LEvis

LEvis

A purpose built web tool for creating & managing seasonal collections

A purpose built web tool for creating & managing seasonal collections

A bold new event page for millions of passionate fans

internal tool

internal tool

Sept 22 - March 23

Sept 22 - March 23

Role

Role

Senior Product Designer

Senior Product Designer

Tools

Tools

Figma, Miro, Confluence and Jira

Figma, Miro, Confluence and Jira

Team

Team

Project owner, Project manager and Backend & Front End engineers

Project owner, Project manager and Backend & Front End engineers

Context

Context

Overview

Overview

Levi’s the global jeans brand, started working with Red Badger at the beginning of 2021. Levi’s employees (fashion merchants in this case) are heavily reliant on internal cumbersome tools to get their clothing lines to market. The main goal from the business's perspective was to take the current go-to-market processes of 14 months, down to just 9 months with a new all-in-one internal digital solution called ‘Assortify’ (Spotify for jeans).

⭐️ North Star ⭐

Take the current go-to-market processes of 14 months, down to just 9 months with a new all-in-one internal digital solution

Levi’s the global jeans brand, started working with Red Badger at the beginning of 2021. Levi’s employees (fashion merchants in this case) are heavily reliant on internal cumbersome tools to get their clothing lines to market. The main goal from the business's perspective was to take the current go-to-market processes of 14 months, down to just 9 months with a new all-in-one internal digital solution called ‘Assortify’ (Spotify for jeans).

⭐️ North Star ⭐

Take the current go-to-market processes of 14 months, down to just 9 months with a new all-in-one internal digital solution

added context

added context

goals & challenges

goals & challenges

Goals

Goals

  • Empower Levi's to work more efficiently through Agile ways of working

  • Get users using Assortify for key parts of their clothing delivery cycle

  • Develop a centralised tool to manage the whole Assorting process

  • Empower Levi's to work more efficiently through Agile ways of working

  • Get users using Assortify for key parts of their clothing delivery cycle

  • Develop a centralised tool to manage the whole Assorting process

Challenges

Challenges

  • Levi’s HQ is based in San Francisco, which meant we had a two-hour window of working time with the client each day

  • Operating on a waterfall model, we would need to educate the client in Agile and highlight the best ways of working

  • Merchants have built up strong mental models making it hard to introduce new ways of doing things

  • Levi’s HQ is based in San Francisco, which meant we had a two-hour window of working time with the client each day

  • Operating on a waterfall model, we would need to educate the client in Agile and highlight the best ways of working

  • Merchants have built up strong mental models making it hard to introduce new ways of doing things

User problems

User problems

  • The clothing go to market process is long and complicated

  • Users juggle between many different types of software in their day to day

  • Documents set up by different teams are convoluted and difficult to edit

  • The clothing go to market process is long and complicated

  • Users juggle between many different types of software in their day to day

  • Documents set up by different teams are convoluted and difficult to edit

double diamond or die

double diamond or die

The process

The process

Requirements gathering was a point of friction from early on, a mix of complicated subject matter and uneducated stakeholders had us sharpening our consultancy skills. The team and I experimented with different processes, often the client would write super complex requirements instead of one-liner user problems. We introduced items such as:

  • A context former: a document the client could fill out in their own time and would cycle through a list of questions

  • Brain walking exercises: each team member would write down their interpretation of the problem

  • User problem breakdown: as a team go through a user problem and present what we know back to the client


Opting for the Brain Walking exercise, as this was the most successful approach for the team, we eventually had a deeper shared team understanding of each new problem and where that particular problem came from (business vs user).

Requirements gathering was a point of friction from early on, a mix of complicated subject matter and uneducated stakeholders had us sharpening our consultancy skills. The team and I experimented with different processes, often the client would write super complex requirements instead of one-liner user problems. We introduced items such as:

  • A context former: a document the client could fill out in their own time and would cycle through a list of questions

  • Brain walking exercises: each team member would write down their interpretation of the problem

  • User problem breakdown: as a team go through a user problem and present what we know back to the client


Opting for the Brain Walking exercise, as this was the most successful approach for the team, we eventually had a deeper shared team understanding of each new problem and where that particular problem came from (business vs user).

UXD Discovery flow

UXD Discovery flow

discovering through Interviews and insights

user research

user research

The project started with multiple rounds of subject matter expert interviews, gaining insights into the merchants day to day processes, and pain points, building a cohesive understanding of the clothing go-to-market processes. All of the interviews were documented in Dovetail, which allowed us to tag the transcripts, and create themes in the participant’s comments.


Taking our learnings from the user interviews, the team and I developed a large service blueprint, this helped the team (and the client) understand the user's ways of working at a glance.

The project started with multiple rounds of subject matter expert interviews, gaining insights into the merchants day to day processes, and pain points, building a cohesive understanding of the clothing go-to-market processes. All of the interviews were documented in Dovetail, which allowed us to tag the transcripts, and create themes in the participant’s comments.


