Interior Design I Brand Strategy I Commercial Design
The Weave Outlet: Brand and Experience Strategy
The Client
The Weave Outlet is owned and operated by Shanise Thomson. Shanise began styling hair at the age of 13, and by 23 she was a professional stylist. The Weave Outlet started in 2018 and had two locations by the end of 2019. The company specializes in providing premium virgin hair at the lowest wholesale prices on the market. They believe that individuals shouldn't have to spend excessive money to have beautiful hair extensions.
Shanise's vision for the Weave Outlet began with an intention to own and authentically represent the market and culture her business serves. People of color don't own the weave, wigs, and extension market in the U.S. She wanted to change that, give back to her community, and create something that strengthens self-esteem.
Project Overview
Our project harnessed the power of creative thinking workshops to reinvigorate the brand's essence and address pressing challenges. Tasked with igniting fresh perspectives and boosting in-store sales, we embarked on an innovative journey that unfolded across multiple sessions.
The startup recognized the need for a deeper analysis to address the plummeting in-store sales. This session aimed to provide immediate, actionable strategies that would reinvigorate foot traffic and revenue generation.
Priorities
Customer Experience
Update window signage and interior store design to something elegant, simple and easy to implement.
Branding
Refine visual and verbal communication language, logo, fonts, and colors to ensure cohesion across channels.
Marketing
Update window signage and interior store design to something elegant, simple and easy to implement.
The goal of our creative workshop with Shanise was to refine the deliverables within each of the there opportunity areas we identified: branding, customer experience and marketing. All of the creative facilitation canvases, directions and results can be found in this section.
Our Approach
I had the privilege to collaborate with a dynamic startup on a transformative project aimed at shaping their brand's identity and strategy for lasting success. By conducting brand diagnostics and facilitating co-creation workshops, we unveiled essential insights that led to a comprehensive brand transformation
STORE – EXTERIOR WINDOWS & SIGNAGE
Store signage plays an important role in the way customers remember our brand and
encourages new shoppers to visit our store. Our signs are an extension of our brand
identity – elegant, bold, and use language that is empowering. They communicate the
products we offer while the overall design complements the historic building’s façade
Identified Challenges
Brand Guideline
Store Design
Marketing Plan
Guidelines, visual identity, tone, applications.
Design plans and purchase links; exterior window signage print files.
Create flyers, discount cards, loyalty cards to pass out to students, at local events and trade shows.
Customer Experience- Store Design
Crafting Spatial Experience
Based on the current floor plan, opportunities for improving the customer experience and maximizing space include:
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Improve product display
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Incorporate branding
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Community engagement space
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Window display that complement's the historic building
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Comprehensive signage solution to meet current guideline
The subsequent segment served as a critical exploration into the operations of the Weave Outlet, allowing us to systematically prioritize design concepts. These documents hold the potential to act as dynamic tools for future reference in assessing and ranking business prospects. As the business continues to evolve, each page's data can be seamlessly revised, modified, or selectively pruned to align with the company's progress and changing priorities.
Driving Forward
The genesis of these business opportunity ideas originated from collaborative efforts involving the previous team, particularly Shanise, and productive workshops. We highly advocate revisiting this compilation periodically over the course of the year. This practice will enable the tracking of accomplished milestones, the incorporation of fresh concepts, and the selection of 1-2 ideas to concentrate on. The evaluation process can be facilitated using an impact vs. effort matrix, ensuring a comprehensive and strategic approach.
Business Model Canvas
The Team
Tanuj Bisht
Vedika Deshmukh
Taylor Deas-Melesh