Sundial is working to elevate the beauty industry by producing products that are not relegated to a segregated retail environment.
Break the walls.
Co-founder Richelieu Dennis developed Sundial to elevate the beauty industry through ethically sourced ingredients, mutually beneficial partnerships, and producing products that aren’t relegated to a segregated section of a retail environment.
Sundial is the parent company of some of the most successful beauty products in the market, such as SheaMoisture. In 2016, Sundial launched the #BreakTheWalls campaign.
That year, I worked with McKinsey and Co. in NYC to co-facilitate a 3-day Concept Sprint exploring ways to connect with customers through an online community.
My role was to facilitate creative workshop activities take the team’s sketches, and transform them into an interactive prototype ready to test with customers.
3-Day Concept Sprint
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Day 1
Morning: Kick-off and Objective Setting
Introduction and Goals: Begin with a brief introduction to the sprint, its objectives, and the desired outcomes. Clarify the main goal: to decide whether building an online community for the B Corp is a viable and beneficial initiative.
Stakeholder Input: Gather insights from key stakeholders about their vision, expectations, and existing assumptions about the online community.
Mid-Morning: Problem Framing and User Personas
Problem Statement: Define the core problem or opportunity that the online community aims to address. For instance, "How might we create an engaging online platform that fosters community among our B Corp's customers, partners, and employees?"
User Personas: Develop detailed user personas representing potential community members, such as customers, employees, partners, and other stakeholders. Focus on their needs, motivations, and pain points.
Afternoon: Competitive Analysis and Ideation
Competitive Analysis: Review existing online communities, particularly those related to B Corps or similar organizations. Identify strengths, weaknesses, and key features that could inform your concept.
Ideation Session: Conduct a brainstorming session to generate ideas for the online community. Encourage participants to think broadly and creatively about features, engagement strategies, and potential benefits.
End of Day 1: Prioritization and Initial Concept Development
Prioritization: Evaluate and prioritize the ideas based on their potential impact and feasibility. Use techniques like dot voting to identify the most promising concepts.
Initial Concept: Begin sketching an initial concept for the online community, outlining key features and user flows.
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Day 2
Day 2: Prototype and Test
Morning: Prototyping
Detailed Sketching: Create detailed sketches or wireframes of the online community's key features and user interactions. Focus on the core functionalities that address the identified problem.
Low-Fidelity Prototype: Develop a low-fidelity prototype using tools like paper sketches, wireframing software, or simple clickable mockups. This prototype should sufficiently convey the main ideas, and user flows.
Mid-Morning: Prepare for Testing
Testing Plan: Define the objectives and key questions for the testing session. What do you want to learn from potential users? What assumptions are you testing?
Recruit Participants: Identify and recruit participants from your user personas for the testing session. Aim for a diverse group to gather varied perspectives.
Afternoon: User Testing
Conduct Tests: Facilitate user testing sessions, guiding participants through the prototype and observing their interactions. Encourage them to think aloud and provide feedback.
Collect Feedback: Document the feedback, noting positive reactions and areas of confusion or frustration.
End of Day 2: Synthesis and Iteration
Feedback Synthesis: Gather the team to review the feedback and identify key insights. What worked well? What needs improvement?
Iterate: Refine the prototype based on the feedback, making necessary adjustments to address user concerns and enhance the overall concept.
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Day 3
Day 3: Validate and Decide
Morning: Refined Prototype and Validation
Refine Prototype: Make final adjustments to the prototype, ensuring it accurately represents the proposed online community.
Validation Plan: Plan how to present the refined concept to stakeholders and validate its potential impact. Consider using metrics or success criteria relevant to the B Corp's goals.
Mid-Morning: Stakeholder Presentation
Present Concept: Share the refined prototype and user testing insights with key stakeholders. Highlight the potential benefits, addressing how the community can meet user needs and align with the B Corp's mission.
Gather Feedback: Solicit feedback from stakeholders, addressing any concerns or questions they may have.
Afternoon: Decision-Making
Review Criteria: Revisit the success criteria and key questions defined at the start of the sprint. How well does the concept align with these?
Decision Meeting: Facilitate a decision-making meeting with stakeholders and the sprint team. Discuss whether to proceed with building the online community, considering the prototype's reception, user feedback, and stakeholder input.
Next Steps: If the decision is to move forward, outline the next steps for further development, resource allocation, and a detailed project plan. If the decision is not to proceed, document the insights gained and consider alternative strategies.
End of Day 3: Wrap-Up and Reflection
Recap and Reflection: Review the sprint process, key findings, and the final decision. Consider what worked well and what could be improved in future sprints.
Documentation: Ensure all findings, decisions, and next steps are well-documented and shared with relevant parties.
Participatory design presentations.
Participatory design presentations are a collaborative approach to design where stakeholders, including end users, actively participate in the design process and its presentations. This method ensures that the final product is more likely to meet the needs and expectations of its users.
Making space for social change in the beauty aisle.
This project taught me how to create a socially responsible beauty brand. Working overnight, I turned around an interactive prototype to test with customers and Sundial employees on day 3. The following images are some mockups I created for the final prototype.
Watch the prototype demo.
This three-day concept sprint provided a structured approach to rapidly exploring, prototyping, and evaluating the potential of building an online community for a B Corp, ensuring that decisions are data-driven and user-centered. The concept of an online community and shopping experience was well-received; however, the investment of managing an online community wasn’t feasible for Sundial at that time. The commerce designs were used to enhance the existing online shopping experience.
I created the final interactive prototype using Sketch and InVision. This demo was recorded in QuickTime.