ROLES
UX Research, Product Design, Visual Design
COLLABORATORS
2 Experience Designers
1 UX Researcher
DURATION
6 Weeks, 2023
TOOLS
Figma, After Effects, Illustrator
Simplifying Outdoor Adventures with AI
PROBLEM OVERVIEW
Shopping Online for Winter Wear is Hard
A lot of factors go into shopping for winter wear online. The North Face, despite being a leading outdoor wear and sports company, has a pretty confusing user experience. We found out that the key issues extends beyond shopping.
The North Face is expanding to
welcome everyday explorers.
The North Face is expanding beyond its athlete-first identity to reach everyday adventurers and lifestyle users.
Digital engagement is rising, but user confidence isn't
While digital traffic is growing, many non-athletes still feel lost online:
Decision Paralysis
“I don’t know if I am picking the right product for me”
Reliance on Borrowing
“I tend to borrow gear from friends if
I won’t use it often”
Travel Anxiety
“I usually get anxious about packing for trips”
Struggle with Product Care
“I don’t know how to take care of my products”
Interviews, Surveys, Observational Analyses, User journeys, Personas, Affinity Mapping, UX Audits
From UX audits, 6 interviews, and 40+ survey responses, we saw that people had problems with shopping, but even after that.
Enter Nova: An AI Assistant for all your adventure needs
Anticipated Impact
HOW DOES NOVA HELP
"I don't know what to buy"
Personalized Recommendations
Nova uses purchase history and user preferences to help find the perfect gear.
"I tend to borrow gear from friends"
Borrow Gear; Plan Trips Together
Nova makes it easy to lend gear and manage shared packing lists with friends
"I tend to borrow gear from friends"
Easy Rentals
Nova helps you rent gear from The North Face if you’re not ready to purchase yet.
“I don’t know how to take care of my products”
After Care
Nova helps you care for your gear by giving clear, expert guidance tailored to each product.
"Packing for a trip can be anxiety-inducing"
Smart Packing Buddy
Nova offers a guided packing experience for upcoming trips, with smart suggestions.
PROCESS
The Shift from Product to Service
Digital products now extend beyond selling to enhance the user experience. With The North Face’s purchase data and clear user pain points, AI-driven features can offer personalized guidance, simplify shopping, and improve digital performance.
Literature Reviews, Brand Research, Brainstorming
Why Conversational AI
Our research showed that users value conversational support. They often seek reassurance and guidance and from their ‘expert’ friend. Voice is intuitive, human, and future-forward, making The North Face more accessible to different users.
Prioritizing Features
Looking at the problem areas and the capabilities conversational AI brings us, we thought about what features Nova could offer
A Reliable and Expert Personality
Aligning North Face’s values with Nova’s features, we derived Nova’s Personality: A reliable, expert, and eco-conscious AI assistant.
A More Welcoming Brand Presence
Currently, the North Face palette is minimal, bold, and intimidating with a black, white and red palette. We expanded on this palette, introducing, young, energetic, fun colors derived from their product imagery in marketing materials.
We introduced new typeface, Space Grotesk to the visual system in combination with DM Sans. This balances out dynamism, modernity, and readability.
Designing the logo
With the form, we wanted Nova to capture the steadiness of a mountain. We landed on our finalized form after multiple rounds of iteration.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Shapes: Dynamic forms
Colors: Red, White
Styles: Modern, Geometric
Feel: Approachable, Inspiring
Final Form
An abstraction of a mountain
Arrow to signify resilience
Motion States
Chat Interface
Visual Differentiation for Cognitive Clarity
Simplifying the navigation bar
Fixing UI inconsistencies
OUTRO
What I learnt:
Figma is your friend
I got faster, more intentional, and more confident using it not just to design, but to think, prototype, and communicate.
Feature prioritization
The fast pace of the project highlighted the value of feature prioritization. Using an impact/effort matrix helped me focus on what truly mattered.
If I had more time, I would:
Conducted user tests during and after flow design
Tested the designed conversation flow with users
Rethink the iPad screen UI and interactions