Gensler - Digital Platform Innovation for Interior Designers
Team
Julia Shao, Aiko Ito, Juan Alfonso de la Rosa, Yang Cheng Hsiang, Sara Tashakorinia, Tirdad Kiamanesh.
Managers
Larry Keeley, Carlos Teixeira ( 2 classes, 6 weeks each )
Clients
Doblin, Gensler, Designer Pages
Overview of the project
This project aimed to enhance Gensler’s digital material library and develop a scalable solution for sharing knowledge and design intelligence across its global offices.
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Collaborating with the CEO of Designer Pages, Gensler stakeholders, and key clients, we uncovered industry orthodoxies, emerging trends, and user needs. One key insight: designers relied on fragmented tools and inconsistent workflows across regions.
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In response, we developed a strategic roadmap for Designer Pages and led a three-phase implementation plan to unify project data, streamline collaboration, and unlock institutional knowledge across the enterprise.
Methods & Activities
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Secondary research
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User interview
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Observation
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Mind map
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Stakeholder value map
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Brainstorming
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Round robin
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Identifying orthodoxies
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10 type of innovation
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Business canvas model
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User flow chart
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User Test
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Roadmap
Final Concept - Catalog the word
Designer Pages — Strategy & Platform Vision
Designer Pages set out to digitize material libraries for interior designers. While the platform functions as a searchable catalog, it lacked stakeholder alignment and workflow integration.
We reframed the opportunity: turn Designer Pages into a collaborative, multi-user platform that supports the entire design process. Our strategy focused on:
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Empowering designers with intuitive tools for end-to-end workflows
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Delivering business insights to manufacturers in exchange for richer data
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Enhancing engagement through seamless UX and valuable content
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By aligning stakeholder needs and elevating platform utility, we proposed a shift from static catalog to design intelligence ecosystem.
This is Julia. She is a millennial. She loves travel, seeing new places and corious about the enviroument around her. She also an interior designer and she recently started to work in a big design firm as a junior designer
As Julia is walking to train station with her friend Mike after work, she noticed this really cool looking coffee shop that recently opened. As the curious and passionate interior designer she is, she asks mike to go in there to grab a coffee and check the place out!
As soon as they enter, she is so fascinated and amazed by the environment….the interior design, and colors. She loved the way this coffee shop made her feel.
Julia: I love the styling behind this place,...the contemporary look but also the innovation and freshness.
Julia: There’s something really special about this glass and mirrored table. Hey Mike,... do you know who designed it? I could totally use them at my new project for Gensler.
Mike: yea I am blown away! It looks like Charlotte Lucas’’s work but I could be wrong.
Julia wished to know all about this place. Who designed this space? Where did they order this furniture?How could she get access to manufacturers and venders involve As all these questions and uncertainties goes through her head.
Mike taps on her shouldersmiles and asks: Have you ever heard of Designer tag?
This is designer tag - The app that helps you to find out who created certain interiors and products.
All you need to do is take a picture And ...
... you will see all the information you want about the interior and products and even if you can't find the info right away….you can simply tag the picture and other users within the community will supplement the information for you… here is how it works.
Research Process and Startegic Roadmap
Sarah Kleber
Interior Designer, HKS
" I need a software which can help me to interact faster and more efficient with senior designers "
Todd Heiser
Design Principal, Gensler
" An ideal platform in my mind can feedback the emotions of people while interacting with my design."
" We have 50 offices all around the world, sharing experience and knowledge among all of these offices is a big challenge for us "
3 Waves of Innovation
After we finalized the road map, we considered three waves to bring this innovation to the platform. In each wave, we cover some levels of the road map. It helps me to implement the new ideas to the system but in the same time have a rigid goal and plan.
Stakeholders Value Exchange
First wave, streaming the current workflow
Simpler web page with the ability for designers to create their own palette, share it with other team members and receive feedback. Also the spec standardized base on designer needs.
Second wave, data also available based on location, big data predicts themes and trends
A space is no longer just a beautiful place in which people work, lot more things happen there and it makes the process of decision making harder than before and DP acknowledges this. As a result, DP add ‘knowledge’ and intelligence to spaces. Designers can find trends within spaces that have been in and are currently being used and compare it. They also have power to dig in, learn, and evaluate the space with other trends.
Correspondingly, manufacturers can find insights about their products. It helps them to have a clear understanding from the market and from their main customers …. Designers …..
The third wave, catalog the world by AR / VR and product recognition technology, collect emotional feedback
DP tag becomes a part of people’s everyday life. Designer pages now forms a community made up of people that are passionate about design in a world filled with smart tags.
Through DP tag and virtual reality technology designers are able to travel to the most innovative spaces to be inspired and learn about how people interact with and feel about these spaces.
And on the consumer sides, DP tag brings out the designer in people by enabling them to travel into different environments far from where they are.
DP tag becomes a part of people’s everyday life. Designer pages now forms a community made up of people that are passionate about design in a world filled with smart tags.
