Branding, App, Design system, Design strategy, UX, UI
John Lewis
Client
Sector
Role
Year
John Lewis LTD
Retail
Design Lead
2020 – 2022
By the end of 2021, I led the team in reimagining the ethos of the department store for the digital age, helping customers rediscover the joy of shopping. Our focus was on crafting a design that evoked inspiration, curation, convenience, and expert advice—capturing the emotional excitement felt by John Lewis’s first customers over 100 years ago. This vision drove a 16-week Brand UI Refresh, during which I guided the team through strategic immersion, defining a bold creative vision, and fostering open collaboration through ‘town-hall’ sessions on brand, customer insights, and content strategy. Through workshops with John Lewis designers and developers, I championed the idea of prioritising ‘unity’ over ‘uniformity,’ empowering the team to push creative boundaries while delivering a refreshed, cohesive brand experience.
Live App
Approach
I led the design refresh for John Lewis, shaping what is now known as the ‘Joyful Bold’ interface aesthetic. Through iterative conceptual design, tested and refined with customers and stakeholders, myself and the team developed a vibrant new visual identity. Over eight weeks, my team and I focused on creating detailed UI elements and components for the Mono Design System, extending its scope from mobile to web UI. Collaborating closely with the design system product team, I ensured seamless integration of our visual work and aligned priorities with delivery teams to support the successful execution of the refreshed digital experience.
Design systems
The ‘Joyfully Bold’ design system for John Lewis was crafted as a living framework, evolving with customer behaviour, new business innovations, and the brand’s expansion into new spaces. It provides a unified foundation for the John Lewis experience through untouchable components and styles, ensuring a distinct and cohesive UI identity. Central to this system is a master component library, including logos, functional icons, core typography, and universal patterns and adaptive design for each season.
Icon system
Collaborating with a fellow designer, I custom-designed a comprehensive iconography set inspired by the John Lewis typeface. We created 78 unique icons resulting in 936 variants. Each asset was meticulously crafted with specific attention to stroke, dimension, and state variations, ensuring brand consistency across all digital products.
Website design concepts
I created concepts for the ‘Joyfully Bold’ website experience, showcasing how the refreshed visual language scales across interfaces and supports John Lewis’ seasonal campaigns.
App design concepts
In addition to the iconography, I developed a series of concepts for the ‘Joyfully Bold’ website experience. These designs demonstrated how the refreshed visual language scales across complex interfaces, supporting seasonal campaigns, diverse product departments, and a varied content landscape.
App design concepts
Translating the ‘Joyfully Bold’ concept to mobile, I explored how the visual identity could flex dynamically, dialling up brand expression during seasonal campaigns while keeping product browsing engaging. This refreshed user experience resonated with customers, driving a 186% uplift in app revenue.