UX Design
NIKE Retail Portal
CASE STUDY
About the project
In the retail industry, brands strive to keep noticeable. Best brands know the importance of polishing their visual style and in-store experience. In a global scale, brands have to communicate thoroughly with their local designers, architects or project managers, in order to make sure that stores are matching their concept guidelines.
NIKE GLOBAL asked EYELEVEL to take the challenge.
The main scope of the project was to manage a smooth concept implementation in EMEA and APAC, including fixture production, assistance and providing instructions.
In the scope of this vast project, we created an online environment able to keep global retail actors up to date with store concepts.
As a Concept Owner, I was given the responsibility to design workflows, team processes for development, production and roll-out implementation. Realising that a customized tool would solve many issues, It is almost by accident that I became responsible for designing the app.
Target Audience
Nike Project Managers
Designers/Architects
Duration
2 months
Tools
Whiteboard
Adobe AI
The problem
For global brands, there is a complex effort made to keep the consistency of their culture and identity in the physical space or retail environments. In every country, local actors deal with different conditions, culture, and they needs to translate a global guidelines into local realizations, mirroring the brand values. In addition, store designs have to be timely updated to follow trends and marketing campaigns. In order to create amazing new stores while matching the brand rules, designers are missing trainings and clear guidelines.
The solution
The goal is to create an app that helps people design their stores accordingly with the NIKE Global design guidelines. The app will focus on different aspects of the design phases (layout design, sport categories, fixtures organisation, store installation and merchandising). It will educate users and allow them to quickly find corresponding sets of items, store furniture, or download their assembly guidelines.
User Research
Facing the difficulty to meet in-persons with Nike project managers from around the world. We jumped on an opportunity and asked to participate to one of their company workshop set in Paris. We were offered a 2 hours slot.
With a simple whiteboard, I could constructively gather goals, pain-points and feedback from 7 project managers. While some of them were long time designers, some were fresh newcomers.
…insights?
This unique workshop was a challenge limited in time. My biggest surprise was to realise that our clients had in fact very different profiles, or backgrounds (architects, project managers, marketing specialists, Merchandisers…) Luckily, despite the variety, the main expectation was clear: They all wanted to be on the same page with NIKE.
Some users met each other for the first time this day, but the atmosphere was relaxed, dynamic, and many of them positively shared their own experience, ideas with others. Finally, their frustrations and goals were clear enough to start working on the design.
Empathy map
User’s Journey with the new portal
Information architecture
Final Screens
Recollect
CHALLENGES
Since this was one of my first project as a UX designer, handling such a detailed project was a challenge in itself. considering the strict timeline, I was given almost no option to analyse user’s goals and had to push for a workshop opportunity. Getting the workshop done was quite thrilling, especially in front of high profile managers from NIKE.
WHAT I LEARNT
Give my best as a designer when you design EXPERIENCE, it is essential to understand deeply your users and the idea you’re working on.
Connect the dots. Having a background in architecture myself, I could grow an empathy with our users, which served me along the full design process.
Feedback is important, but… if you really believe in your ideas, don’t give up on them.
Don’t do too much…. LESS is MORE.
TEAMWORK. In fact, the team spirit was the core of this project, I am not only grateful to have been able to work on such an exciting project, but also for the support, experience, understanding from people around me who shared the same vision.