TLDR
In 2022 12 Storeez, a Russian clothing brand, decided to go premium and move most of its audience from web to the app. It ordered the refresh concept from Luch Studio. Two designers worked on it, the home screen was on the other one.
I led the research and the concept for the app refresh: broke down eight competitors, jobs and target audience, rebuilt the catalog and the product card. After reviews with the product owner and a 40-slide presentation for the stakeholder the concept was approved. The client built the final UI from it themselves.
What I owned
- Broke down eight competitors. The catalog and the card at each, plus the brand’s own site, app and Instagram.
- Laid out jobs and features. Shoppers’ goals and the structure of the catalog and the card, on two boards.
- Rebuilt the catalog and the product card. Five concepts, one approved, and a prototype of the catalog and the card.
- Defended the concept on 40 slides. To the product owner and the stakeholder.
The app before the refresh
By 2022 the app was alive, but most purchases still came through the website. 12 Storeez was going premium, and the interface was not keeping up.
Research: eight competitors, two boards
I went through the market in apps and on the web: 46 frames and 16 notes on two boards. I looked at how NET-A-PORTER, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Zara, Gucci, Loro Piana, Ralph Lauren, and VB solve the catalog and the card. Separately: the current app, the brand Instagram, and the customer profile.
A “whole look to cart” button and a separate materials block I found at none of the eight brands on the research boards. Three show a look in the photo together with the pieces in it.
What wasn’t working across three zones
- Product card. It does not look premium and the navigation is hard to read. People ask for the full look straight from the photo and sizing from measurements.
- Catalog. Categories are unsorted and mixed with collections; there is no sorting by product type.
- Home. It duplicates the catalog: the stories block is small, “New in” blends into everything else, and there are no “Coming soon” or “Selections” blocks.
There were five concepts, each with home, catalog, and product card. One was approved.
Catalog: categories, collections, product type
I sorted the categories and split them from collections, then added sorting by product type. Categories moved into tabs, and the image banner leads into a selection.
Product card: the full look and material quality
The features came from user requests: the full look straight from the photo, with no separate search, and the whole look into the cart. Sizing from measurements I showed on a separate slide. I relaid the card’s navigation: a full-screen photo, with the price and the add-to-cart button visible at once.
Material quality is the brand’s main argument. It used to be a line in the description; in the concept it is a block of its own in the card: composition and pilling.
Home: brand image instead of a second catalog
Home stops duplicating the catalog: a large stories block, accented “New in”, the assembled “Coming soon” and “Selections”, plus refreshed icons, components, and styles.
This zone was the other designer’s.
How the alignment went
Regular demos. Through the design work I showed and defended modules to the product owner and the wider team, so the client always knew what stage we were at.
The decision stalled. The stakeholder had trouble accepting the final option. I put together a 40-slide presentation, a problem, a solution, and screens for every feature, and after it the concept was approved.
The numbers come from Luch Studio’s public case. The studio and the client team landed on one concept out of five.
What reached release
The client’s team built the final UI without the studio. The catalog and the card in release follow my concept.