Nars Cosmetics

ROLE: Product Director, Interaction Designer, Lead Engineer
CATEGORIES: Design, Development, Strategy, Apps, Websites

BACKGROUND
NARS Cosmetics is a pioneer in the beauty industry, bringing cutting edge multi-use products to the market. With customers relying ever more on e-commerce for purchases, NARS sought to strengthen their digital brand and distinguish themselves as a leader in immersive brand experiences online. They partnered with my team with the intention of increasing e-commerce sales, boosting online engagement and creating an immersive digital brand identity unparalleled in the cosmetic space. We came on as an extension of their in-house team and produced a comprehensive online campaign strategy and multiple digital initiatives that effectively integrated with their complex CMS and didn’t require extra work from their small team.

OUTLINE OF PROJECTS 

1. Media Rich Campaign Microsites
2. Concealer Finder
3. Pro-Palette Drag + Drop
4. In-Store Kiosk App

PROJECT

Agile Media Rich Campaign Microsites

Seasonal product releases call for in store, print, and social media campaigns, but NARS’ website (like many large ecommerce sites) didn’t offer a fast and easy way to create media rich, engaging, and beautifully designed campaign micro-sites. My team and I created a design system of atoms and modules and a visual editor to easily create and export beautiful micro-sites that fit in their ecommerce platform. It empowered NARS’ creative team to quickly create media rich, interactive  immersive campaigns for new product launches and seasonal initiatives.

QUICKSHOP TO INCREASE SALES
One key element to online conversions is seamless shopping. The shopping cart and checkout experience must be simple and fast, encouraging shoppers to add products to the cart as they browse the site. We created an ability to quick shop from our campaign micro-sites to allow customers to purchase directly from inside the immersive experience without redirecting to a product page. This streamlined the shopping process and produced an increase in e-commerce sales and boosted time on site for more uninterrupted browsing and buying.

JUST AS BEAUTIFUL ON MOBILE

PROJECT

Pro-Palette Drag + Drop

NARS wanted to create an interactive tool that promoted their Pro-Palette line, a product for the professional or serious enthusiast that can be curated with a mix of colors and make ups.  My team and I designed and developed an interactive drag and drop palette builder that gave online customers the option to build a NARS Pro-Palette to their exact specifications. The “SUPER FUN” and engaging UX of the palette builder has turned their custom palettes into an ecommerce powerhouse and the product has become a staple item for the company across the globe. We started mobile-first so this experience could be just as fun and engaging on the phone as it would be on desktop.

PROJECT

Concealer Finder

For the Soft Matte Complete Concealer launch, NARS wanted to create a unique way for customers to shop across their concealers online. We conceived of an online tool that paired a customer’s skin tone and coverage preferences with one of the NARS concealer products, while showcasing all available shades, a toggle between before and after images of models, as well as how to videos and product benefits. Once within the tool, customers could explore all NARS concealers and shop their specific shade of all the products. The success of the tool carried it from a campaign specific initiative to an online staple that lives on their site as a customer engagement and educational tool.

PROJECT

In-store Kiosk App

My team designed and developed an in-store kiosk app that allowed customers to learn more about the NARS brand and products while in the store. The app could be updated for new product launches by the in-house team at NARS and pushed out wirelessly to the stores. The in-house NARS brand team was able to react to new product launches and business needs by easily pushing updated content to the app.

ABOUT ME
I’m Nate Mueller – designer, builder, and former partner at Studio Mercury.

At Studio Mercury, I produced comprehensive award winning brand identities, campaigns, and digital products that spanned multiple industries and platforms. As co-founder and director of digital at Studio Mercury, I oversaw the creation of digital identities, translation of brands throughout their digital projects, and manages all aspects of projects from start to finish between multiple stakeholders, designers, and development teams. I wrote, pitched, and presented proposals that allowed our studio to compete and win projects with $500k budges. I led both creative and development teams of between 5-15 people, all while working on multiple projects (usually between 8-12 concurrently). I’m a passionate leader with success in building, mobilizing, and developing cross-functional teams of strategists, designers, programmers, directors and photographers.

While pursuing my Masters at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), I developed a healthy skepticism of the role of technology in our lives. I believe the integration of technology should be purposeful and well thought out and I apply this ethos to my work.

Sometimes when I’m tired of looking at the screen, I’ll hand-print wallpaper or hack Nintendo cartridges. Working with my hands helps fuel my inner maker.

I currently live in San Francisco.