Taking our learnings from the user interviews, the team and I developed a large service blueprint, this helped the team (and the client) understand the user's ways of working at a glance.

The Service Design Blueprint was created to provide visibility across the organisation and serve as a reference for new employees.

The Service Design Blueprint was created to provide visibility across the organisation and serve as a reference for new employees.

What did I learn?

What did I learn?

research insights

research insights

A large portion of research and feedback was gathered asynchronously. Adding questions to a board in Miro worked best. We would often set stakeholders (and users) homework to do in our absence, we would leave comments and questions on wireframes in Miro.


To combat the time differences we tested wireframe concepts and Figma clickable prototypes with European merchants, as well as conducted multiple rounds of guerrilla testing with Red Badger employees. Levi’s would also hold their internal UAT testing with users, this consisted of the Product Manager taking the users through the new features and getting verbal feedback. A Microsoft Teams channel was set up so that users had a space to voice their concerns, give feedback and give suggestions.

A large portion of research and feedback was gathered asynchronously. Adding questions to a board in Miro worked best. We would often set stakeholders (and users) homework to do in our absence, we would leave comments and questions on wireframes in Miro.


To combat the time differences we tested wireframe concepts and Figma clickable prototypes with European merchants, as well as conducted multiple rounds of guerrilla testing with Red Badger employees. Levi’s would also hold their internal UAT testing with users, this consisted of the Product Manager taking the users through the new features and getting verbal feedback. A Microsoft Teams channel was set up so that users had a space to voice their concerns, give feedback and give suggestions.

#1

#1

Users day to day consists of switching between many different types of software

Users day to day consists of switching between many different types of software

#2

#2

Master files are created by other teams but often abandoned because they’re difficult to use

Master files are created by other teams but often abandoned because they’re difficult to use

#3

#3

A huge amount of time was spent manually updating Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint documents, and presenting groups of products using Visulon

A huge amount of time was spent manually updating Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint documents, and presenting groups of products using Visulon

#4

#4

Most of the software the users are using doesn’t integrate, which leads to a lot of copying and pasting of important information

Most of the software the users are using doesn’t integrate, which leads to a lot of copying and pasting of important information

final.design.final.final.almostthere.jpeg

final.design.final.final.almostthere.jpeg

Building an MVP

Building an MVP

Once the research was gathered we had a good basis to start creating an MVP of Assortify. Taking inspiration from the commerce website we built a rough design library of components. The MVP allowed us to rapidly test iterations of interactions and experiences, however, after senior stakeholders weighed in, it was evident that we would need to completely re-style the MVP. We hired additional UI design resources to revamp the Design Library and to give the site an overhaul.

Once the research was gathered we had a good basis to start creating an MVP of Assortify. Taking inspiration from the commerce website we built a rough design library of components. The MVP allowed us to rapidly test iterations of interactions and experiences, however, after senior stakeholders weighed in, it was evident that we would need to completely re-style the MVP. We hired additional UI design resources to revamp the Design Library and to give the site an overhaul.

Prototype created as a test and learn experiement with SLT and key stakeholders

Prototype created as a test and learn experiement with SLT and key stakeholders

Example of the start of the Global Line Assortment flow

Example of the start of the Global Line Assortment flow


interaction rules of thumb

interaction rules of thumb

UX Heuristics evaluation

UX Heuristics evaluation

Cracks started to appear within Assortify, as the site grew bigger and bigger with more features. We quickly realised that we needed to re-design some of the interactions to ensure the site was still easy to use and made sense to the users. I decided a heuristics evaluation was the best course of action, this allowed us to once again educate the client on UX best practices and stress test our current site.

Cracks started to appear within Assortify, as the site grew bigger and bigger with more features. We quickly realised that we needed to re-design some of the interactions to ensure the site was still easy to use and made sense to the users. I decided a heuristics evaluation was the best course of action, this allowed us to once again educate the client on UX best practices and stress test our current site.

In a couple of days I was able to:

In a couple of days I was able to:

  • Run the entire product through the 10 Usability Heuristics

  • Present back the most urgent findings and showcase how they might fit into the roadmap

  • Alleviate bias and personal opinions to focus on the best UX practices

  • Run the entire product through the 10 Usability Heuristics

  • Present back the most urgent findings and showcase how they might fit into the roadmap

  • Alleviate bias and personal opinions to focus on the best UX practices

Highlighting UI that goes against Usability Heuristics

Highlighting UI that goes against Usability Heuristics

Plotting the changes onto a prioritisation map

Plotting the changes onto a prioritisation map


building things with grey boxes

building things with grey boxes

Wireframing

Wireframing

More times than not, we would go straight to wireframing in Miro instead of sketching with pen and paper. We came up with a suite of wireframe templates in Miro to rapidly build designs. There were many benefits to choosing this method:

  • It had a big impact on productivity, speeding up time to get the ideas down

  • The wireframes matched the live site

  • The wireframes are kept separate from the Figma design library clean and tidy

  • Showcasing the ideas to the stakeholders was easy and they could leave feedback directly on the board

