Brompton
01
Brompton
Riding through the pandemic with an evolved e-commerce experience for an iconic British bicycle brand.
Agency
Beyond
Year
2021
Role
Associate Creative Director
Skills
Creative direction
UI design
Design systems
02
the challenge
When the pandemic forced high street shops to close, Brompton needed help to redevelop their online store.
Brompton bike riders love to see their personality reflected in their bikes. Our challenge was to take the in-store experience of picking a frame and personalising each element to Brompton’s online retail store, replicating the same creative and customisation experience for their customers.
My role on this engagement was to lead the visual design of a unique e-commerce experience in both an oversight and hands-on capacity for this iconic British brand.
03
The approach
We had eight weeks to overhaul Brompton’s entire e-commerce experience.
I worked in close collaboration with a Design Lead and Experience Lead, where we ran workshops with the client to understand their audience and business needs quickly to align on a shared vision.
We also worked closely with Brompton’s internal Design Team with weekly ceremonies so that we could immerse ourselves in the brand as much and as quickly as possible.
From the insights gathered, we aligned our design thinking to four pillars:
01
Inspire
How can we allow users trust our brand and be inspired by our products?
02
Understand
How can we give users the confidence in what they are purchasing is right for them?
03
Purchase
How can we fully integrate purchase into the experience?
04
Create
How can we allow users trust our brand and be inspired by our products?
Designing with purpose
The four pillars were the basis of our thinking for Brompton’s new e-commerce experience.
Conversion driven design
The content hierarchy for each page template prompts users at the different stages of their buying journeys.
04
the concept
To ground the work to an overarching idea, we began by developing three creative territories.
After presenting these to the client for alignment, we moved forward with the concept of Unfold Your Story, drawing inspiration from Brompton’s heritage of balancing form, function, and fun.
The idea that the compact, foldable Brompton takes it’s riders further. Whether commuting in the city or escaping outside, each rider’s story unfolds in different ways.
We used this creative thread to develop a design language that is rich in colour and imagery, confident with whitespace, and plays on geometric shapes to represent the Brompton fold, whilst being considerate with the balance of creativity and performance.
This was my first project I lead when I joined Beyond and introduced the concept of creative territories to the project team, with the goal of pushing design craft and visual storytelling.
05
the output
Designed for personality
The new online retail store is designed with the customer at the forefront.
Buyers can browse the product range, learn how a Brompton can fit into their lifestyle, and customise one of 116 possible variations of Brompton bikes to reflect their personalities, giving them the same attention to detail that buyers experience in store.
Considered craft
We designed each module of the site to have the overarching idea of Unfold Your Story weaved throughout the design language.
Responsive design
We created four grids across four breakpoints to responsively design our key screens to, helping guide the build of the new site.
Curated typography
We created type ramps to work across multiple breakpoints, annotating each one as part of our handover.
A scalable design system
We created a scalable design system based on atomic design principles, utilising variants and styles to build out components.
06
the impact
The new Brompton e-commerce experience elevated customer confidence, supported unprecedented demand, and equipped the brand to evolve at speed.
With a modernised identity and scalable design system, it delivered immediate commercial impact and set Brompton up for long-term digital growth.
Scaling through surging demand
The redesigned online store seamlessly absorbed unprecedented pandemic traffic, supporting 50,000 bicycle sales per year without compromising performance or brand experience.
Empowering Brompton’s in-house agility
We delivered a fully annotated, flexible, and scalable design system that enabled Brompton’s internal team to rapidly iterate and respond to design needs as the business evolved.
Accelerating digital transformation
A reimagined experience was conceived, designed, and delivered in just 8 weeks, giving Brompton a modern, brand-forward e-commerce experience that elevated conversion and customer confidence.
Selected works
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