DEFINING BRAND AND PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES

CoDesigning the future look/feel of a new workwear brand and line of products

Client
Workwear Retailer

Company/Partner(s)
Stratos Innovation

Approach
Exploratory/Generative Design Research, CoDesign Workshop

Methods/Tools
Priming Homework, Competitive Research, Projective Tools and Frameworks, Co-facilitation

OBJECTIVE

To define the core expectations (look/feel) for a new, emerging workwear brand and aligned design criteria for a new line of products (boots, gloves, pants, etc.) that would better meet the needs of oil riggers, construction workers, and maintenance/repair workers.

OUTCOME

An insights report that communicated the specific needs/design criteria for each worker-type, as well as a holistic attributes/features model of core needs/expectations across all worker-types. Alignment in how the key elements of the look and feel of the brand could be reinforced in the design decisions of the product line.

PROCESS

As lead design researcher for Stratos, my role was to understand the working conditions (external environment and pain points), along with physical pain points of these three types of workers (working in mostly hot/humid climates). Priming homework was used to capture independent needs prior to the CoDesign workshop. Workers and members of the internal design team were brought together, next, to learn user needs/pain points and collectively reimagine how a future brand and line of workwear products should look and feel.

Bringing the workers (representing all 3 categories) into the workshop, with the internal design and marketing team, left a lasting impact on both the users and the client. The workers felt their pain points and ideas were heard and the internal team gained a greater awareness and empathy for what the workers experience, not only in the field, but with a brand (from initial purchase and replacing torn gear, to deciding on the next purchase).