Sabonete
An Exercise in User Experience Design, Brand Creation, and Teamwork
It all started when…
My team challenged ourselves to redesign Aesōp. Aesōp is a well-known skincare brand with a mature aesthetic and loyal customer base; it is established, successful, and replete with opportunities for innovation: Aesōp ultimately falls short of capitalizing on the excitement and aesthetic of self-care, and struggles to resonate with Millennials and Gen Z.
We designed Sabonēte as a branch of Aesōp; our redesign would revolve around the quality, sustainable values of its parent company, but with a creative twist — Sabonēte would be driven by millennial culture, inspired by travel, and defined by a modern, personalized design.
To create Sabonēte, we broke our design process into two primary investigations:
Where are the pain points in Aesōp's user experience? How might we design a stronger customer experience that reflects the values of the company?
How might we rebrand Aesōp's to be fresh, compelling, and appealing to millennials?
Through extensive research, interviews, and prototypes, we defined and addressed three primary pain points that led us to our final UX product: a personalized online experience that retains the meticulous, high-quality experience of an in-store visit, complete with a youthful brand aesthetic that harnesses social media and travel culture.
The Research Phase
Before we started our design process, we spent some time familiarizing ourselves with the Aesōp, the skincare industry, and our competitor's strengths and weaknesses.
To gain a frame of reference for Aesōp, we went straight to the source: interviewing employees at the Aesōp store in Berlin, Germany. Here are our findings:
WHERE AESŌP HAS BEEN
Founded in 1987, Aesōp is based in Melbourne, Australia, and has store locations all over the world. Aesōp continues to be a global leader in high-quality skincare, elevated design, and meticulous attention to consumer needs.
WHERE AESŌP IS
From the moment that I stepped into the Aesōp store, every piece of my experience was curated and personalized. I took in the deep green tiles and made my way to the display of sunscreen on the right wall while an Aesōp ambassador gracefully glided across the store space and took his place by my side. He introduced me to antioxidants, the glory of parsley seed, and the nuance of moisturizer; all the while presenting an elevated, dignified, and incredibly special theory of skincare. It became clear that when I purchased the sunscreen at the end of our conversation, I was walking away with much more than just product — armed with niche information, the faint smell of parsley, and expensive packaging, I stepped out of the Aesōp store feeling dignified and elegant. I may have given my money to Aesōp, but at the end of the day, I had invested in myself.
While in the store, I spoke with the Aesōp ambassador about what the brand values meant to him: "The beauty industry likes to characterize and put people into categories; Aesōp believes it is more dynamic, like a personality. Skincare products are vast, and we believe in finding the formula that is just right for you."
WHERE AESŌP WANTS TO GO
Aesōp hopes to grow into their lifestyle and associate with fine dining, specialty events, and pop-up stores. Ultimately, as Aesōp becomes a more global company, they "want to reach out and become a more accessible brand."
The Interview Phase
My team and I spent the day at the Aesōp store conducting guerrilla interviews on a busy Saturday afternoon. We came with an open mind, our most confident attitude, and a list of strategic questions.Here are some of the most insightful quotes we heard:
"I like to physically come to the Aesōp store because both the product and the experience is exceptional. It feels special when I come"
"I don't come very often becausethere aren't many stores and this is pretty out of the way.""
"Part of the experience is coming to an Aesōp store and having the employees walk you through samples and your perfect skincare routine."
After comparing our notes from talking with the Aesop employees and customers, we realized there was a continuity between the industry and the user’s experience: they both emphasized how special in the in-store visit is.
With this in mind, we crafted our problem statement based on accessibility:
Users who are unable to visit the physical location for a consultation want to receive the same level of individual attention and personalization so that they can experience Aesōp's unmatched customer service and feel confident in the quality of their product without a schedule interruption.
The Defining Phase
We further extrapolated our problem statement to address three primary pain points:
Lack of online personalization: the website does not offer the individual attention and connection that the store fiercely embraces. This is especially notable considering the meticulous attention to detail and make-to-order skincare routine that Aesōp traditionally espouses.
Accessibility restrictions: location, convenience, and availability of Aesōp stores prevent certain users/groups from visiting a store, which can vastly change their relationship with the brand.
Difficulty retaining in-store advice: Aesōp ambassadors offer valuable insight into customer's specific skincare routines during in-store consultations, but that advice is largely inaccessible and lost once you leave the store.
The Ideation Phase
We started our idea generation with a minimum of forty sketches, each one meant to bring unique experience of an in-store consultation to life in an innovative, accessible medium.
Ultimately we landed on an online solution that we would prototype for Sabonēte, the branch of Aesōp we were rebranding to appeal to millennials: we would to expand the user's online profile to make the digital experience more comparable to an in-store visit. The sense of personalization would come from a detailed survey that would mimic the in-store consultation we had in the Aesop store. The site would remember your survey results and recommend new products that match your skin type. In this way, the digital experience is easily accessible and more customer-oriented as a whole.
The Prototype Phase
We wireframed the survey process and website homepage with Figma:
Our homepage underwent the most change. Our original idea was sleek and minimalist but it had little emphasis on the user and restricted opportunity for individualization. As our wireframing progressed, we became more sensitive to how our users would interact with the site; we wanted the homepage to be welcoming, informative, and personal.
The Graphic Design Phase
The brand of Sabonēte came to fruition throughout the UX design process — to recap, Sabonēte is a branch of Aesōp that makes exclusive travel kits and targets to the millennial cohort. Sabonēte's aesthetic is a compelling confluence of wanderlust, modern design, and influencer culture.
Our primary persona is 26, works 48 hours a week, and lives in the city. She needs a break from her active lifestyle and shops at Sabonēte for the effortless travel kits, personalized skincare, and beautiful design.
Our brand book outlines the persona, product, logo do's and don'ts, and the brand aesthetic:
The Reflection Phase
Over the course of the project, my teammate and I worked together to articulate our strengths and weaknesses — by the end, we achieved a powerful dynamic with clear roles, open communication, and effective workflow routines. I contributed to Sabonēte with the UX exercise, wireframing, and prototype stage of the process, while my teammate perfected the aesthetic, designed the visual brand, and led the brand book design. We complimented each other like two sides of a coin; my teammate helped bring my ideas to life, and I gave my teammate direction and strategy.
If we had more time, I would love to revisit the idea of personalization and push it one step further; for example, I'd love to design a social network to connect Aesōp customers with each other and skincare professionals, complete with "self-care check-ins" and other opportunities to build the brand/consumer relationship that is already so unique.
I had a blast working on this project, especially in the interview/empathy phase of our design process. I remember feeling like a light bulb went off over my head when I realized the potential of user-centered design on product management and brand development — centering the user’s experience allowed my team and I to design a solution that answered latent needs of students in an effective, accurate, and emotionally intelligent way.