Reinvent Adornment
Reinvent Adornment
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How to make a once trendy jewelry brand relevant again? This project helps the client deal with the tension between adapting to the fast-changing aesthetic trend in the consumer jewelry market and maintaining the signature of the brand's design. This project applies a wide variety of methods to capture the aesthetic nuances and achieve the goal.
Research questions
Research questions
What are the trends of the current adornment culture among Chinese urban middle class women?
What values and identities do they express through various forms of adornment?
What factors influence target consumers to shop, use, and stop using the product?
Research Process
Research Process
This research has relied upon a combination of research tools to better contextualize the use cases of different jewelries and participants' meaning making process. A variety of research devices are integrated into the one-on-one interviews to elicit action-oriented answers.
Semi-structured interviews
Semi-structured interviews
One-on-one interviews excavate rich narratives about the evolving relationship between women's self identities and their collection of jewelry at their different life stages.
Focus groups
Focus groups
Focus groups with participants and their social circles situates the jewelry purchase and styling in the relational context, highlighting how jewelries are used in different social settings.
Desirability analysis
Desirability analysis
Sample products from both the competitors and the client were shown to elicit participants’ response to the visual design of the product. The process unveils the gap between what designers want consumers to feel and what consumers actually feel.
Card sorting
Card sorting
Participant sorted pictures of a series of jewelry products into categories according to their preference. This exercise aims to discover participants' mental map of different jewelries and how client's products are positioned.
Shopping excursions (online and offline)
Shopping excursions (online and offline)
I followed participants’ shopping experience both online and offline to map out real life factors that shape participants’ aesthetic preference. With the dominant role of online shopping among younger consumers, I put a particular focus on the digital journey in this shopping excursion.
Deliverable 1: Consumer persona
Deliverable 1: Consumer persona
Persona #1
Lily is a recent 23-year-old graduate who is eager to jumpstart her career and gain valuable experience. She noted that her personal style had shifted from flashy and exaggerated outfits with cheap accessories to a more refined look with high-quality jewelry.
“Maintaining a simple style is often advisable when working in a professional environment with more senior colleagues or those with families. No Bling-Blings!”
“Maintaining a simple style is often advisable when working in a professional environment with more senior colleagues or those with families. No Bling-Blings!”
☹️ Frustration
Design appears too juvenile to fit in a professional setting
Brand fails to convey a premium value
😃 Satisfaction
A suitable gift to younger college cousins and friends
Persona #2
Meet Jasmine, a 30-year-old media professional who values creative self-expression. She enjoys staying up-to-date with the latest trends on social media and constantly reinventing her personal style to reflect her adventurous spirit.
“The modern princesses are not dolls – they are cool, playful, and bold, just like Black Pink!”
“The modern princesses are not dolls – they are cool, playful, and bold, just like Black Pink!”
☹️ Frustration
Design lacks innovation and fails to inspire her creative styling
Brand reinforces stereotypical feminine beauty and lacks a sense of modern touch
😃 Satisfaction
Classic pieces are vintage and collectable
Core design highlights a sense of playfulness
Persona #3
Irene is a 35-year-old motivated human resources manager who works hard during the day and likes to have fun at night. She enjoys experimenting with fashion and uses bold, sophisticated jewelry to switch up her style from day to night.
“As a woman, I do not want to be pinned down to one style. The fun and the power lies in the freedom to switch. A good piece of jewelry can empower me to engage in such style switching.”
“As a woman, I do not want to be pinned down to one style. The fun and the power lies in the freedom to switch. A good piece of jewelry can empower me to engage in such style switching.”
☹️ Frustration
Most design appears too juvenile, which make the brand unsuitable for her age
Recommendation:
Recommendation:
Leverage playfulness in the core design to cater to a broader audience who enjoy creative expression.
Young professional women strive to both blend-in in the professional world and to have space for self-expression in their after-work social spaces and digital spaces. Jewelry design and brand messaging should empower them in their seeking for multi-faceted self expression and code switching.
Deliverable 2: Consumer digital journey map
Deliverable 2: Consumer digital journey map
Emerging themes
Social-media platforms become the dominant search engine when consumers look for products and styling recommendation
Consumers view algorithm as a positive tool to shape their tastes
Consumers see content created by common users as more credible than that by influencers
Recommendation:
Recommendation:
Social media marketing is key to client's brand image building. Approaching common users for product promotion can help the brand to build credibility and a community of followers.
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