CLC580 FA16 PwC X SCAD - Process Book

PwC X SCAD Collaborative Learning Center 1

RETAIL EXPERIENCE IN VIRTUAL REALITY

TABLE OF CONTENTS BRIEF

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MIDTERM CONCEPTS

10

RESEARCH

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SOLUTION

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DESIGN

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CONCLUSION

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BRIEF

In every collaborative course at SCAD, the client provides us with an overview of the project. These briefs usually outline expectations, desires and deliverables. The next few pages describe what our client was anticipating from the class.

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PROJECT OVERVIEW For this Collaborative Learning Center course, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) presented to us SCAD students a challenge to develop a solution for an unknown American department store. The brief stated that the American department store sought to penetrate the Chinese market, where few have heard of their name.

They wanted to succeed in a market where competition is cheap yet fierce and to top it all off, they are limiting their market entry to digital only.

In addition to this, our American client wants Virtual Reality (VR) to be a key element in our solution. PwC believes that VR, specifically that of the HTC Vive, is an immersive exciting technology that can break boundaries and lead to innovative techniques in the retail world. Using VR as our tool would be able to create moments in the customers lives and this would in turn help to create a connection between an unknown American department store and a Chinese populace with spending power. The VR experience needed to concentrate on one of three themes: home and interior, travel, or fashion. The concept also needed to

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incorporate the heritage of the brand. The brief also stated that a physical pop up store was needed in order to not only house the VR, but also familiarize the market with an unknown brand and create buzz to attract more potential customers.

Faced with this challenge, the class conducted extensive research into who is spending in the Chinese market and what they desire. The class also spent ample time looking into how brands create lasting connections and how to introduce our American client. What you are holding in your hands is a concise documentation of our ideas from conception to actualization over the span of ten weeks.

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MIDTERM CONCEPTS

The class was split into four different groups, each presenting a unique concept for midterm. Based on the original brief provided by PwC, each team strongly believed their concept served as a solution for the challenge. Over the next couple of pages, you will get a condensed and concise overview of each group’s concept.

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CONCEPT #1

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Lava Quest is a VR experience that tests the user’s ability to navigate through a lava-filled room by uniquely using different combinations of furniture. The VR experience begins with the user being placed in a setting with the floor covered in lava, and a character guides the user through a menu that displays different kinds of furniture sold by the retailer. The user would pick pieces of furniture through this menu to be placed in the room and create a path to the room’s exit.

Each furniture has different characteristics that can either increase or decrease the user’s chances for getting across the lava-filled room to the exit, so the user has to strategically think about their furniture combinations to escape. The Lava Quest experience aimed to promote the retailer’s furniture through an exciting experience by using the retailer’s actual furniture within the VR.

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http://4hdwallpapers.com/3d-street-art-wallpaper-7.html

PRE LAUNCH

In order to create buzz and get people to attend the event, billboards and 3D street art, doubling as advertisements, would be spread across the city.

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POP UP STORE

http://iloboyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Maarten-Baas-Organic-Design-ILoboyou4.jpg

While the customers wait to experience the VR, there will be melted sculptures placed throughout the queues. This will lighten their moods, making the wait go by faster as well as creating social media opportunities.

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EXTERIOR

A cargo container box with a melting sofa on top serves as the pop up store. The two cubes in front serve as VR spaces, where the customers get to experience our game.

Within the pop up, are a photobooth that augments the customer’s appearance too look like they’re on fire and a scoreboard that tracks the best players points.

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STORYBOARDS

These storyboards illustrate what customers could expect from our VR. The room would be smoky and the floor would be visibly made of lava. Users would choose a piece of furniture and get a statistic report of the different characteristics each item would have. For instance, an item would display different stats that consist of durability, materiality, softness, etc. Whichever item of furniture they chose would change the outcomes of the VR, giving people different escape times.

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CONCEPT #2

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Who’s ready to get Twisted? Come join Pax Americana on a tantalizing trip. Allow us to facilitate an experience that’s out of this world while still getting the full American treatment. You’ll get to live the American fantasy in a retro diner while sipping and sampling classic American food and beverages served with a twist.

