Overview

Organization: macys.com
Role: Only designer (UX + Visual)
Problem: We were expanding our fair trade program to Haiti and needed a sitelet to market the products on the website.
Measures for success: Launch on time & increase purchases of Heart of Haiti products

Why am I showing a project that is 10 years old?

Even though the process has been lost over the years, and there are many things I'd do differently, (like design it mobile-first, make it more modern, and make it more accessible,) it's hard to paint a complete picture of the work that has made me who I am without sharing at least one of my favorite projects during my time at macys.com. During my time there, the projects I was most passionate about were leading the design for two fair trade programs, one in Rwanda and this one that we later launched in Haiti. On my own dime, I went on location to both places, twice each, to meet the artisans and learn more first hand. I even photographed some images that were later used on the site.

This project was my last major one for that area of the business before I left macys.com for CBRE. Other work at my time at macys.com included homepages, emails, and various marketing images for the site as well as the microsite for the Rwanda fair trade program and other event-driven microsites. A big part of my job was something called enhancements, which was essentially UX before that was a known term at the company. I helped launch new features like providing a preview of what's in your cart by interacting with the top navigation, and the ability to know what store you can go to in order to buy furniture. These projects inspired in me to learn more about UX and seek other socially-impactful work, leading me to my positions at CBRE and Amazon.

Solution

There was a style guide that was created for in-store signage and labels for the products which I followed as the overall color palette, logo, and graphic elements. The products were high quality and gorgeous on their own, but they really came alive when connected with the artisans behind the work. I bridged the two closer together on the landing page by making interactive elements where customers could discover the artist directly. I also created sections for the artists with quotes and a section explaining the impact itself. I leaned in to editorial product photography and combined them with shots from Haiti, including some of my own photography.

Results

It launched on time and was well-received, but specific metrics of the results are confidential.