Completely redesigning the music store experience as a concept project while interning at Continuum was one of my favorite projects and a huge learning experience. With two principals acting as the client, I conducted research, identified customer archetypes, developed a brand persona and name, mapped a customer journey, and designed each of the touchpoints in the experience. I finished with a presentation of a 50 page proposal book detailing each of the elements of my design, including shopping system, brand, architecture, furniture, and scent.
I developed a brand persona that was knowledgeable, friendly, and eclectic, and created a shopping experience to reflect that. Named “The Arb”, the store was all about interaction between people and music. Touchscreens and scannable “arb passes” allowed easy and fun browsing. Reconfigurable, connecting furniture played shared and shuffled music. An in-store music collection that was stored in the walls and tabletops helped customers feel a real connection with the place and the music.
It was a challenge to work independently on such a large project, but very enjoyable as I found myself deeply interested in every aspect of the process. I learned a lot about user-centered experience design which has influenced my thinking in terms of both my computer science and visual arts work.