Once you’ve had your fill, take one more bite of our lemon or lime twists and we’ll take you on a wild adventure. Armed with your fantasy inducing twists you’ll get to witness a myriad of extraordinary environments and curious creatures. As you wander through this magical land, you encounter a cute companion, and he’s interested in your twists! The difference between fantasy and reality blurs without your candied twists. Just like Alice, you dive deeper into the rabbit hole, chasing your crafty companion. Led further into the morphous world, you get to experience a cacophony of sensations. Eventually you catch up to your wily critter, and with one last look onto the landscape you get to see how far you’ve traveled, with the diner far off on the horizon. With one last gasp, you’re rushed through the environment before settling back into reality.

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PRE LAUNCH

Invitational hand outs allow users to sign up online, which in turn sends them a QR code. On the day of the event, users scan the QR code upon entry and receive a time E-ticket, which cuts the need for queues.

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A print campaign accompanied with the invitations will create further intrigue for the event.

http://www.duggal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/H17-copy.jpg

http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7141/6822341719_7fa6810b58.jpg

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/485896247277219463/

POP UP STORE

In order to give our experience a little taste of America we decided to incorporate the classic diner, replete with large signage to entice anyone wandering nearby who had not previously heard of the event.

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http://bjstlh.com/group/grass-texture/index.htm

VR SPACE 1

VR SPACE 2

The first twist comes when the customers enter the physical store. The interior does not match the exterior. The floor is plush with grass and cushy furniture gives the space a fantastical vibe. Within the middle of the store two VR spaces allow for other attendess to watch those in the middle of the VR experience.

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https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AenpUDXUA_dMhmj4xQWMu1dOHobOtJq6Ce8BoImXvWbhNjktGgVdr_w/

INTERIOR

VR STORYBOARDS

These storyboards give you a better sense of what the customer could expect when entering our VR experience. Their surroundings within the VR would be no different from the physical one they were just standing in. However, in the VR they are prompted by two candy bowls filled with lemon or lime twists. The diner surroundings within the VR slowly morph into the fantastical as the customers journey begins. As they travel throughout a magical landscape, a curious critter steals their candies leading them further down the rabbit hole, until they manage to catch up with it.

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CONCEPT #3

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Potions Master is a VR experience that gives users the chance to create their own fantasy product in an immersive world. The VR experience begins with the user finding themselves in a hexagonal room with vertically endless shelves lining the walls. On these shelves are random ingredients that can be added to a cauldron, and when combined with each other, these ingredients can create surreal and quirky products. At the end of the experience, one takeaway the user would receive is a sticker of their creation with a QR code at its back that would direct the user to the retailer’s online store. Focusing on interactivity and entertainment, Potions Master aimed to raise awareness on the retailer through a whimsical, comedic, and memorable experience.

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POP UP SPACE

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/353814114451050816/

The physical space in which the VR exists comprises of a clear box that would allow other customers to watch someone going through their VR experience.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/66991113176932814/

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VR SPACE

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/274015958557725343/

Within the virtual space, the customer would see shelves stocked with different items that they could add to their cauldron, diversifying their final product. A book to the side of the cauldron would help people understand the different gestures and ingredients they could add.

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VR STORYBOARDS

http://pix.avaxnews.com/avaxnews/e4/e5/0000e5e4_medium.jpeg

http://www.notesontheroad.com/images/stories/yings_links/Dinocorn/dinocorn2.jpg

http://www.intriguing-history.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DAL-Lobster-telephone-white-version1.jpg

After the VR, customers would be able to purchase items similar to the ones made in the VR. These items would all be for sale from the department store.

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STORYBOARDS

When the customers first begin their experience, they will encounter an onboarding section that will introduce and help familiarize them with the VR. Once they’ve completed the onboarding, they will be able to interact with the different items that will influence the outcome of the final product. These storyboards showcase some of the gestures included.

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CONCEPT #4

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The idea behind A Guide Through Time is to be able to give the user the experience of going back through three different eras in the United States. We have chosen to give the options of traveling to San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City throughout the 1920s, 1960s, and present day. The experience begins with the user being greeted with a wisp, whose name is Oby. Oby guides the user through the first stages of the experience, bringing the user to the entrance of a historical home in one of the three US cities. While the user is in the house exploring, they see things that the retailer would have sold at the time, such as home goods, furniture, linens, and clothing. As they explore, they are engulfed with sights, sounds, and smells of the era. As the user explores, an orb appears and Oby tells them that their task is to break the orb. As they interact with it, the space around them shifts to the new era, which happens twice until they are brought back to the current time. Here, they can see items throughout the home that are currently being sold by the retailer, items that the user can order after their experience.

