Delivering a brand-new store experience

The brand’s stores experienced peaks and troughs in customer traffic and waiting times, creating pressure on staff and reducing efficiency.
They were looking to Cartoonbase for a solution that would not only provide immediate relief, but also engage their teams in a participative, open-ended transformation journey, setting the stage for continuous innovation across more than 300 stores worldwide.

Cartoonbase applied a design-thinking approach combined with visual storytelling techniques to help our client rethink their store experience.
Partnering with client teams and a supply chain expert, we tackled store-specific challenges while aligning with a global strategy.

To ensure long-term impact, we developed a repository of successful initiatives, enabling stores to apply proven solutions. They all revolved around the idea of improving shopflows – optimising the store experience for both the customer and the brand.

• We began by guiding the client through a co-creative process. Together, we created a toolbox to map the customer journey, identify key pain points, and drive large-scale operational improvements.
• To validate the proposed solutions, we organized interactive sessions simulating customer interactions. They enabled the teams to identify over 2,000 areas for improvement, which were quickly implemented in stores, yielding immediate results.
• Additionally, ‘train the trainer’ sessions equipped managers with the tools needed to foster continuous improvement within their teams.
• Throughout this project, we developed a visual grammar to support the brand’s transformation.

How a visual grammar can strengthen team engagement

A visual language, inspired by staff’s real experiences, reflects in-store life and helps departments align around common goals.

• Real-life imagery: Tailormade visuals represent situations that employees face in their daily jobs.
• Inclusive storytelling: Visual narratives representative of teams in all their diversity map out the change journey and get everyone on board.
• Faster innovation: Visually representing ideas supports design thinking by making it easier to brainstorm, prototype, and iterate effectively.
• Common ground: Visuals representing key concepts help staff grasp and remember them more easily and actively use them in their own communication.
• Better teamwork: A shared visual framework helps align perspectives, enhancing overall project cohesion

Thanks to a human-centered, visual-driven approach, we guided the brand through the creation of a more efficient, customer-friendly, and innovative retail experience. Working closely with their teams, we enabled them to deliver the luxury experience their customers aspire to.
We also ensured that staff became key drivers of change by supporting them throughout the process, ensuring lasting impact and successful transformation.