In the beginning, there was research. In-store observations of the environment and customers, store manager interviews, traditional apothecary to contemporary takes on an apothecary. What we found was that health & wellness customers encountered too many choices at apothecaries and pharmacies. There was no clear information. The overwhelming environment and the unknowable products made people confused and reluctant to ask for the help they needed. Perhaps our pop-up could assist customers before they arrived with an app, and provide context and direction upon arrival. We couldn't approach the entire health & wellness market. In our research, we identified increases in corporate investment in health & wellness, yet no on-site apothecary/pharmacy was being offered. So we saw an opportunity. We conducted interviews with our new target customers: corporate campus employees. We walked them through two concepts represented in storyboards. Our participants showed us that they want a natural approach to health and …
The experience studio course is a key highlight of the DMBA program. The course helps us continue to craft human-centered design in business specifically focused on the design of user experience, service, and holistic interactions based around a 5-E framework (Entice-Enter-Engage-Exit-Extend). In the Fall 2018 experience studio course, the semester-long project was designed around “the future of retail.” Centered on the retail subject of tea, the team behind Alchemy Tea Lab developed a hypothesis, conducted research, developed multi-layer, high and low fidelity concept sketches, 3D AR/VR models, and multi-scale prototypes, built a full-scale “phygital” (physical and digital) retail pop-up and micropilot test, and analyzed the results to determine if we were successfully able to meet our challenge. The future of retail: tea challenge statement was: How might we… provide a fun and engaging experience that empowers our customers* to make informed, confident decisions around the purchase, preparation, and co…
Traditional banks are lonely, especially for college students who are first time bank customers. Modo is a radically transparent and social financial community supported by our Insta-famous, approachable experts. Modo offers a personalized platform that enables customers to share their financial data in order to collaborate with their peers on spending, earning, debt, and #lifegoals.
Micropilot Vision: The Giving Forest is a toy experience designed for children that allows them to donate a toy that has been outgrown. It is designed to be simple-to-navigate and engages children in a giving experience, with a store assistant to guide them towards receiving a memento of their visit afterwards. Positioning Statement: For parents and children who have too many toys, The Giving Forest is a toy donation space that teaches children about generosity. Unlike the overwhelming and over-stimulating toy stores of today, The Giving Forest is the antidote to consumerism: a simple and focused experience that rewards children for being generous and helps parents create a culture of giving at home. Results + Next Steps: The experience surprised & delighted, and revealed a bigger opportunity with the potential to take “giving” into other contexts. Further testing & validation will surround the toy donation moment, the pre-donation experience (how can parents talk to children about choosing the toy to do…
Our group spent the past four months meeting with Wild Rye, interviewing industry professionals, diving deep into the apparel production process, visiting a fashion design and apparel development company in Guangzhou, China and analyzing previous sales records. The greatest areas of opportunity for the company are in refining Wild Rye’s ability to forecast in two functions: 1) forecasting trends (to speed up the production process and deliver more predictable launches) and 2) forecasting their sales, which are currently based on rough estimates of 100% growth year-over-year across all categories. To develop solutions for trend forecasting, we analyzed their end-to-end product lifecycle, mapping out the entire process and finding areas of opportunity. After meeting with apparel manufacturer Ecico in China, we discovered multiple tools for improving Wild Rye’s PLM: right-sizing their supplier, ensuring contracts include discounting, and using trend forecasting software tools. Discussions and interviews with i…
As a digital retail display company, June20 combines tactile gratification of in-store shopping with a content-rich online experience. They are merging software and hardware to transform the brick-and-mortar retail space by giving retail customers what they want without leaving the store or using their phone, and providing retailers with robust and unique consumer data. After roughly one year of tradeshows and business development, the nascent company seeks to optimize its operations to facilitate scaling. June20’s VP of Operations, partnered with our team to create: One Year Cost-Benefit Analysis A summary of the fixed and variable costs for June20 compared to the benefits incurred from the retailer. Retail Product Selection Analysis A comparison of the feasibility of June20 displays for retailers, based off the products sold off the display. Multi-Year ROI & Margin Analysis An outline of how, based on supplier discounts, June20 determines the margin for each option and ultimately the return on investmen…
For weekly laundromat users who take advantage of the idle time between loads as a moment of calm in the midst of a busy day, Rinse ‘n’ Relax Laundry Room invites you to experience a delightful and personalized way to pass the time while your laundry is being done. Unlike regular laundromats, we’re enhancing your ability to maximize guilt-free wait time in the privacy of your very own laundry room, designed with your comfort in mind.
LiveE Fall 2018 final assignment: Strategic Foresight Workshop Proposal for the City of Bolinas"
Our Strategic Foresight class at California College of the Arts' MBA in Design Strategy (DMBA) program has completed a research study on the impacts and opportunities of CRISPR technology on the University of California, Berkeley community, which is part of your council district. We propose holding a pro-bono four hour workshop presenting our study findings of plausible scenarios involving CRISPR interest groups holding various agendas of regulation and de-stigmatization. The workshop of scenario storytelling, emerging issues exploration, presentation of a “future artifact”, and training in foresight techniques will occur at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. The practice of strategic foresight allows organizations and communities to shape more desirable futures, and has become a required component of strategic planning in organizations such as Shell Corporation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and Future. The study leaders are Cal alumni that have coll…
LiveE Fall 2018 final assignment: Strategic Foresight Workshop Proposal for the City of Monterey. A proposal by Liberty Kikerpill