Digital menuboards are commonplace today, but in 2010/11, when we first started the challenge of designing a system for Dunkin’ Donuts, only a few pilot installations existed in QSRs (Quick Serve Restaurants).

Over the three year engagement, we took them from a five location pilot to a network-wide program of thousands including interior and drive-thru implementations.

From early stage research, including store observation, intercept surveys and an eye tracking study, we understood how merchandising, staff and the menu impacted a customer’s decision and began the design process to address the challenges that arose.

Simultaneously, we worked with product teams to standardize naming conventions and create a more structured lexicon that would address the main challenge of inconsistency across the network. With thousands of franchisees focused on their own businesses, corporate had lost control of the brand.

From the onset of the project, we controlled many of the variables and created to-the-second wireframe/storyboards that aligned to the average time-in-store, two minutes and thirty-four seconds, called wirestreams. These early efforts allowed us to understand the impact of the work that allowed for the refinement seen today.

The project’s early success led to its expanded scope as digital menuboards became a core requirement for all store redesigns and we partnered with multiple teams to enhance the in-store experiences as they expanded their footprint to the West Coast.

Role: Experience Strategy & Design // Creative Direction // Art, Copy & Code

Over the last several months, as the brand agency of record, we’ve been asked to undertake two significant projects–launch their six-year sponsorship program of Boston’s bikeshare program and create the brand and design of the experience for their 36,000 square foot Innovation Center.

Innovation Center:

While the healthcare industry is rife with red tape and legacy systems, our client wants to break away and become a market leader and, in order to do that, believe they have to tap into the community to make that happen.

Partnering with the architecture firm, we have begun to design the space, carving out an experience that allows for large scale events, research efforts from usability testing to focus groups, and creating collaborative workspaces for prototyping and startups.

The brand, Selur, acts as a focus for our design, helping to create an ethos that all will be able to feel. As we began the exploration we tested multiple concepts to see which one rose to the forefront.

The space is estimated to open in January 2019.

Role: Experience Strategy & Design // Creative Direction

BLUEBikes:

Formerly called Hubway, Boston’s seven-year old bikeshare program provides an alternative transportation option to the antiquated MBTA, connecting the city in a simpler and healthier way but has yet to reach critical mass.

After dozens of interviews with current members, our team discovered that biking in our city unlocked a certain feeling–the BLUEbike effect. This feeling was liberating and brought people back to being kids. It also provided the cornerstone for our work.

Over the last month we have exceeded all previous benchmarks, breaking 7,000 daily rides 21 times over a 41 day period (triple that of the entire duration of Hubway!).

More work is to come including some data visualizations and interactive displays in major transit hubs within the city to grow ridership.

Role: Experience Design // Creative Direction

The connective tissue of business within the city of Boston, the GBCC asked us to redesign their website. As we started our efforts it became clear that technology wasn’t going to drive recruitment and engagement.

Our strategy highlighted the organization’s strong leadership and latest initiatives to support and grow young professionals. As our discovery phase was wrapping up, we began to push them to rebrand. The previous branding focused on the word ‘Chamber’ and conveyed a feeling on exclusivity that wasn’t in-line with the organization’s new charter.

The new branding created a bold mark and infused the legacy of the city and organization with more vibrant and modern colors and art direction. Combined with some customization on the site and new programming, we helped them recruit new members and excite the broader business community.

This new work culminated in a full page ad in the Boston Globe that celebrated their new approach.

Role: Experience Strategy & Design // Brand Strategy // Creative Direction

As the digital and media agency of record for First Citizens Bank, we’re responsible for a lot of the marketing that the bank does.

In late 2016, we partnered with the brand agency and famed director Errol Morris to produce a new television campaign that focused on the pride that the bank associates had for their employer.

Coming out of that campaign, we began to think about ways we could make people feel a stronger connection with the bank and realized that the success of the campaign was not in the execution, but in giving voice to a group of people that loved to have conversations.

The pitch was simple, “Bank associates read the answers to FAQs.” That simple idea sparked a thorough research effort and our final skill, one that elevates the brands attributes and provides utility to all.

Role: Creative Direction // Experience Strategy & Design // Content Strategy // Copy & Code

URBN asked us to create a series of digital experiences that drove engagement and bridged the gap between in-store, online and mobile customer experiences.

After an initial strategy and research phase, we had identified several white space moments and set out to design the experiences that would address these needs. And a narrative customer journey was created to share with senior leadership.

We understood that associates took new jobs, moved back to school and may struggle with learning too many new processes. We knew that shoppers looked for statement pieces at Anthropologie, hunting for something unique and that BHLDN was becoming a brand in its own right. All this was baked into our final product.

Pilot tests and focus groups were held in one of their Philadelphia locations to validate the work and determine if and when elements would make it into URBN’s multi-year omnichannel roadmap.

As part of that effort, we worked with technology partners to understand the current system state and ultimately moved forward with several mobile design efforts including and iPad app and registry.

Role: Experience Strategy & Design // Creative Direction // Copy

The company’s flagship product, Roomba, launched with a companion control app for iOS (and later Android) but wasn’t gaining noticeable share in the vacuum category. Interest seemed to die once the early adopters got their model. We were challenged to understand how owners were using the application and uncover future potential features that would deepen engagement and broaden the company’s sphere of influence.

Over the course of three research (Ethnographic Interviews, Remote Survey and Moderated Prototype Testing) and one design phase we discovered which current features owners loved and what functionalities had not been tapped into yet.

Creative concepts explored personification, gamefication and visualization with surprise and delight moments as seen in the screens to the left.

The detailed findings paved the way for some of the latest features now available to owners. We’re most excited about the ability to get the map of your home.

Role: Experience Strategy & Design // Creative Direction // Primary Research

2017 was Jibo’s year, the product was finally launching after a long beta period and, in November, was named 2017 Invention of the Year by Time Magazine. The company asked us to help launch the product to the public with some videos for their site and some direct response materials.

Our concept tapped into the idea that the current Smart Home consumer was a futurist, excited about the potential of technology but often disappointed that it hadn’t arrived yet.

The vignettes of the owner playing with Jibo were able to remind the audience of the classic cartoon, The Jetsons, and highlight the distinct movement and personality that made it stand out from other smart speakers.

Role: Experience Strategy // Creative Direction

As one of five brands held by Ascena, the original challenge was to redesign their ecommerce experience within a shared management platform while making Lane Bryant stand out as a premium brand.

Alongside my partner, we oversaw the experience design, visual designs and content strategy while working with Lane Bryant’s brand agency in NYC and their first featured collaborator, Isabel Toledo to create an elegant and simple shopping experience.

Hours were spent to understand the brand, the unique challenges that plus-size shoppers face and how the ecommerce and holding company teams interacted with the website.

Our design is still in use today due to its premium design alongside a number of behind-the-scenes ehenhancements including dynamic promotions, realtime cross-channel inventory and the intuitive backend interface that we also designed.

Role: Experience Strategy & Design // Creative Direction // Content Strategy