Ann Taylor
The Challenge
In-store or consumer-facing? At the time — that was the question. Ann Taylor had maintained a consistent look and feel, but the stores took on a lighter and softer tone than its print and digital counter parts. The design problem started with defining the product.
My Role
Mobile UI Designer, UX Support — Agency Environment
The Approach
After choosing the path for the product to be a tool for on-premise staff at Ann Taylor stores I took a number of trips to the Ann Taylor store and other similar retailers to take photos and observe customer and staff behavior. In many of these trips I would observe my girlfriend (now my wife) as she would go through her in-store experience.
To start thinking about the product:
Take the time to identify the users and the stakeholders. The users were Ann Taylor staff while the key stakeholder was the customer.
Collect photos and visuals of the stores to ensure that the visual design style looked like it belonged in store.
Test and gather feedback to truly understand how the product would be perceived and used in context.
Ann Taylor store front
Wireframe and annotations for customer history — "Client Profile."
Custom fabrication around iPad included a card swiper to allow customers to pay without waiting in line for the register.
Client Portal Flow
The Result
The solution was to design a streamlined, sophisticated in-store tablet experience that was focused on facilitating card transactions and expanding the typical shopping experience. It allowed customers to see items, colors, sizes, etc that were not available in store and make a purchase whether or not inventory was in-store or not. The app linked into the Ann Taylor POS systems and the web to make sales faster and to give their customers a tailored experience.