Designit: Reimagining the Wellness Industry post-pandemic
Timeline
June 2020 - December 2020
Capabilities
UX research, Strategy, Visual Design, Illustration, Branding
Team (Full-stack designer)
By Ayushi Shah (Full-stack Designer & Researcher)
Mentored by Priyanka Gangwal (Design Researcher), Shipra Bhargava (Design Lead)
Overview
About the Company
Designit is a global design consultancy aiming to bring solutions that better connect brands, organizations, and businesses.
Read more about Designit here.
About the project
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many industries faced challenges and had to pivot their businesses to meet the new needs of their customers. One such was the Beauty and Wellness Industry.
During this 6-month long internship, I worked alongside other designers and researchers to create a detailed report on the impact of the pandemic on this industry, and thus, find new opportunities for our clients.
Initial Discovery
Starting with some secondary research, the goal was to understand the impact and response of the pandemic in the Beauty and Wellness Industry as per the industry reports. The findings included:
Impact
50%
is the decline in the purchase of cosmetic products globally due to the pandemic
30%
1.2X
of the global beauty offline market has shut down due to Covid-19 out if which some might never open again
is the increase in self-grooming products reported by Amazon India
Response
DIY CULTURE
With people retiring to homes, brands have started to provide virtual tutorials and at-home DIY kits to help people keep up with routine needs.
HELPING HANDS
Brands are switching to producing hand sanitizers, donating profits to health services, and showing support to more vulnerable sections of society during the pandemic.
DIGITAL DETOX
With increased screen time, brands promote digital detox with at-home rituals like meditation. They are promoting consumers to take care of themselves.
Research
As part of our primary research, my team and I conducted surveys and interviews with both consumers (Students, Working individuals, Workin parents, Homemakers) and service providers (Salons, spas, Health/Fitness facilities, Influencers) to understand market trends before and during COVID-19.
54%
reported that their overall wellness has improved during the lockdown, indulging in activities including entertainment, spending time with family, and workouts at home
Research Themes
75%
reported that they would expect their favorite wellness brands to give more assurance about hygiene and safety measures during the pandemic
45%
Self-care
Salons
Spas
Wellness product brands
reported that their shopping habits for wellness products would be more mindful post-pandemic as they learned how to live minimally during the pandemic
49%
reported that they see wellness brands using more technology in their offerings post-pandemic
Health & Fitness
Gyms
Yoga Studios
Health clinics
Who were the clients:
Who were the users:
Beauty
Makeup product brands
Stylists
Beauty Influencers
Students
Working Individuals
Working parents
Homemakers
Research Findings
The research led us to the hypothesis that, post-pandemic, the beauty and wellness industry would be shaped by a 'feel-good' mindset, where wellness becomes more expressive, personalized, and practiced on individuals' own terms.
Based on this hypothesis, the goal was to explore what “feel good” meant to the target user segments, and therefore, propose emerging findings and strategic opportunities to relevant clients.
“I think beauty and wellness will not only talk about how good it will make you look, but also how safe they are going to keep and they will have to work on building this trust rather than just superficial or materialistic things.”
-Working Parent
“Before lockdown, I would go to a pilates class, and now I do it online with the same instructor. I feel like before I would miss a lot of the classes, but now I need to be more regular to feel good”
-Working Youth
“These safety precautions have become more of a lifestyle now, and we will definitely try to follow these in the future as well, even after we find an actual vaccine.”
-Spa owner, India
Outcome
To help our clients understand shifting consumer mindsets, I created visual representations of what 'feel good' meant to different target customer segments. The visuals below illustrate 6 personas, capturing how their definition of 'feel good' has evolved before versus during the pandemic:
Personas showing how ‘feel good’ evolved pre- and during the pandemic
Building on the research, we also identified a set of emerging customer needs within the beauty and wellness industry for our industry clients:
-
Santization products and services are reaching status symbol. There is a heightened awareness about safety and hygiene
-
Consumers want to be informed about their wellness needs. They want wellness solutions that are scientifically/clinically proven
-
Consumers have realized they can live with much lesser in terms of products and services, and want that to reflect in their consumption habits
-
With lockdown, consumers have become more dependent on homemade remedies. They are seeking chemical free products/services
-
Consumers are becoming more independent with their wellness needs and experimenting more. They expect their brands to empower them in doing so
-
Consumers are seeking more personal experiences and motivation from brands
-
With more services being moved to homes, consumers are looking for digital & sensory experiences that wellness brands can provide to them in the comforts of their home
-
Consumers are focused on immunity, sleep and an overall sense of wellbeing. Their beauty needs stem more from within than from external appearance.
