Sprint
Project: Store of the Future
Role: Creative Director
Sprint called upon Publicis Sapient to assist on several initiatives over the years. On one initiative, they asked us to spearhead an effort to transform the in-store experience by infusing it with digital interfaces. I led a creative team of approximately 20 from the Boston office to define, design and build 4 unique experiences that customers could interact with throughout the environment.
The project included creative concepts, wireframes, a brand-new visual design system, hardware selection assistance, detailed functional specifications and editorial guidelines for their Sprint’s internal teams. Although the timeline was aggressive, the team delivered on-time and on-budget.
Additional points:
The experiences were successfully launched in 2 flagship stores - Palo Alto, CA and Easton, OH
We created a case study video with key stakeholders from Sprint
While the first iteration of the experiences would be on the simpler side, we still needed to tease out the potential of what the new stores could showcase in terms of technology and interaction with users.
This particular idea was about infusing new technology with the large touchscreen space, attracting the user to engage while also promoting device features.
Feature: Big ideas
Creating a simple kiosk system for users to check in once they arrive at the store had its hidden challenges. While we needed the screens to be fun and easy, there were a lot of use cases to work through to ensure we had anticipated every possible scenario.
In addition, the wireframe packets also documented error states, modal details, edge cases, keyboard specifications, global notifications, and color considerations.
Feature: A case for use cases
Feature:
Complex functionality
A large-screen touch interface sounds like great fun to design for (and it is), but it was also quite complex. We had to plan for various ergonomic considerations like height and reach for the users, natural touch gestures and hand movement that wouldn’t feel like the interaction was dragging or going too fast.
These wires showcase some of how the behavior and space needs were documented, but extensive POCs (Proof of Concept) were also done on the actual devices to get timing and “touch space” just right.
Feature:
Large-scale visuals
Even though there is a lot of space, it had to be used sparingly. If the information was too dense the user couldn’t digest it because they were standing right in front of the screen, not several feet away.
Feature: Designing around existing assets
In this example, we had to leverage existing maps and couldn’t alter their design in any way if we were going to make our deadline. The controls of the map were an area that we were able to design and create solutions that really helped tie the existing maps assets into the overall visual system.
Feature:
A new visual system
While Sprint had an established visual system for their other properties, they needed a new one created specifically that would work in the store environment. After several iterations, we landed on a more playful, color block system that would entice users to interact and felt easy to use.
Since the space of the store was very bright and light, we leaned on yellow and black predominately to make the screens pop in the environment. This visual system also included creating new iconography, button styles, form elements and interactive states.