This was our Masters Final Project as a part of the Integrated Design Program at the University of Pennsylvania. My teammates on the project were Yoshi Araki, and Guansen Zeng.
We began our process with the goal of reimagining the retail experience. What pains do people have when they shop? What is their experience like, and what unmet needs to they have? And we wanted to start with an extreme type of user, men. Setting aside our own preconceived notions about shopping, we set out to learn more about the space, by observing people at the mall.
After observing guys in malls, shopping for clothing, we had some interesting questions.
- What to guys want out of a shopping experience? Personalization? Efficiency?
- How is the shopping experience different when they're alone or with others.
- What problems do men have when they shop?
We wanted to answer these questions but didn't wanted to rule out any bias they may have when they are actually shopping. So we interviewed guys in shopping malls but also went to other places to conduct interviews.
We had data from many different sources. Secondary research about existing technologies. Interview transcripts from a dozen individuals. Observations from watching people shop. Our next step was to take the information and converge on some key insights, and develop criteria so we can test out concepts.
To help converge, we looked for interesting and odd experiences. We looked for "life hacks" and work arounds to guide us to compelling stories. And it turned out, the most compelling story, was from a guy named Rob.
We caught Rob in one of our interview sessions in 30th Street Station. Waiting for his train home, Rob was wearing a striped button-down shirt, tie, and chinos, his attire mostly coming from JCrew and JCrew Factory. At first, our interview with Rob was typical. Rob was fashionable, but frugal, looking for deals. Didn't buy frequently, but always went shopping with his girlfriend. But then Rob mentioned that when he shops without his girlfriend, he always buys off a mannequin. Why's that?
It was because Rob sees the world differently:
Rob is colorblind.
When Rob shopped alone, he couldn't tell what matched. He would use apps to help him identify colors, but most of the time, he stuck to his girlfriend for clothing advice. However, Rob realized that retailers must put matching clothes on a mannequin, so when in doubt, he deferred to that set. But that choice confined Rob to whatever the mannequins were wearing, not what he wanted to wear. He had a problem matching, and solutions out there weren't really helping him. So we asked ourselves, "How might we help Rob find the right match?"