supporting product education. The finished store connects the Arc and its complementary products with research and setup guidance, while keeping the trainer as the starting point.
No verified post-launch performance metrics are available for this case.
