Lush Digi-Basket
We won a 24-hour hackathon by developing an in-house point-of-sale system for Lush Cosmetics
Lush Cosmetics tasked us to create an in-house point-of-sale system that aligns with the company’s ethics and core values.
Our team of web developers, data scientists, and UX designers developed a mobile checkout web platform leveraging Lush's existing Lush Lens technology, accessible through a QR code in the store.
Project
Cross-Discipline Hackathon
Role
UX Designer
Team Lead
Duration
24 Hours (2023)
Tools
Figma
Team Members
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?Lush’s point-of-sale system needed an upgrade
Lush Cosmetics Canada has long relied on a traditional POS system, mainly a cash register setup with extensive manual input, particularly for their popular bath bombs.
They wanted to develop their own open-source software, aligning with their commitment to their Digital Ethics, enabling free distribution and modification of the code.
RESEARCH & IDEATIONSurprise! Turns out a lot of people do not like to wait in line…
I led the team by starting with the white-boarding to kickstart our ideation process. From there, our data scientists' research unveiled that a significant majority of people experience boredom or annoyance while waiting in line at retail stores. We also took note of the growing trend of self-checkout.
Inspired by Lush's impressive Lush Lens technology, we proposed a self-mobile checkout system accessible through a QR code (to combat app fatigue), integrating Lush Lens for an enhanced experience for both customers and staff.
THE ART OF STORYTELLINGTo effectively guide and engage our audience, we used storytelling to walk them through the user journey. The images displayed below were a key part of our storytelling during our presentation.
We started with our persona, a time-savvy shopper needing a last-minute Christmas gift in a busy Lush store, then introduced the Lush Digi-Basket, and ultimately led them to successfully complete the purchase.
BRANDINGAs the hackathon was not focused on rebranding, we intentionally included elements of Lush's brand in our product and presentation. The audience and judges appreciated our effort in integrating the Lush brand into our work.
We utilized their font, showcased their logo, and even included their well-known "made by" stickers. This demonstrated to the judges our thorough research and understanding of the brand.
EXCEPTIONAL TEAMWORKWe discovered the roles of data scientists, web developers, and UX designers within a team
This was our team's first experience collaborating with individuals from different tech disciplines, making it a new challenge for us. In a tight 24-hour timeframe, we had to learn fast. Personally, I closely collaborated with web developers, quickly learning their capabilities and constraints within the short timeframe.
In the end, our exceptional teamwork set us apart as the sole team to develop a live prototype, achieved through constant communication and establishing ground rules from the start — a well deserved win for our team.
A FEW WORDS FROM THE JUDGES“It was clear that this team did a fantastic job researching the brand, they pulled out our ethics and our we believe statement.”
“Their presentation was fantastic and well polished, it was clear they put a lot of time into it. Really impressive to see a fully deployed projected, it was clear what the intention was behind everything and made this easy to envision in store.”
“I liked the flow that a customer could alert an employee when they are ready to go without needing interaction - that is a unique approach we haven’t considered yet. Overall this team did a fantastic job.”
“Blown away that you guys did that in 24 hours! For having the QR code and your digi-basket, highly impressive that you had a working prototype for a MVP. Things were well thought-out, good presentation as well! Even the attention to details like using the Lush font, very nice touch. Good job on the teamwork and communication too, that’s exactly what happens in business, there’s so much cross-functional projects.”
“Great slides with the cartoon/user, overlayed on real photos, that was amazing and very engaging, really nice touch and really helps the storytelling.”
