MPA Lookbook
In 2022, I was hired as an upcoming UX Designer to help innovate and develop user experiences of clients of the company, Mike-Paul Atelier.
The idea of Mike-Paul, the designer, was to create something to mend the gap between the designer and the client that he experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. After a few sessions of brainstorming, we agreed that lookbooks would be a great way to connect with the client and help enhance the atelier experience.
A lookbook is a collection of photos that showcases different styles or looks to present the designer’s vision. In this case, the lookbook is the designer’s gift to the client and a symbol of the client and the designer’s journey together as a collaborative effort between the two.
Project Type: Product Design
Software used: InDesign, Figma, Photoshop
The Problem
Problem Statement
In today’s atelier experience, it has become more apparent that the need to connect with people on a digital level is a must to create better relations with clients. This can vary from an interactive website, social media, apps, and other forms of media.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mike Paul Atelier had to innovate and create a system that allowed the designer to connect with clients in an online yet personal manner. Upon having tons of chats and video calls with clients over the course of the pandemic, it was found that clients preferred being able to have visual material to help them identify their preferred choice of fabrics, silhouettes, and styles of suits.
With clients expressing their want for a means to explore their style options in more visual ways, lookbooks were the natural course of action that the team took to fulfill this.
With this in mind, I created a how might we statement:
How might we help MPA clients have a better atelier experience in an online atmosphere?
The Process
To create these lookbooks, we went through multiple sessions of brainstorming and iterating the design to come up with a lookbook that could express the designer’s vision to the client. For this, I mapped out the difficulties clients experienced in an online environment in regard to fittings and discovery calls.
*Discovery Calls are 15-minute calls with the clients wherein we get to understand and learn more about what the client wants from us and what we can do about it.
Pain Points
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It’s too hard to visualize the clothing with the fabric without seeing it physically
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I sometimes get lost when the designer explains different styles of clothing as someone with little knowledge of the topic
Motivations
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I would like the experience more if I could be engaged in the storytelling of the designer with a visual aid to accommodate it
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Getting my clothes made here got me more interested in learning about fashion
Behaviors
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It’s nice to hear the designer talk about creating my outfit
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I like the storytelling that the designer does when I give ideas of what I want my outfit to be
How Might We Statement
From the information gathered by attending these sessions, I restructured the how might we statement to:
"How might we help MPA clients have easier access to the atelier experience in a digital atmosphere whilst maintaining the personal aspect?"
I created a proto-persona based on the target group that expressed the pain points, behaviors, and motivations to better encapsulate the user and their goals.
Persona
Lookbook Organization
In order to create the lookbook, I needed to map out the pages that could be in it while maintaining the needs of the users in what they would want in a digital atelier experience.
After communicating with the clients and the designer, I understood what was needed for both parties to create the best lookbook.
Keeping this in mind this is what I came up with for the various pages the lookbook would contain:
1. Cover Page
2. Introduction
3. Clothing System Page
4. Personal Page
5. Suggestions Page(s)
6. Production Page
7. Back Cover Page
*Pages will be explained alongside an image of the spread it corresponds to below
Sketches
These are some sketches that I did in order to visualize and construct the pages using InDesign
1. Cover Page
Introducing the client to the brand and specializing the lookbook for them.
3. Clothing System Page
At MPA, we are devoted to changing your entire wardrobe in the areas that we can. We use a 10-piece clothing system that allows us to assess where the user is in their current clothing journey.
5. Suggestion Page(s)
Various different layouts on how to present the different styles and ideas that the designer has for the client.
2. Introduction
Short introduction on what the brand is all about and what the purpose of the lookbook is for.
4. Personal Page
This page would include the designer’s choice of colors for the clients, the client’s eye, skin, and hair colors along with fabrics that the designer thinks will best go with what they want and the silhouettes we recommend.
6. Production Page
A page where the user is told how long it would take to make the product. Price is not included as it would vary depending on the fabric and style the user ends up choosing.
7. Back Cover Page
A short description of who Mike-Paul Neufville is and what Mike-Paul Atelier is about, including contact information that the user may need.
Final Product
After sketching, I created my work digitally through Figma and InDesign.
Our brand identity makes use of the core colors of white, black, and off-white which are all present in this lookbook as well as the use of serif fonts to give it a luxurious and structured feel.
01. Cover Page
02. Introduction
03. Clothing System
04. Personal Page
SKETCH
FIGMA
The color wheel was created on Figma to easily adjust to each user’s appearance and our preference on what colors may go best with their features.
05. Suggestion Pages
06. Production Page
07. Back Cover
Ideating played a big role in creating different types of layouts for the suggestion pages as I did not want it to be repetitive, but rather give users the experience of different outfits presented in different ways.
Key Learnings
This was my first UX-related project outside of designing app/website materials, in which I learned the following:
1. UX can be applicable to everything that we do, methods can be applied to your products as long as it improves the user’s experience.
2. Ideating and creating products will always have multiple versions. There is never a perfect product from the get-go and we should always strive to make the best version that suits the user’s needs.
3. A UX Designer usually receives feedback on the products that they make, but never quite often in person. I was able to receive feedback and compliments from the users in person, which impacted my outlook on what it means and feels like to be a UX Designer. UX Design helps and impacts the lives of others even in the smallest of ways.