Urban Interruption

project FOCUS

To create an “urban intervention”- an interactive design solution for Fashion Island, one of Newport Beach’s oldest outdoor shopping plazas.

about the client

Fashion Island is located in 401 Newport Center Dr, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Fashion Island is an elite shopping plaza facilitating large brands to sell to customers through impressive physical models, service models and interaction models.

executive summary

Creating an urban intervention that involves interaction would entail giving people increased personalization of their shopping experiences along with opportunity to learn information which would enable better decision making. Using a design lens, the two final pitches touch upon needs for customization, incentives and opportunities for quick-scanning new and relevant information regarding shoppers’ desired experiences. The final pitches focus on creating a 360-branding experience that takes a customer from attraction to extension to bring them back to experience a newer experience.

methodology

8 + hours of observations (in October and November 2017) | Personal shopping history with the plaza for over 2 years | User accounts of over 4 plaza regulars

Click Below to download a PDF taking you through the whole process.

Stage 1: Persona Development

STAGE 1: Persona development

A typical shopper at the plaza spends a considerable amount of money and places a high value on self-expression. Such a client would need to feel important throughout the experience. They would also desire to stay updated with the latest goods and services. They would appreciate VIP event.  Sharing their experience on social media would improve their status and sense of self. 

Creating a user persona helped me understand a typical shopper at Fashion Island and thus create a solution suited to their needs. 

Click below for a fun pop-up persona for Lauren.

Stage 2: Initial Pitch

stage 2: Initial Pitch

After figuring out the kind of consumers that typically shop at Fashion Island and their pain points, the next stage was to pitch possible solutions as urban interruptions for the business center. This is the initial proposal for three unique design solutions as an Urban Interruption for Fashion Island, Newport Beach. Out of these solutions, I chose explored 2 solutions with the help of feedback from my university cohort.

Stage 3: Solution exploration

STAGE 3: Solution exploration

AI POWERED IDENTITY-BASED USER EXPERIENCE

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING SCENARIO:

Lauren connects with the plaza wifi and downloads Fashion Island's app. The app allows her to browse, save and buy thousands of products and brands. She gets notifications regarding deals, services and local events.

Lauren walks over to Nordstrom and opens up her app. Through augmented-reality, she is able to notice what's new in the store, whats on sale or has its price drop, pair certain items together and find items that suit her shopping habits. Her favorite attribute of the app is that it allows her to connect with her favorite fashion influencer's feeds and find items they enjoy. This way, she gets all the information she wants before she even sets foot in the fitting room.

When she makes a purchase through the app, she gets points. She also gets points for sharing her experiences with her network or connecting other people with the app. The more she's involved, the better her experiences get.

After she leaves the plaza, she gets updates (depending on her personal settings) regarding on-goings at the plaza. She also gets VIP newsletters that invite her to special events.

Behind the scenes, AI plugs into various activities to continue to customize each user experience. Each purchase or click allows the algorithm to make decisions regarding user perception versus user behavior.

Stage 3: Solution exploration

STAGE 3: Solution exploration

IMMERSIVE BRAND EXPERIENCE

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING SOLUTION SCENARIO: 

Lauren finds out that there is a new immersive installation for Alexander McQueen this month. It is a projection of the late and great designer creating his best looks ever. As a part of this immersive brand experience, Lauren would get to meet the current stylist for Mc Queen, giving her social media opportunity to broadcast something valuable to the fashion world. The best part? Because Lauren is fully involved with Fashion Island, she got a VIP pass that allows her to try on and model a look hand chose by the famous stylist. A couple of hashtags and Fashion Island would give her a small incentive for any sales made through her platform.

Lauren goes to the shopping plaza and interacts with the massive electronic and mirror displays, taking hundreds of selfies with people who are just as passionate as her. She takes pictures with a projection of Alexander McQueen, created to appear real using the front-facing camera of her smartphone. Although the display only takes up 1000 sq feet of space, she had a myriad of opportunities to take unique and exciting pics to share with her viewers. When she leaves, she adds all the hashtags and carefully tags the right links so she gets paid for every click that leads to a sale. Not only does she make new fans, after the event, she makes enough money to buy herself a new outfit!

As a result of her interaction and word around social media, Alexander McQueen gets back-ordered for all their items on sale and through Laurens work, new followers, and trendsetters. Due to the time-sensitive (and photogenic) nature of these installations, plenty of people come to visit the plaza, giving the plaza an opportunity for added revenue and more word on the web. This symbiotic interaction allows every party in the equation to win.

Stage 4: Final Pitch

FINAL PITCH: AI POWERED IDENTITY-BASED USER EXPERIENCE

In this final design pitch for Urban Interruption at Fashion Island, Newport Beach, I explore how the AI powered identity-based user experience moves from attraction, to entry, followed by engagement, then exit and finally, extension.