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Made for the Real You
OVERVIEW
Team Synapse!’s project pitch for Loreal Brandstorm 2024 centers around an interactive pop-up store/event that includes three main attractions. One of them is Loreal Real You, an AR-centric design solution created from the intersection of the team members’ backgrounds: Data Science, Chemistry, and UX Design.
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This case study was conducted to create a scalable app that would serve both as a unique experience for online and in-person customers and create an opportunity for professional hair care to be more accessible and personalized for everyone.
ROLES
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UX Design Lead
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UX Research
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Interface Design
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Prototyping
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Interaction Design
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Wireframing
TIMELINE
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February - March 2024
MISSION BRIEF
For Loreal Brandstorm 2024, the mission brief is as follows:
“To reinvent the future of professional beauty through tech, reinventing the professional beauty experience for consumers all over the world, online and offline, to drive engagement, emotion, and sense of community”
OUR APPROACH
The mission brief also included three “playing fields” for contestants to choose from in creating their pitches, which were the following:
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Augmented Beauty Services
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E-commerce of the Future
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The New Point of Experience
Playing Fields
I factored this, alongside each team member’s background, during the brainstorming sessions to create ideas for the unique experiences that the Pop-up Event pitch would include.
Product Identification
For this project, I wanted a concept that would utilize AR technology to open the doors for accessibility and personalization of professional beauty services to the public; all the while helping drive up engagement, marketability, and both offline and online brand presence. From this, the idea of Loreal Real You was born.
DESIGN SOLUTION
The concept of Loreal Real You creates a user-friendly product that is meant to be interacted with in brand settings such as stores and events, but also has mobility and scalability in mind for remote access in devices.
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Ideation Notes
Loreal Real You’s key features were identified through multiple ideation sessions. These include an AR hair diagnosis that will determine the state and health of a user's hair, after which it will recommend the appropriate products and care ingredients for treatment. From this, users can either order the recommended products or customize their own using the recommended care ingredients from the diagnosis, which would then be shipped directly to their homes.
Main User Flow
This helps center the concept on the two playing fields of augmented services and a new point of experience, as well as integrating a new e-commerce model.
INTERFACE DESIGN
Loreal Real You’s interface is derived from screens of similar interactive experiences such as self-photobooths in malls and arcades. Although the service had scalability in mind, I utilized a mobile-first approach to ensure essential features were the primary considerations.
Paper Wireframes
Digital Wireframes
Consistent branding was ensured through the UI elements of the app, conveying the well-refined and sophisticated image of the Loreal brand through its signature gold and minimalistic palette.
UI Elements
Mockups
TESTING & ITERATIONS
A few usability tests were conducted based on the tight competition schedule, gaining insightful knowledge and feedback for the prototype.
Testing Feedback
Positive feedback included branding, UI/visual elements, and user flow. On the other hand, points for improvement called for the revision of certain layouts, and unnecessary elements.
Iterations
ENGAGEMENT THROUGH AR
Driving up engagement and accessibility through AR diagnosis by creating a personalized and inclusive solution. A smooth user flow serves to ensure a unique and reliable experience for users.
NEO CULTURAL EXPERIENCE
An intensive ingredient catalog and product customization feature are at the disposal of users. Through this, the professional beauty experience can be accessed right through the user’s fingertips.
DIRECT PRO BEAUTY
Personalized products curated through diagnosis and customization are readily made available to purchase through the order feature. Taking the professional beauty experience directly to users’ homes.
CHALLENGES
Due to the nature of the competition and our team’s set-up, time was a scarce resource for everyone. This roadblock was mitigated through careful planning and coordination between team members.
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Although we were able to overcome set-up-related issues and successfully build a working prototype, the limited time our team had impeded the developments we wished to pursue. These included mockups and prototypes for other screens such as tablets and laptops along with addressing certain feedback collected from testing.
MOVING FORWARD
This competition was a unique and eye-opening experience. Being able to collaborate with different people from other fields outside of tech was an amazing opportunity, and I am extremely proud of the work that Team Synapse! was able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. The journey equipped me with new profound experiences, helped refine both my soft and hard skills, widened my horizons in design, and pushed my creative processes to the limit. I would also take the opportunity to thank my wonderful teammate, Yeonu Jang and Juhyun Kim, for their contributions to our pitch, and their assistance in the conceptualization stage of the Loreal Real You Project.
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Moving forward, a few lessons are to be mainly considered. The competition’s timeline was very restrictive and it would have been better for the team to have established a clear-cut schedule to precisely plan our work times and meetings for more efficient development. User testing should also have been planned initially during the preparation stages to ensure an ample amount of participants for feedback and data.
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Overall, this competition was one of my many firsts, and the experiences I had with my team were fulfilling and motivational. The shortcomings we encountered will serve as lessons for a better and much smoother experience in the future.