NEXXCHAIR Beauty

Confident PATRONS. Confident Artists. Confident Beauty.

Background: NEXXCHAIR BEAUTY is the product of an experiment applying evidence based entrepreneurship methodology to launch a beauty startup. My team and I were accepted into the Georgia Tech Create-X startup accelerator, backed by alumni Chris Klaus. The NEXXCHAIR App was designed to provide a seamless on-site makeup experience for patrons of all ages and skin tones.

Project Team: Titilayo, Ayinna, Steven, Hope, Paul, Dominique, Ije, Tolu and our community of local makeup artists

My Contributions: As product manager I had the opportunity to wear multiple hats. I recruited and on-boarded the design team (which included an Interaction Designer, a Visual Designer, a Requirements Analysts, and two Full-stack Developers). I created a research plan, conducted qualitative research, created customer journeys and storyboards, created wireframes, prioritized designs concepts based on user feedback, and aligned the design team around our feature backlog. When we reached beta I facilitated usability testing. Throughout the process I used project management tools and methods to streamline communication within the team.

The Problem

In many situations patrons of color have a hard time finding, vetting, and booking beauty services that meet their expectations. The makeup industry is large and unregulated. Makeup service providers have varying levels of experience. Some lack the correct set of tools or skill-set to deliver makeup service on skin tones of color, and mature skin. When seeking on-site makeup services these patrons are unable to connect with satisfactory service providers efficiently.

Discover

We conducted 115 unstructured interviews to discover current methods of booking makeup artists, and to understand friction points in the experience in Atlanta, Georgia. I contributed by facilitating unstructured interviews with participants through on-site visits to makeup counters in department store malls, semi-structured interviews with conference coordinators, semi-structured interviews future brides, and semi-structured interviews professional creative directors in relevant industries.

We never ended discovery. We continuously sought out to better understand the experiences of our target population. In January 2018, I also conducted an ethnographic study on freelance makeup artists in Lagos, Nigeria. At the time our team was considering expanding operations to Lagos, due to a significant amount of social media traction in that region (about 30% of our audience). To understand the unique needs of artists living in that part of the world we designed a study. I was a recent graduate and excited to be working on a startup idea with friends, especially an idea that could potentially lead to the creation of economic opportunities for women in Nigeria.

Through the study activities we found a local beauty community that was thriving. We discovered specific transportation challenges (including severe fuel shortages, lack of transportation reliability, and more). We discovered an extremely resilient group of local artists that were eager to make a relationship work. The study in Lagos ultimately resulted in the decision not to expand operations to Lagos. We realized we didn’t have the resources to expand in a sustainable way. We were unsure how to remotely navigate the transportation challenges we discovered with acceptable participant risk.

Describe

As a team we mapped out key processes in the end-to-end customer journey after synthesizing the experiential data we collected. We created wireframes of common journey flows to highlight friction points within the current experience.

Insights from unstructured interviews:

• Clients felt hesitancy to book an artist that has no reviews or recommendations

• The process of finding makeup artists on social media is tedious and time intensive

• Artist were weary of not being paid when dealing with customers outside their personal circles

• Artist felt frustration when communicating their prices with potential clients who attempt to haggle down the price

• Many department mall makeup artists were primarily trained in product sales, and had a range of formal makeup application training

• Patrons expressed frustrations with artists arriving late or practicing poor hygiene with makeup brushes and makeup products

• There was a lack of trust of the current booking systems on both the patron and the artists side

Design

As a team, we design a collection of solution concepts based on our understanding of the problem. Then we validated these concepts with participants during two participatory design sessions. Ultimately these activities led us to prioritize the following high-impact capabilities.

• Registration: Users can register and have personal information saved within application

• User Accounts: Users can sign-in with email and social media

• Client Dashboard: Users who are clients can view most pertinent information in a centralized location

• Artist Dashboard: Users who are service providers can see most pertinent information in a centralized location

• Navigation Bar & Menus: Users can access app functionality and navigate within the app using the navigation bars and hamburger menus

• Explore: Users can explore makeup looks by looking instead of by service providers

• Messaging: Users can communicate with other users and admin via an internal messaging system

• Artist Profile Page: Users who are clients can view makeup looks offered by each artist, the artist’s ratings, and the artists bio information.

• Artist Profile Page: Users who are service providers

• Booking: Users can book service providers and pay with the system.

• NEXXSTORE for Products and Education: Users can shop for makeup training courses and NEXXCHAIR promoted products.

• Client Account Settings: Users who are clients can update account information.

• Artist Account Settings: Users who are service providers can update account information.

• Admin Pages: Users who are admin can make system changes to services.

• Favorites: Users who are clients favorite desired makeup looks.

• Notifications: Users can receive push notifications bringing mail or requested action to their attention.

• Analytics: Users who are service deliverers can see information about clients interactions with their profiles.

• Get Started Guide: New users can be see a system functionality overview.
  

Mockups, Phase 4

TEST & BUILD

The team incorporated user feedback during test flight. I used user insights to prioritize the backlog features for the NexxChair beta app. We made gathering feedback part of our brand. At pop-up beauty bar events we solicited this feedback from makeup artists. These events were really fun. To make the events valuable for our artists our team provided quality digital content, in exchange for all the valuable information the artists shared. If I could describe these sessions in a phrase I’d name them, ‘ Beauty campaign sessions, with a side of usability testing”.

Learnings

The NexxChair Beauty project was the first exploration of service and interaction design. In a startup environment I had the autonomy to create research plans and execute them as needed. I had the freedom to recruit participants in a style that made the work fun. This project provided me serval opportunities for self reflection. I learned a lot about who I am on the team and who I am not. I discovered I am energized by action. I operate as a catalyst in team settings. I am direct and forthcoming when providing feedback and I value the same from teammates. I prioritize what is best for the humans impacted by the product above everything. I am full of passion for human centered design because design is a tool that returns dignity and power to those who lack it.

Additionally, I learned team dynamics are critical for project success. Our team went through several iterations of searching for the right tribe. We found team cohesiveness was critical to progress. Each member brought a unique perspective and skillset to the work. We were all on personal journeys of growing our individual crafts while trying to figure out a startup, so there were some growing pains. At the end of the summer some of us moved on to start full time job opportunities and a few, myself included, stayed working on NexxChair. This project taught me to be scrapy, figure it out,and to keep going. This grit has stuck with me.

The NexxChair team created an experience that empowered two communities of local artists, one in Atlanta and one in Lagos. NexxChair was innovative and inclusive. I discovered the personal value of staying grounded in local communities. I never want to lose sight of this discovery in my work.

Read more about NEXXCHAIR here.

Georgia Tech Society of Black Engineers

Service Design Engagement

Background: Used service design methods and tools to design effective and efficient experiences for a variety of Georgia tech Society of Black Engineer executive board members. After analysis, stakeholder interviews, ideation and experimentation, we made recommendations for an improved executive board member experience. Our research methodology included desktop research, surveys, semi-structured interviews, and a participatory design session.

Project Group: Titilayo, Annie

My Contributions: I designed the research plan, and lead the research plan execution and synthesis. I also supported my partner Annie with concept designs.

The Problem

In progress…