Elte

Overview

We partnered with Elte, a leading luxury home furnishings retailer, to support their e-commerce build. The engagement was driven by a commitment to strategic thinking, ensuring the new digital platform was not merely a replacement website but a robust, scalable foundation designed to accelerate and sustain business growth.

Role — Senior Product Designer

Goals

1. Inspire shoppers to come in person to visit the Elte showrooms

2. Act as a product catalogue to facilitate product exploration

3. Tell inspiring brand stories, spotlight designers, etc.

Context

Elte was at a crucial turning point, dedicating time and resources to reposition its brand. They collaborated with the creative agency Decade to establish a fresh artistic direction. From there, we partnered with Elte to apply our expertise in translating their new brand vision into a compelling digital UX experience.

To ensure we delivered our best work, we employed a methodology to define our strategic approach, as outlined below. I collaborated closely with a skilled cross-functional team, including a UX researcher, project manager, senior product designer, and technical lead, to develop a scalable solution and establish a build strategy.

View Site

Define: Guided by User Insights and Journeys

At the outset of this engagement, we asked a key question: “Why do customers choose Elte over competitors?” Through user research, we gained a deeper understanding of their audience and identified strategic opportunities to benefit both the business and its clientele. One key insight revealed that customers wanted to understand the origin, process, and craftsmanship behind each piece, emphasizing the need to better communicate the story of the products.

Next, we analyzed the Elte customer journey to understand users’ mental models, asking questions such as, “How do they discover products?” and “What motivates them to make a purchase?” This exploration revealed opportunities for inspiration as well as points of friction, guiding our design decisions.

Ideate: Exploring Concepts

We asked, “How can we inspire Elte’s target customers?” and explored ways to enhance storytelling throughout the experience while embracing the new visual direction. Our goal was to create a seamless digital experience that captured the luxurious atmosphere of the showroom. To achieve this, we conducted in-depth design workshops with Elte, ensuring alignment on outcomes and establishing a clear path forward.

Prototype: From Ideas to Prototypes

Our goal in prototyping was to create a consistent user experience by leveraging design patterns that ensured seamless experience. With Elte’s extensive product catalog—including baths, furniture, lighting, and rugs—we designed a solution that balanced scalability with the flexibility to accommodate future iterations.

Refine: Designing for a Vast Product Catalog

We faced a pivotal challenge when some pages needed to accommodate over 4,000 products. To address this, we shifted our approach to create a more scalable solution. Our focus was on clearly communicating each product’s value, which led to features like a designer spotlight section to keep customers engaged. We modernized the experience by introducing a side-scroll format for imagery and ensuring the design system supported additional images without compromising content quality. Mobile optimization was a priority, and we collaborated with developers to incorporate intuitive gestures and deliver a smooth, modern experience.

Integrate: Build a seamless solution

As we translated our designs into code, we began to approach the project in phases, creating multiple components to expand the site's possibilities for future iteration and growth. Our primary focus was to showcase the Elte story and provide deeper insights into their products, methods, and the artisans behind them, ultimately aiming for a harmonious solution.

Summary

By emphasizing the craftsmanship involved in making each product, we added value to the transition from the digital experience to the luxurious showroom. This approach extended Elte’s reach and allowed them to showcase the quality of their offerings to customers.