Namuun Enkhtaivan

Stumble & Relish Brand Refresh

Overview

A student team was tasked with modernizing the brand presence of Stumble & Relish, a boutique in Evanston, IL, through a comprehensive brand refresh across web, social media, and interactive advertising platforms.

Image taken from Map Quest

Goal

To refresh the boutique’s brand while maintaining its core values of creativity, authenticity, and adventure, with a focus on attracting a more diverse user base.

Role

Website Revamp Team Member: Worked on the redesign of the boutique’s Shopify-powered website, focusing on user experience, aesthetics, and consistency with the new branding.
Lead Researcher: Conducted persona development, user research, and competitive analysis to inform the redesign.

Challenge

Stumble & Relish needed to modernize its online presence to attract new customers while retaining the boutique’s loyal base. The challenge was to create a cohesive digital experience that reflected the boutique’s unique personality while also appealing to a broader audience.

Approach/Research Methods

Personas: Created detailed personas to guide design decisions, focusing on key user groups like local moms and young students.
Service Safari: Conducted field research at three similar boutiques to understand competitive branding and customer engagement strategies.
Buzzword Bracket: Collaborated with the team to identify core brand characteristics and align design with those values.

Design Process

Wireframing: Created low-fidelity wireframes to map out product layout, navigation, and visual hierarchy for the website revamp.
Website Research: Conducted research on Shopify websites to ensure the redesign was aligned with current e-commerce best practices.
Branding: Collaborated with the social media and interactive advertising teams to ensure visual consistency across platforms.
Prototyping: Built interactive prototypes of the website for client review.

Tools

Figma: For wireframing and prototyping the website.
Adobe Illustrator: For creating visuals and graphic elements for the website.
Pinterest: For mood boarding and visual research.
Shopify: For implementing the final design on the boutique’s existing platform.

Design & Development
The website revamp focused on improving the user experience by simplifying navigation, updating the color scheme, and ensuring the branding aligned with the new identity created by the team. The website redesign aimed to create a seamless shopping experience while reflecting the boutique's core values.

Outcome

Delivered a revamped website design that was more user-friendly, visually appealing, and in line with the refreshed brand.
Enhanced the overall customer experience, making it easier for new and existing users to browse and shop online.

Key Learnings

Client Communication: Learned the importance of clear communication with clients, especially when working on a brand refresh.
Team Collaboration: Collaborated effectively with the social media and AR teams to create a cohesive brand identity across platforms.
Design Systems: Developed a consistent design system that tied together the website, social media, and interactive elements.
Brand Strategy: Gained experience in aligning brand values with design choices to create a cohesive, engaging user experience.