01. Case Studies

Nuuly

Role: Director of Design & Experience
Duration: Jan 2019 - May 2022
Oversight: Brand Identity, Product Design & Copy, Digital Content Strategy & Production

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(i) In the summer of 2018, the idea of Urban Outfitters Inc. moving into the subscription rental space began to be seriously considered. The exploratory team was small, and I was asked to consult from a creative standpoint while still working as the Design Director of Anthropologie. By fall, I had transitioned to a full-time focus on Nuuly, taking the lead on design and experience.
 
 
(ii) However, we still needed a better understanding of our target customer. Fortunately, we had an enormous wealth of data to lean on from years in the retail industry. Working closely with our marketing team, we were able to hone in on not only who our customer was but also how we would position our brand. We knew that we wanted to play on the fun and experimental opportunities that renting a wardrobe could offer.
 
 
(iii) With an audience and unique selling proposition in mind, we were still lacking an identity. We engaged Fuzzco to help us with this. The first and most challenging step in this process was naming. Once Nuuly was finally named, it needed more than just a name. Fuzzco took us through a brand concept, giving our then very small internal marketing and creative teams a foundation to stand on.
 
 
(iv) Soon our internal teams began to apply and expand on the concept developed by Fuzzco. The first iterations began with heavy exploration of how the design system would be applied to our customer experience as well as our brand marketing. We made strong considerations and adjustments to ensure that as a digital brand, our core elements met accessibility and usability guidelines.
 
 
(v) In tandem with defining the visual identity and brand system, my team began to define the customer experience. Months of research, prototyping, and heavy collaboration with our product and engineering teams slowly materialized the foundations of our platform, which we began to merge with the design system. Later illustrated via this instructional animation that we created.
 
 
(vi) Knowing that this program would be unique, and the paradigm of clothing rental was still somewhat new to most of our audience, we took steps to ensure we could guide and delight our users through the journey. We engaged UK-based illustrator Hollie Fuller to develop a system of illustrations that would be used to help highlight important aspects of the program.
 
 

(vii) Nuuly was released publicly in August 2019 to a waitlist, and by the end of 2019, we had over 25K subscribers, which exceeded the goals set by URBN shareholders. The program began with a responsive web platform, but within twelve months, my team was able to translate that experience into an iOS application.

 
 
(viii) To establish our marketing channels, we needed to define audience segments as well as our core messaging. Once we had these established, we built out a cross-channel content strategy that allowed for iterative adjustments based on performance data. Given our target audience, social media was unsurprisingly our most important channel for acquisition.
 
 
(ix) Our CX platform, including web and iOS, serves as the central hub for both subscribers and prospects. It was important that our content and merchandising could be uniquely tailored to different audience segments and frequently updated for our most loyal participants. With this in mind, we designed and built a dynamic CMS that allowed my content designers, with the help of our merchandisers, to easily create and build compelling content for all of our audiences.
 
 

(x) After the success of the Nuuly Rental platform, the URBN board wanted to continue pushing the boundaries of traditional commerce. This led to the development and execution of a second business line for Nuuly - Nuuly Thrift. With the expansion into the resale space, Nuuly evolved into a vehicle for all things cyclical fashion.

 
 

(xi) With two offerings now under one brand, there were some creative and communication challenges that needed resolution to ensure that our offerings felt cohesive yet distinct. We also wanted to ensure that general brand messaging felt inclusive of both audiences. Given that Nuuly Thrift was more community-driven than its rental counterpart, we decided to involve our community in the creation of its launch campaign, forgoing the more polished approach we took with Nuuly Rent.

Summary

By the time of my departure in 2022, Nuuly had nearly 100K subscribers in its rental program, far more than projected, and was close to the top player in the space - Rent the Runway (which was surpassed 6 months later). The Thrift business continued to gain traction in the very competitive resale space, and even provided an opportunity for Nuuly to unload excess rental inventory directly to its customers. The successful launch of these two platforms also made URBN the first retailer to offer retail, rental, and resale in one place, solidifying the original mission of Nuuly, which was to push the boundaries of the way consumers engage with fashion.

In the Media: WSJ / Business Insider / Refinery 29 / Forbes / Nylon

b. Anthropologie

c. New Work - Coming Soon