Role
Senior Product Designer

Duration
February 2023 → May 2024

Following a five-year hiatus, Phoebe Philo made her fashion comeback with her eponymous brand, adopting a digital-only strategy. The October 2023 launch marked a pivotal moment in fashion history, earning recognition as one of the year's most significant events by media outlets.

All photography from phoebephilo.com
Branding by Peter Miles
Creative Direction by Christiane Juergensen
Art Direction by Work&Co
Build and technical support by Alpenite

phoebephilo.com is currently available on three store fronts for UK, EU and US clients.

Backed by LVMH, the business model for the fashion house —direct to consumer and digital first— aims to minimise the carbon footprint of the brand. Given the exclusive focus on digital platforms, leading the user experience for this project has been a great responsibility and a joint effort with the digital team and our solution partners.

Product page was intentionally designed as a pristine canvas, allowing Philo's iconic styles to speak for themselves.

The platform had more than half a million unique visitors on the first day, with almost all styles selling out in less than 24 hours.

Product page on mobile

Product page on desktop

Product details and 'Add to bag' in action

My responsibility as the Senior Product Designer from February 2023 throughout the launch in October 2023 and onwards, has been to lead end-to-end design process and to own the user flows that shape the luxury experience across entire product cycle.

Market Research & Analysis
User Flows & Journey Maps
Wireframes & Prototyping
Design System & Component Library
Responsive UI Design
Documentation
QA & UAT Testing
Feedback & Iteration
Accessibility Considerations
Performance Optimisation

Bag view on mobile

I led the user journey mapping process, creating user flows that delivered a cohesive digital experience, while establishing a UI component library to streamline the development handover.

'Checkout flow' on Figma

Design system and specs on Figma

My team managed the development and implementation with our dedicated developers, ensuring seamless collaboration and attention to detail. Daily calls and weekly catchups kept communication active, while post-sprint recap sessions allowed us to review progress, tackle challenges, and refine strategies.

Full stack flows were mapped out in draw.io, while user journeys also fleshed out for different breakpoints in Figma.

Communication with the development team was tracked with a ticketing system.

One of the significant challenges encountered during the development was the anticipation of an overwhelming interest in the products. While limited inventory added an element of exclusivity to each piece, strategic UX decisions were necessary to minimize any potential disappointment.

Once an item is entirely sold out, a distinctive red overlay is applied to the product.

After launch, one of the key improvements was the addition of the 'Notify me' feature, enabling clients to join a mailing list for sold-out products to be informed once they're back in stock.

Case study is available upon request.

'Notify me' feature is available for sold-out SKUs down to size level.

Recognising the importance of personalised and immediate support for luxury clients, the implementation of live chat aimed to enhance the overall customer experience by providing real-time assistance, guidance, and exclusivity.

In ensuring a luxurious and unintrusive user experience, we deliberately avoided the use of disruptive live chat pop-ups, and instead incorporated discreet live chat links strategically placed where assistance might be required.

Ayşe D. Aba

Product designer from London.

© 2024