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Contextual Research and Design Strategy
SCAD START KIT
Neelesh Ranjan
Zoomers Project
Design Innovation Development and Brand Strategy to solve the challenges of marketing and design
to Generation Z.
OVERVIEW
The project aimed to apply Design Thinking and Business Design methods and tools to develop a brand strategy for fashion brands o solve the challenges of marketing and design to Generation Z. This project was my Masters of Arts in Design Management final capstone project.
PROBLEM
Born between 1995-2015, Generation Z is the first generation of digital natives and tech addicts (Danao, 2020). Its members contradict the previous generation. They contradict typical stereotypes of attitudes and behaviors of teens and young adults. They are even a contradiction among and within themselves.This insight brings in a need to help the increasing number of fashion brands in developing a brand strategy to build a successful consumer-brand relationship which will also increase the rate of adoption among generation z
Zoomers Project
Zoomers Project is a strategic Brand Agency providing services in brand /product experience focussed towards Generation Z through remote collaborations. The agency follows a co-creation and design thinking approach,a powerful and agile approach that gives a competitive advantage in a time of rapid change.
PROJECT TIMELINE
10 weeks(Jan 2021-March 2021)
TEAM
Individual Final project
ROLE
TOOLS
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User Research
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Synthesis and Analysis
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Persona and Journey Map Creation
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Business Design Frameworks
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Prototyping and User Testing
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Hifi Wireframing and Interface
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Adobe Photoshop
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Adobe Illustrator
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Miro
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Canva
RESEARCH PROCESS
1 SECONDARY RESEARCH
I conducted secondary research using tools like popular media scanning, publications research, and online research on a diverse set of topics related to fashion industry ,brand strategy and generation z likes and dislikes.
2 PURPOSE OF STUDY AND TARGET AUDIENCE
The focus of the project is to understand the mindset of different kinds of Gen Z fashion enthusiasts while developing a brand strategy to develop the existing fashion brands solve the upcoming challenges in marketing and design
3 UMBRELLA QUESTION
How might we use design management methodologies to develop a brand strategy for fashion brands to solve the
challenges of marketing and design to Generation Z?
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How might we describe design management and its correlation with brand strategy?
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How might we describe the mindset of generation z fashion enthusiasts/shoppers?
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How might we describe the brand strategy and how it solves the challenges of marketing and design to Generation
4 MARKET ANALYSIS
In order to understand the current trends and competitors in the industry, a market analysis was carried out with methods such as PESTEL Analysis, BCG Matrix .2X2 Matrix & SWOT Analysis.
4 PRIMARY RESEARCH
8 Zoom interviews were conducted to obtain qualitative insights from Gen z students Genz professionals, fashion designers, fashion forecasters, fashion professors. Consent forms were utilized to obtain permission for conducting the interview and record it.
An online survey was created using Google forms to reach a wider audience with varied viewpoints. This survey was targeted at Generation z fashion enthusiasts from all backgrounds like student, professionals, and entrepreneurs.
4 DATA PROCESSING
Initial connections are made in this process to get a better understanding of the problem using-
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Miro Boards
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Working Walls
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Affinitization and Categorization
4 DATA SYNTHESIS
Analyzing the created and processed data is used to build clusters and the research start leaning towards a solution
space. using-
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Empathy Maps
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User Personas
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Research Synthesis Framework
5 CORE STORIES
The final insights about Generation Z were finalized in the final round of synthesis. Based on the common points between Gen Z and Gen Y and the number of stickies each insight received, the final scores were prioritized.
INSIGHTS
5 DESIGN CRITERIA
.Design criteria are the explicit goals that a project must achieve in order to be successful. It is further divided into-MUST HAVE, SHOULD HAVE, NICE TO HAVE, and NEVER HAVE. In my case all these characteristics can be considered while designing a brand strategy.
6 IDEATION AND CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
In this phase, creative concepts were ideated on the basis of these keywords- collaboration, framework,trends,
organizations, roadmaps and wildcard ideas. The ideas were then mapped onto a 2x2 matrix having different and
non different as parameters on on axis and strategically good and not good on other axis.
INITIAL CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
By this time, a rough sketch of final concept was in the mind and then using the Build, Measure and Learn lean start-
up philosophy i deviced my first 3 concepts.
INITIAL CONCEPTS
CONCEPT FEASIBILTY
Inorder to check the feasibility of the concept in the real-world scenario, a remote workshop was designed . The final
concept was designed according to the votes and reviews from the workshop.
CONCEPT SELECTION
7 DEVELOPING THE SOLUTION
After the workshop concept, 1 and concept 2 were the most feasible solution as voted by maximum people. Using the
BUILD and the MEASURE concept i started framing my final solution. I thought of creating a brand agency which will
provide consulting to fashion brands catered to Generation Z as the audience .I started framing the solution by first
developing the value proposition statement.
8 DEVELOPING THE BRAND
9 DEFINING THE BRAND
The 17 steps for effective branding from “ZAG” by Marty Neumeier, was used to develop our concept branding.
10 QUANTIFYING THE BRAND
The 17 steps for effective branding from “ZAG” by Marty Neumeier, was used to develop our concept branding.
11 TOOL
13 DEFINING THE TOOL
With the help of the 5E Creative matrix, I was able to define the tool at every stage with respect to the interactions of
user.interactions of
14 THE TOOL IN DETAIL
15 FEEDBACK
16 SALES PITCH
17 NEXT STEPS
