Whirlpool (and Maytag) Corporation is a renown household name with the reputation of being the best global kitchen and laundry appliance company, constantly in pursuit of improving life at home.
- Interface Design
- User Storytelling
- Blue Sky Ideation
- Market Research
- Doug Hughmanick
- Brandon Boswell
- Youngmi Kwon
YOUR LIFE REVOLVES AROUND YOUR APPLIANCES.
Context
My team at ANML assisted Whirlpool & Maytag with the ideation of unique design concepts that can be utilized across their range of digital mediums. As a designer, I contributed towards crafting feasible user experiences across IoT Commercial Laundry, watchOS UI, and Mobile E-Commerce Flows.
Commercial laundry made simple
As whirlpool pursued upscaling commercial laundry units for their consumers, our team considered how a digital experience could possibly play a role in making trips to the laundromat more efficient.
We identified key pain points that persist across demographics at additional locations beyond the laundromat such as apartment complexes, university housing, and hotels.
After narrowing down blue sky ideas, we began developing unique user persona narratives to demonstrate each use case concept at a much deeper level.
Panic over loose change is a thing of the past.
A new foundation for Whirlpool
We influenced the whirlpool product team with a new foundational benchmark to begin working towards. New HMI developments are currently in the works between in-house industrial design and interface design.
Appliance care on the go
I contributed towards crafting a comprehensive watchOS experience that held the key of brevity in taming home appliance tasks with a single tap. The designs prioritize short form task-oriented flows combining dynamic micro-interactions that drive the experience to scale and function efficiently. Operating between Whirlpool as well as its subsidiary brands like Maytag.
Responsive use cases
It was a challenge to take the functionality from the Whirlpool mobile app and scale down into a simplified watchOS UI. After various iterations, the solution achieved accommodates a handful of unique flows for a variety of appliance controls simply from the wrist of the user.
Establishing a new foundation for mobile e-commerce
Whirlpool proposed their goal to kickstart an in-app mobile e-commerce experience. Throughout the project, I was tasked with research, planning, and testing design concepts for an ideal consumer experience that could be implemented as a launch-ready MVP.
Following the first 3 months of launch, accessory sales (detergent, dryer sheets, softeners) had increased by a total of 15% across Whirlpool and Maytag mobile applications.
Your Accessories are just a tap away.
Contributions towards pivotal innovation
It was an honor and privilege to have had the opportunity to contribute towards such unique digital initiatives for Whirlpool. I managed to work very flexibly within so many phases of the design process.
Working within a small team to advocate large scale solutions was a challenge that encountered ambiguity and revision. As a designer, I gained valuable knowledge in digital product design thinking across IoT, e-commerce, and wearable technology.