More times than not, we would go straight to wireframing in Miro instead of sketching with pen and paper. We came up with a suite of wireframe templates in Miro to rapidly build designs. There were many benefits to choosing this method:

  • It had a big impact on productivity, speeding up time to get the ideas down

  • The wireframes matched the live site

  • The wireframes are kept separate from the Figma design library clean and tidy

  • Showcasing the ideas to the stakeholders was easy and they could leave feedback directly on the board

Roll up view sketches

Roll up view sketches


Sticky nav and Table view sketches

Sticky nav and Table view sketches

Season product view

Season product view


Exporting table data with/without images

Exporting table data with/without images

ironing out the kinks

ironing out the kinks

The final approach

The final approach

I led the end-to-end design execution, addressing the core user challenge: confusion between the order summary and accessing tickets. By restructuring the page hierarchy and surfacing the “View Barcode” CTA, I created a clearer, more intuitive experience across platforms. Support for dark/light modes and alignment with platform specific guidelines (Material Design & HIG) further improved usability.

To ensure the work resonated with real users, I ran usability tests with Ticketmaster fans and guerrilla tests with colleagues. Collaboration with Product Marketing helped ensure a consistent tone of voice, validating both interaction and messaging clarity.

With no prior design infrastructure in place, I introduced a shared token system and established foundational patterns for typography, colour, and components. This enabled faster dev handoff, future scalability, and laid the groundwork for global app integrations.

I led the end-to-end design execution, addressing the core user challenge: confusion between the order summary and accessing tickets. By restructuring the page hierarchy and surfacing the “View Barcode” CTA, I created a clearer, more intuitive experience across platforms. Support for dark/light modes and alignment with platform specific guidelines (Material Design & HIG) further improved usability.

To ensure the work resonated with real users, I ran usability tests with Ticketmaster fans and guerrilla tests with colleagues. Collaboration with Product Marketing helped ensure a consistent tone of voice, validating both interaction and messaging clarity.

With no prior design infrastructure in place, I introduced a shared token system and established foundational patterns for typography, colour, and components. This enabled faster dev handoff, future scalability, and laid the groundwork for global app integrations.

Metrics to measure against

Metrics to measure against

Impact

Impact

After a year on the project I really got to sharpen my consultancy skills and make a dramatic impact to Levi’s digital strategies and ways of working.

I made a positive impact through educating the business on Agile methodologies, shaking up the current ways of working by constantly releasing features at pace, listening to users and giving them a voice to leave feedback/suggestions. We were able to alleviate some of the stresses users faced getting their clothing lines to market, which now takes only takes around 10 months instead of the original 14 months!

After a year on the project I really got to sharpen my consultancy skills and make a dramatic impact to Levi’s digital strategies and ways of working.

I made a positive impact through educating the business on Agile methodologies, shaking up the current ways of working by constantly releasing features at pace, listening to users and giving them a voice to leave feedback/suggestions. We were able to alleviate some of the stresses users faced getting their clothing lines to market, which now takes only takes around 10 months instead of the original 14 months!

-30%

-30%

Decrease in time to get clothing lines to market

Decrease in time to get clothing lines to market

+4

+4

New processes introduce to teams day-today

New processes introduce to teams day-today

80%

80%

Of teams across the business have adopted the tool

Of teams across the business have adopted the tool

"The new Assortify tool has made a dramatic and positive impact on the way we work as a company"

"The new Assortify tool has made a dramatic and positive impact on the way we work as a company"

Lia Asquini, Director of Product Management

Lia Asquini, Director of Product Management

Key takeaways

Key takeaways

Learnings

Learnings

Approaches to carry forward

Approaches to carry forward

  • Experiment with all sessions in your toolkit until something works for you and the client

  • Working within a two hour time window per day is tough, but there are practical ways to get things done

  • Your have to be very efficient with you time and gather feedback/research asynchronously

  • Experiment with all sessions in your toolkit until something works for you and the client

  • Working within a two hour time window per day is tough, but there are practical ways to get things done

  • Your have to be very efficient with you time and gather feedback/research asynchronously

What I'd do differently

What I'd do differently

  • Experiment with all sessions in your toolkit until something works for you and the client

  • Working within a two hour time window per day is tough, but there are practical ways to get things done

  • Your have to be very efficient with you time and gather feedback/research asynchronously

  • Stop and reflect on our achievements, we shipped an incredible amount of features in a year but it wasn’t celebrated as much as it should have been

  • Don’t rush into a project, get a feel for how the project is going by talking with different members of the team

  • Ensure we had a project manager/business analyst within a similar timezone

  • Experiment with all sessions in your toolkit until something works for you and the client

  • Working within a two hour time window per day is tough, but there are practical ways to get things done

  • Your have to be very efficient with you time and gather feedback/research asynchronously

  • Stop and reflect on our achievements, we shipped an incredible amount of features in a year but it wasn’t celebrated as much as it should have been

  • Don’t rush into a project, get a feel for how the project is going by talking with different members of the team

  • Ensure we had a project manager/business analyst within a similar timezone

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