Website inspiration moodboard

Pattern book sketches (have 300dpi on hard drive)

Consumer Research Findings

Nottingham City Centre. Thursday 17th April, lunchtime. Weather: grey clouds, windy but dry

1. How often do you browse online/offline for interiors?

2. Where?

3. Fashion - favourite brands

4. TV - what you last watched

5. Colours and patterns you are drawn to

6. Favourite colour flower

7. Favourite font

8. Associations of curate, curateme and youcurate

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Consumer answers

Outside Debenhams- 1.25 to 1.55pm

1. Only when I am redecorating my house so once a year, Debenhams for fashion and interiors, Match of the Day, Orange, no associations with the words.

2. Only when I am redecorating my house so once a year, M&S and Next for both, Game of Thrones, Purple, reminds me of museum

3. Once a month to browse, everywhere - didn't get a brand,  New Look, Dorothy Perkins for fashion, Blues, Floral, Museum.

4. Once a month to browse, everywhere - didn't get a brand,  New Look, Dorothy Perkins for fashion, Pinks, Floral, Church because it sounds like a word similar!

Outside House of Fraser 2 to 2.30pm

5. Twice a year, maid.com and dwell, Zara for clothes, Stripes and checked, blue at the moment, because I follow trends.

6. Once every 6 months, Nash - a boutique in Nottingham, Hobbs.

7. Once a week, Hoff, Hobbs, Fuschia pink, Last watched Endeavour. 

8. Everyday, John Lewis, Next, BHS, For fashion - M&S, Next, Hoff, John Lewis, Blues and Greens, last watched Chicago Fire

9. Once a week, John Lewis, Hobbs and Laura Ashley for fashion, Black, last watched Undeniable.

10. Twice/3 times a week, Dunelm, John Lewis, for fashion - Wallis, John Lewis, Hoff, fuschia, pink.

11. Once a month, John Lewis for both, green and gold for interiors and clothes. 

Outside Flannels/ Ted Baker 1.25 to 1.55pm

12. once a month- depends if looking specifically as then it will increase, john lewis mainly- love that everything is there, Dress- M&S/cardigan- H&M/shoes- clarks, last week- casualty, soaps e.g. coronation street and emerdale, blues and geometric, associations- serious, thoughtful, me/you- more personal

13. most days- get out of the office and browse, M&S/Nash, Suit-Hobbs/Shoes-M&S, don't watch tv but watched a box set of vampire diaries, floral/magenta/peach/cream, reminds me of exhibitions. me= personal, you=inviting

14. 2/3 a month, boutique shops near where I live, head to toe Ted Baker, Catch up tv- MIC, lemon/pale pink but not really a pattern person, formal vs informal/chattier 

15. Once a month, specialist shoes- try to stay local e.g. Nash, hopewells, shoes-Dune/shirt-present/trousers-charity shop/ jacket-m&s, BBC news, red and polka dots, formal and not warmer vs warmer associations with me/you

16. When a room needs decorating, Homebase/B&Q/IKEA, shirt- river island/ cardigan and jacket- H&M/trousers-topshop, don't watch TV, grey with pops of neon for colour and stripes, making something, then me/you is me creating something specifically

17. Once a month, fabric shops for fabric/furniture shops for furniture, shoes- ecco/coat-debenhams (ages ago)/dress-m&s, Corry, neutral colours, creams etc., textures over patterns, exhibitions and gallery spaces- professional. me/you is warmer especially with handwritten font

Outside John Lewis 2 to 2.30pm

18. As and when needed, friends homes!, head to toe M&S,N/A, soft colours and patterns, serious and intimidating, me/you is easier

19. once  a year usually in summer, boutiques, boutiques, read instead of tv, all- but pink atm with squares, put together and personal

20. once a month, M&S do a good range, scarf-present/coat-a friends/top and skirt-old m&s, radio 4 listener over tv, all colours but orange and wacky colours, posh then it is made personified

21. when i need something, John Lewis for everything, various JL concessions, corry, cream and brown with subtle patterns, careful/craft/create me/you= inclusive

The Aaker Model: Curate

The Aaker Model: Curate

Brand as Product: Digital, Physical, Book, Website, Community, Webinars, Trend Guides

Brand as Experience:  Interactive, Creative, Sharing, Customised,

Brand as Symbol: Fabric, swatch, book, string, tape measure, scissors, pattern, hand crafted

Brand as Person: advisor, expert, welcoming, inclusive, unique, personable, reassuring.

Brand as Organisation: trustworthy, accessible, diverse, 

Justification of Colour Palette

Neutral Tones: It is important for the website aesthetic not to draw attention away from the fabrics- which are essentially the core essence of the service. Our website will serve as a blank canvas for design- allowing the sheer volume of pattern to breathe and not be too overwhelming for the user.

Linear: The hand drawn nature of our aesthetic reflects the art and design industry- it was the preferred style of our consumer shown through their choice of font and their favourite brands. 

Colour is replaced with Texture: The website will not be deemed minimalistic with its neutral colour tones as these will be enhanced with texture- i.e masking tape, ripped paper. These hints will not take attention away from the fabrics but work as a structure around them.