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PRE LAUNCH

To really emphasize the heritage of the brand, print campaigns highlight the America of yesteryear. In order to attract a younger audience, posters would be placed in urban settings with high traffic. In addition to that, a digital campaign would attract even more of China’s youth by focusing on the social media sites of Weibo, Youku and Baidu.

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POP UP STORE

When customers arrive, their wait at the pop up store is made more enjoyable by interactive boards along the sides. As they wait they find their silhouettes projected onto screens. These silhouette projections will take on the form of American heritage fashion styles. Such as flapper dresses from the 20’s, top hats and bowties and the list goes on.

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INTERIOR

Once customers have finished the VR experience, they’ll find themselves in the tunnel of time. They’d be able to revisit their own journey through the decades of American history, along with seeing other customers’ experiences. A selfie moment, that would be uploaded to social media.

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STORYBOARDS

These storyboards help emphasize that the customer would first enter into a brookstone style house. Inside, the customer comes upon memory orbs in which they need to shatter. Upon shattering, the orbs reveal new interior design from different American decades. Once they’ve found multiple orbs, their companion announces the VR is ending.

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RESEARCH

After our midterm feedback, we went back to the drawing board, with an emphasis on creating a concept that revolved around the customer. We wanted our idea to exist on solid ground, which meant we had to conduct further research into the Chinese market.

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TARGET MARKET Our target market are single 25-35 year old females living in tier one cities that earn medium to high income (RMB100,000-300,000 annual income). These women are students or full-time employees with a bachelor’s degree. They tend to purchase 1-3 luxury goods within 6 months, and they spend USD150-500 per luxury purchase. These women are knowledgeable in styles and trends, as well as brand symbolisms and are also experimental and highly communicative.

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BEHAVIORAL INSIGHTS Through our research findings, we also discovered that our target market purchases luxury items because of the superior craftsmanship and materials, their innovative designs, and the socio-cultural brand associations to internationally well-known brand names. Our target market wishes for more personal marketing, desiring the ability to customize products and experiences to make it their own.

They also enjoy and would like to know more about combining different brands and accessories.

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PRE LAUNCH & SOCIAL MEDIA To promote the pop-up store event, our pre-launch plan is to have a WeChat countdown promotion and ask Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) on WeChat and Weibo to promote the brand and launch the event. Since KOLs have influence over a large number of followers and because peer reviews and recommendations are the key influencers for the Chinese to buy new products. Utilizing KOLs is important to integrate into the pre-launch plan.

We wanted to especially promote the event through social media because of social media’s huge popularity in China. Over 90% of millennials (15-29 years old) have a smartphone, and these millennials make up about 60% of WeChat users.

More than 80% of Weibo users (19 years and older) have followed a brand on the service because they desire to interact with the brand and receive news, discounts, event info, and more. In fact, microbloggers followed nearly eight brands on average in 2012.

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IMPORTANCE OF TAILORING IN CHINA The cutting edge tailoring techniques found in Shanghai today can be traced back to British and Russian colonialist influences. Western tastes and fabrics, Cantonese tailoring style, and the difference in build of Asian and Caucasian bodies have overlapped, and molded one another since the turn of the 20th century.

As air travel became more accessible, increasing numbers of foreigners journeyed to China to commission garments, and slowly became the most lucrative customers to tailor for. Over time, the tailors of Shanghai migrated to Hong Kong for easier access to foreign business; leaving a void in the wealth of skill and knowledge that once circulated in the former tailoring capital of China. Through the internet, the interest in tailoring and bespoke garments have resurged, both nationally and abroad since 2000. Shanghai is once again seeing demand for the traditional craft, thereby opening the door for a new generation of tailors to emerge.

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CHAPTER TITLE SOLUTION A short little description of what is coming up in the next chapter. Ideally you want to have a good paragraph, mainly so that it looks aesthetically pleasing and so they think we actually had stuff to say about this shit show of a course.

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For our final solution, we as a whole class created a modified and refined VR experience, based on the aspects from the midterm submissions.Through our experience the customer will get to witness the evolution of tailoring, thus customizing their own unique outfit. This will further enhance their knowledge on global fashion.

