When Samsung takes on a project, it's an exploration of innovation without boundaries. This journey led to the creation of Samsung KX, a project that challenged conventions and redefined the very essence of a retail store.
I was tasked with designing it's website and online booking platfrom.
Collaborators
Project Management : Sabrina Madiar
Product Design : Lee Merricks
Developer - Micheal Smithson
Introduction
Main Objectives
Samsung seek to push boundaries with everything they create. And when it came to a new retail space, their attitude was no different.Together, we envisioned the future of retail, embarking upon one of their biggest projects ever tackled and completely turning Samsung’s traditional offering on its head. Through extensive collaboration, pin-point production and with a customer-centric outlook, we helped bring to life a new-wave ‘retailtainment’ concept.
Wireframes
When tasked with designing the UX for Samsung KX, we encountered a key challenge. Our goal was to showcase a variety of events taking place at the venue, including free-ticketed and third-party-hosted events. The challenge was to seamlessly integrate these diverse event types while ensuring a consistent user experience for our potential customers.
To tackle this challenge effectively, we began by developing detailed personas and conducting user-tested surveys. Our approach involved keeping the initial stages of the user journey uniform and then branching into distinct event states based on the type of event being held. This way, users were shielded from the complexity of the backend, ensuring a smooth and consistent experience. Following event bookings, users received email confirmations effortlessly.
The outcome of our approach was a set of versatile wireframes designed to maximize component reuse. This not only reduced development time but also streamlined the process for posting future events.
The outcome of our approach was a set of versatile wireframes designed to maximize component reuse. This not only reduced development time but also streamlined the process for posting future events.
Concepts
At the project's inception, Samsung tasked us with conceptualizing key visuals that seamlessly fused their existing branding with the desired style for the KX website. While Samsung's brand guidelines were inherently rigid, we identified pockets of flexibility.
Our approach was to leverage the colors from their secondary palette, a departure from the typical Samsung.com color scheme. This choice immediately set a distinct tone while remaining faithful to the Samsung brand.
In parallel, we harmonized this palette with the already approved KX branding. With a solid foundation in place, we delved into crafting a series of key visual concepts.
In parallel, we harmonized this palette with the already approved KX branding. With a solid foundation in place, we delved into crafting a series of key visual concepts.
Concepts Continued: A Fully Animated Experience
In our quest to captivate and engage our target audience effectively, we made a strategic decision to incorporate dynamic motion and interaction design into our concepts.
The primary motivation behind this choice was to seize the attention of users, especially considering the limited attention spans prevalent among our potential Gen Z audience.
High Fidelity Booking Pages
For our event booking pages, we undertook a meticulous high-fidelity redesign. In this process, we seamlessly integrated our branding, creating a captivating user experience. One distinctive element was our choice of a dark color scheme, typically reserved by Samsung for their cutting-edge flagship products. This bold choice added a touch of sophistication and modernity to our booking pages.
Colors That Grab Attention
To ensure our booking pages were visually appealing and attention-grabbing, we incorporated bright and vibrant colors from both the KX and Samsung secondary color palettes. These colors were strategically applied to key visuals and event thumbnails, infusing a sense of contrast and vibrancy into the pages. Our aim was to consistently provide users with eye-catching elements.
Consistent Style, Bespoke Pages
While each booking page needed to function as a standalone, bespoke entity, we also maintained a thread of consistency throughout the design. This consistency was achieved through the unified use of branding elements and colors, ensuring a cohesive and memorable user experience.
Prototypes
During the project, we diligently crafted a range of prototypes that encompassed diverse inputs, outputs, and error states.
These prototypes were essential in evaluating their performance. While the concept of booking tickets may seem straightforward, the complexity arose from the three distinct event booking types we previously mentioned. It was imperative that we fine-tuned the user flow to ensure a seamless and satisfying experience for our users, particularly given the attention span considerations of our Gen Z audience.
Component Design
Component design empowered us to curate dynamic online and event experiences tailored to a diverse range of user and client needs
We recognized the importance of consistency and scalability across the platfrom. To address this, we crafted a versatile array of components with reusability in mind.
we created a dynamic video header. This feature served as the focal point of event pages, capable of showcasing a range of content formats. From informative tutorial videos to engaging vlogs and live streams, our video header provided a visually compelling experience for attendees.
we created a dynamic video header. This feature served as the focal point of event pages, capable of showcasing a range of content formats. From informative tutorial videos to engaging vlogs and live streams, our video header provided a visually compelling experience for attendees.
Enabling Live Streams
In response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we swiftly adapted our platform to meet evolving needs. We integrated live streaming capabilities into our video header, enabling users to participate in events from the comfort of their homes.
This solution not only maintained connectivity but also fostered a sense of community amidst physical distancing measures. We also enhanced the user experience by seamlessly integrating e-commerce functionality into our platform. Within the video header, users could easily browse and purchase products featured in live streams, streamlining the path to purchase and driving engagement.
Final Designs
The final website had a store, a content library and full event booking sytem for offline and online events.
The homepage incorporated a 3D interactive carousel, showcasing the latest events and content published to Samsung KX. Instead of a static display, we wanted to give users an invitation to explore and interact.
Our dedicated content hub organized into distinct categories such as lifestyle, music, and creative, helped create a journey of discovery. Users could easily find content tailored to their interests, making every visit to Samsung KX a personalized and enriching experience.
Our event section offerd a curated selection of upcoming events categorised by type – whether in-person, online, or live. It's not just about attending events; it's about finding the perfect experience, tailored to one's preferences and lifestyle.
Throughout it all, our vibrant design aesthetic shines through. Utilizing the secondary Samsung color palette, we've created a visually striking experience that's distinctly Samsung KX. It's bold, it's dynamic, and it's unmistakably us – standing out while staying true to the essence of the Samsung brand.
Accessibility was also key. Whether you're browsing on desktop or mobile, the Samsung KX website was designed to be fully responsive, ensuring a seamless and optimised experience no matter where you are or what device you're using.
Our dedicated content hub organized into distinct categories such as lifestyle, music, and creative, helped create a journey of discovery. Users could easily find content tailored to their interests, making every visit to Samsung KX a personalized and enriching experience.
Our event section offerd a curated selection of upcoming events categorised by type – whether in-person, online, or live. It's not just about attending events; it's about finding the perfect experience, tailored to one's preferences and lifestyle.
Throughout it all, our vibrant design aesthetic shines through. Utilizing the secondary Samsung color palette, we've created a visually striking experience that's distinctly Samsung KX. It's bold, it's dynamic, and it's unmistakably us – standing out while staying true to the essence of the Samsung brand.
Accessibility was also key. Whether you're browsing on desktop or mobile, the Samsung KX website was designed to be fully responsive, ensuring a seamless and optimised experience no matter where you are or what device you're using.
Results
100k+
Unique vists per month
300+ Events
in the first 3 months
5%
of all samsung.com/uk sales made via SamsungKX