Lastly, I planned and facilitated a brainstorming workshop with four designers, where I presented key research findings and led a collaborative ideation session focused on opportunities for selected industry clients. Opportunities include:
Targeting new user segments with different wellness needs for more inclusive services
Do it yourself (DIY) offerings to allow users to take more control over their wellness needs
Building more brand trust by providing transparent offerings that inform and educate viewers more
Health & Fitness Clients
Catering gym services for older age groups to encourage them to stay fit and active
Equipment at a rental/ subscription basis for personalized workout plans at home
Tie ups between health clinics and fitness services to educate viewers of holistic health
Beauty Clients
Targeting users who are new to beauty by providing products that integrate wellness and beauty
Educating people on beauty industry’s impact on environment, how to be more sustainable, and providing incentives to support sustainable practices
Reviving ancient, homemade Indian beauty secrets by providing a platform for elderly to share knowledge
Self-care Clients
Designing luxury salon/spa experiences that prioritize holistic healing, recognizing that basic services are now easily accessible at home
DIY salon kits with ingredients and instructions for at home services like waxing
Helping users understand product journeys before they reach the shelf, enabling them to find options that align with their needs and values.
Reflections
Learnings
My experience at Designit was invaluable, as I had the opportunity to participate in diverse design projects, including Design Research, Strategy, Visual Design, and Customer Experience Design. I also had the chance to work with clients from various industries, including Consumer, Healthcare, Finance, and more.
At Designit, I also gained significant experience in contributing to a company culture:
I participated in global workshops and talks that expanded my knowledge of the global industry.
I shared my own experiences and work with a wider team, which taught me to advocate for and present my work effectively.
I played a role in building a remote work culture at the height of the pandemic. One of my proudest contributions was redesigning the hiring experience for remote hires.
I learned to advocate for design and explain the significance of design thinking to our clients.
Other involvements at Designit
Redesigning the consumer experience for a global hygiene company (2021-22)
Designit worked with one of the largest global hygiene provider to redesign the consumer experience across geographies.
My role involved conducting user research and facilitating client workshops across these geographies to understand the different needs and challenges. Subsequently, I was involved in reimagining the end-to-end journey, for the different personas, and directly collaborating with the client to create the consumer experience.
Messaging for a non-profit organization (2021-22)
In collaboration with a non-profit organization, 'Computers for the Blind', we aimed to improve their messaging so as to improve their outreach, donations, partnerships and overall awareness for the needs of the community of visually impaired.
As the designer and strategist on the team, I conducted both primary and secondary research, data analysis, and finally designed posters and visuals for the organization that improved the brand engagement, and thus the impact.
Redesign and rebranding for a non-profit organization (2021-22)
This project was a collaboration with a non-profit organization that aims to provide nutrition to girl children in underserved communities in India. The goal of the project was to redesign their experience and messaging to improve their outreach and impact. The project took part in 3 key phases, across disciplines.
As the designer for the first part of the project, I contributed to the primary, secondary research with stakeholders and collaborators, and market research to create the initial proposal for the redesign. I also collaborated extensively with the leadership team of the non-profit organization to understand their goals, needs and challenges.
Global Marketing (2021-22)
The Global Marketing Team works towards internal and external campaigns and content to improve community and employee engagement.
As a part of the Global Marketing team, I collaborated with different internal teams to create engaging community campaigns including DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), sustainability initiatives, and more.
I also participated in creating engaging digital content strategies, especially to showcase more company culture externally. Check out one of my posts here and more of my work on Designit's Instagram here. Our efforts improved company engagement and increased following by 33648 users
Redesign for a healthcare company (2020)
In response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, an India-based auto parts manufacturer responded to a challenging business environment by moving into medical consumables manufacturing. Designit was approached to help them launch into this new space. This project was later awarded ‘Honorable Mention’ in IDA awards 2021.
My role involved helping with the visual rebranding and the packaging design. My illustrations were finally featured on the packaging for their medical products.
View the redesigns here.
Remote company culture (2020)
At the height of the pandemic, Designit like other companies was trying to navigate extending the company culture remotely. As the first remote hire and intern of that summer, I not only had to experiment with ways to better fit into the team, but also find creative ways to get involved and learn from the diverse team.
To begin, I attended a vast number of global and local workshops and seminars hosted by Designit. I also shared my experiences as the first remote hire, a student during the pandemic, and more, with a large internal audience, that impacted some of the new ways of remote onboarding and internship experiences.
Lastly, I collaborated with numerous employees to help and learn about different ongoing client projects wherein I experimented with visual design, research, experience design, service design, and more.