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CONCEPT

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The experience for the user begins in the queue, where there will be interactive fashion boards that showcase global fashion destinations. These locations (New York City, Paris, Seoul, Barcelona, Los Angeles, and London) are places with strong associations to fashion and are recognized as ideal travel and shopping destinations for the Chinese. Next, the user moves into the VR physical space where there is a blank room with mirrored walls. A foreign actor dressed as a tailor is there to assist the user. The user goes through the VR experience with the HTC Vive headset, and once they have finished their fashion creation, the outfit will be projected onto the mirrored walls. These mirrored walls will have augmented reality features, through which the created outfit can be displayed on the user’s body right before their eyes. Next to the projected outfit will be suggested clothing items from the retailer that are similar to the created piece. Users will be able to get a QR code through WeChat or entering their email to purchase those items through the retailer either in the pop-up store or in their free time. Upon exiting the VR physical space, the user can walk into the section of the pop-up store that has mini booths of items dedicated to specific fashion trends, check out the retailer through the provided screens or iPads, or relax in the lounge area.

Mannequins in the lounge area will be interacting with the furniture, providing photo opportunities for visitors.

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PRE LAUNCH

To create buzz before the retail VR event, we will use social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo for promotion. There will be a WeChat countdown for the launch and we will hire Key Opinion Leaders in China to create brand awareness.

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POP UP STORE

http://www.dezeen.com/2016/03/29/brooklyn-creates-minimal-fashion-showroom-at-everlane-offices/

http://afflante.com/8770-sumit-shop-m4-design/1347025583000/

https://classicdesign.it/vela-arflex-en.html

http://retaildesignblog.net/2012/04/24/cos-pop-up-shop-milan/

http://retaildesignblog.net/2014/07/15/cos-fashion-brand-installation-by-nendo-milan-italy/

http://retaildesignblog.net/2012/04/02/sumit-shop-by-m4-design-seoul/

The pop up store design is modern, minimal and clean. The three materials consist of wood, steel and glass. We created two floor plans for different tiered cities in China. The tier one city design takes into consideration the urban sprawl of highly populated areas, like Shanghai, and their love for large malls.

Where as the design for the second tier cities, like Tianjin, is based on an outdoor area, more suitable for wandering perusing customers. Both of these designs are spacious and allow for easy movement.

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FLOOR PLANS Tier one city pop up store floor plan for commercial setting.

Both pop up stores consist of seven different components, including the VR space, interactive fashion boards, lounge area, display booths, takeaway area, mannequin displays and clothing racks. When a customer is in the pop up store not only can they touch and feel the fabrics and pieces from different foriegn brands, they will also get to explore the mini fashion style booths, where they can explore and learn more about the current fashion trends.

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Tier two city pop up store floor plan for outdoor setting.

The six styles include chic, edgy, classic, avant garde, boho and street. Within these booths, the customers are introduced to fashion brands that are catered to these styles. Throughout the pop up store there will also be iPads that allow customers to purchase fashion pieces from the American department store.

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Tier one city pop up store in perspective view.

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http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/11/28/23937BC900000578-2 http://retailtechnologylab.screenmediatechnology.com/wp-content/ uploads/2015/12/topshop_ARMirror.jpg

http://realityi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Rebecca-Minkoff-Magic-Mirror-Reality-Interactive.jpg

853328-Future_of_shopping_eBay_has_fitted_futuristic_magic_mirrors_pict-24_1417195732932.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/07/23/article-20179050D1E2E8400000578-815_468x286.jpg

http://blogs.cisco.com/wp-content/uploads/StyleMe-John-Lewis-19-April.jpg

PHYSICAL VR SPACE

The physical space of the VR plays a key role in the full experience. Though the space looks like a typical changing room with mirrors in all directions, these mirrors double as augmented surfaces that project the users curated outfits. After they are done with the virtual experience, they will see their customized pieces on them.

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STORYBOARDS

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These storyboards give you a better sense of what the customer will expect when entering our VR experience. The physical space of the VR room will be similar to a changing room, where the user will be surrounded by mirrors. After they put on the HTC Vive, the users will be transported to a modern tailoring space filled with different materials, such as threads, fabrics, colors and more. They will start by picking out a base item that represents a basic fashion silhouette. With this blank silhouette, they will then add different elements and customize their outfits by using different gestures to attach and personalize their curated design on the mannequin. Once they are happy with their design, they will finish their outfit with a twirling motion, which will then showcase their beautiful creation. After completing their outfit they will take off the goggles and behold their outfit projected on themselves in the magic mirrors.