List of Moodboards

• Website inspiration
• Font development 
• Curate Aesthetic (masking tape, hand drawn, and colour palette etc). 
• Consumers as Curators (pinterest, instagram, their lifestyle, how they collect things)

The Curate Consumer Conclusions

The Curate Consumer

Conclusions:

·         They Shop Around- Our target consumers are not loyal to brands, they shop for both fashion and interiors in varying places each time.

·         They are not afraid of pattern and colour- shown through consumer interviews where stripes, geometrics and fuschia pinks are favourites.

·         They look for reassurance- our research found our consumer preferred to look to family and friend for reassurance on their purchases. This gives them confidence.

·         They are Individual and unique- Based on research using the rosette personality test, we found most of our consumers belong to group B; “They are decisive in rejecting anything that would threaten or restrict the individuality. Their desired lifestyle is individualistic and unique, and not infrequently “alternative”.

·         They are organised and considerate purchasers- our consumers like to research and plan before they buy- this was shown in the scenario’s we tested them on- cars and events.

·         They are online and offline- our consumers use both physical and digital platforms to categorize.

·         They seek expert opinion; research shows consumers like the advice of a professional e.g oral b and fashion council case studies. 

·         Active role- Consumers are looking to play a more active role in the creative process- this has been noted by interior designers as more are bringing in their own moodboards etc. 

rosette test

GROUP B: INTROVERTED

The need for inner tranquility and harmony as well as the possibility of being able to develop their own individuality, characterise this user group. As a result of their psychological make-up, they tend to both relate to their environment, while simultaneously defining themselves against it. Their characteristic attitudes and behaviour patterns are:

Pondering a great deal about themselves and others – Rejection of those who are merely superficial – They would rather stay at home than go to a boring party – Living alone on a deserted island for months or years on end would pose no problems for them – They are decisive in rejecting anything that would threaten or restrict the individuality. Their desired lifestyle is individualistic and unique, and not infrequently “alternative”.

http://www.faithful-to-nature.co.za/natural-organic-blog/63/natural-perfume/personality-types-perfumes/

SWOT

Strengths

• Interactive: Our research has shown, consumers are becoming increasingly hyperconnected- regardless of their confidence level, consumers still highly value the opinion of others (whether these be experts or just family and friends). The Curate website, and for paying members, the online community will provide this level of interaction.
• Accessible: The Curate service will be accessible to a wide audience; the filter system and website navigation in addition to expert help (e.g webinars) makes the entire process easy even for the novice. 
• Environmentally Friendly: Curate addresses one of the main concerns found in our research; the vast amount of fabric wastage in normal pattern books. Curate is different; its ring bind allows users to mix and match fabrics saving them buying ones they don't want/need in addition with the 'trade a swatch' service allowing them to trade in old swatches to be recycled for a 'money off' incentive. 
• Shareable: Our research concluded that consumers demand a certain  level of reassurance from their peers, especially when the purchase is expensive. The website will allow consumers to share their concepts through the community. 
• Brand Affiliation- affiliating curate with brands will serve as a source of revenue- click throughs to website etc. 

Weaknesses

• Extra Cost? Some consumers may feel buying a pattern book is a costly alternative to simply borrowing them from interior shops or buying the odd swatch. 
• Digital Concerns: Despite having an interest in pattern books and interiors, some consumers maybe lack the digital 'know how' to use the service. 
• Damaging to Designers? The concept of consumers as curators may lead to interior designers feeling increasingly 'defunct', this will be problematic when hiring experts for webinar's and advice articles in look book. 
• Something new: some consumers may feel uncomfortable trying a new service when the pattern book has been in the same format for so long. 

Opportunities

• Soft Furnishing Collaboration: The website could offer other accessories, such as curtain tassles, allowing the consumer create a full picture of what their new room will look like.4-6 years
• New Talent: It could be a platform for showcasing new textile designers.1-2 years
• Competition: consumers can enter their book into a competition- this will raise awareness about curate. 1+ ongoing 
• Branded Content; brands could create advitorials and can set consumer competitions. This raises the profiles of both the brand and curate. 3-4 years

Threats

• Technological: Some people find the website a great tool, but may want that personal interaction of going into a shop for advice. They may feel out of touch using a website on their own. 
• The Touch stigma; some consumers may feel that even in the early stages of choosing a fabric- you will always need to touch.
• Unique for a limited time? brands will soon catch on and curate will face competition in the market and will have to re-strategies in order to stay on top. 
• Unpredictable costs of Materials: prices of fabric could rise or fall over time
• Customisation Trend; the demand for this may change over time- its popular now, but in a few years it may just be something people expect and not a novelty. 

Consumer quote from WGSN article

And they like curating content:

Generation X internet users are as likely to use Pinterest as their Generation Y counterparts (19%) – and they are more likely to have a Pinterest account than a Twitter account. 

http://www.wgsn.com.ezproxy.ntu.ac.uk/content/report/Think_Tank/2013/June/generation_tech_genxpowerplayers.html

Another long term goal?

http://www.psfk.com/2014/04/project-tango-3d-scanning-tool.html#!DvHOt