Retail Management & Experience Training

After years of working full time to pay for my fashion design education I was asked to relocate to the UK for a year to set up, hire, manage and educate all the staff for 6 new counters in department stores across the UK for Luxury retail brand Diptyque Paris.

Looking back on my time in retail and training, I see how User Experience played a pivotal role, the value of understanding people, observation skills, the ability to listen and the art of making customers feel comfortable.

Our job was to create an experience made to measure for each client, dubbed a “selling ceremony” understanding when they want help and when they don’t. Reading their body language and feedback to help them select a scent without having to run through every single option.

Fashion Design

Circumstance moved me to Canada where I pursued fashion design. Designing for clients means that when you’re making made to measure tailored items, there is no choice but to consider everything about the client.

Where will they be wearing it? What do they need to do in it? What will the environment be? How long will they wear it for? How do they want to wash it? Does it fit them and their needs?

These questions enable the designer to create an experience for the client where they can put on the item and not have to worry about anything. When designing for mass production it is actually the same process, we as designers must ask ourselves all the same questions in order to make a product that the client will enjoy and come back to again and again.

Technical Support

Later working at Shopify in Toronto I expanded my knowledge of digital products and gained so much insight into how the internet and businesses thrive together. Much of day involved speaking with Merchants and live troubleshooting, identifying and resolving their individual technical issue, all while getting to understand the merchant’s business goals and finding ways to help them grow and meet those targets.

UX Research

As a UX Researcher I merge all the skills I’ve developed throughout my career. Understanding the user is about, satisfying their needs, what matters to them, and how I can advocate for them. Asking myself, how can I create something they will love, use and be at ease with?

I attach the same attitude to my digital work as I did to fashion and retail, creating loyalty and happiness is good for the user and ultimately good business too.

Double Diamond Process

Design Methodology

I use the double diamond process to manage my my core discipline of design thinking. This allows me to explore an issue broadly (divergent thinking) and then narrow my thinking to a focused issue. (convergent thinking)

DISCOVER, DEFINE, DEVELOP and DELIVER.

My Design thinking method allows me to design for real users and provide solutions to solve their real life problems, empathising with their behaviours, feelings and thoughts.

Thank you for wanting to find out more about me, I really appreciate it, if you’d like to get in touch please don’t wait around I would love to hear from you.

Check out my linkedIn here to see the nitty gritty of this story!

See my work here