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VR ASSETS To create assets for the VR tailoring space, we used the program Maya to model the assets and Mari to render the textures of the objects.

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VR ENVIRONMENT

We inserted the assets into the VR Space using Unity Engine. This program also builds the interactive aspects of a virtual reality experience.

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CHAPTER TITLE CONCLUSION A short little description of what is coming up in the next chapter. Ideally you want to have a good paragraph, mainly so that it looks aesthetically pleasing and so they think we actually had stuff to say about this shit show of a course.

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Our time together has come to an end, we would like to thank PwC for this opportunity. Thank you to everyone who worked on this project. As a final treat here are some photos of us.

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WELCOME TO CLC 580 Gabrielle Storrs Chi Hang Wong Stephanie Chow

Advertising, Senior.

Fashion Marketing, Junior.

Fashion Marketing, Senior.

CJ Bou Erick Witting Iori Fujita

Game Design, Senior.

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Game Design, Senior.

Game Design, Junior.

Jeff Hui Kyara Harilela Thomas Cheung

Game Design, Senior.

Game Design, Junior.

Game Design, Junior.

Carmen Rodriguez Lo Jeremy Loo Unitha Ramirez

Graphic Design, Senior.

Graphic Design, Senior.

Graphic Design, Senior.

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Shreya Somani Tiffany Tan Claire Puginier

Interior Design, Sophomore.

Interior Design, Sophomore.

Service & Industrial Design, Senior

Kayla Man Cherrie Tsoi

Visual Effects, Junior.

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Visual Effects, Junior.

Bryan Bentley Wan Chiu

Professor of Visual Effects.

Professor of Interactive Design and Game Development.

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REFERENCES PHOTOGRAPHS: http://4hdwallpapers.com/3d-street-art-wallpaper-7.html http://afflante.com/8770-sumit-shop-m4-design/1347025583000/ http://bjstlh.com/group/grass-texture/index.htm http://blogs.cisco.com/wp-content/uploads/StyleMe-John-Lewis-19-April.jpg https://classicdesign.it/vela-arflex-en.html http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/07/23/article-2017905-0D1E2E8400000578-815_468x286.jpg http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/11/28/23937BC900000578-2853328-Future_of_shopping_eBay_has_fitted_futuristic_magic_mirrors_pict-24_1417195732932.jpg http://www.dezeen.com/2016/03/29/brooklyn-creates-minimal-fashion-showroom-at-everlane-offices/ http://www.duggal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/H17-copy.jpg http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7141/6822341719_7fa6810b58.jpg http://iloboyou.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Maarten-Baas-Organic-Design-ILoboyou4.jpg

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http://realityi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Rebecca-Minkoff-Magic-Mirror-Reality-Interactive.jpg http://retaildesignblog.net/2014/07/15/cos-fashion-brand-installation-by-nendo-milan-italy/ http://retaildesignblog.net/2012/04/24/cos-pop-up-shop-milan/ http://retaildesignblog.net/2012/04/02/sumit-shop-by-m4-design-seoul/ http://retailtechnologylab.screenmediatechnology.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/topshop_ARMirror.jpg https://www.pinterest.com/pin/274015958557725343/ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/353814114451050816/ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/485896247277219463/ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/66991113176932814/ https://www.pinterest.com/pin/AenpUDXUA_dMhmj4xQWMu1dOHobOtJq6Ce8BoImXvWbhNjktGgVdr_w/

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SOURCES: https://www.chinainternetwatch.com/5805/analysis-on-chinese-luxury-consumers/ http://www.chinaskinny.com/blog/china-millennials-infographic/ https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/global-currents/resetting-chinas-luxury-compass https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=6rjtCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=luxury%20fashion%20demographic%20china&source=bl&ots=hMkJJHYkpa&sig=o9fyynWy6Mo5CkZLYN_XD3h1qoU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwib6dHG6oPQAhWGG5QKHbauCkw4ChDoAQhSMAk#v=onepage&q=luxury%20fashion%20demographic%20china&f=false http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-01-29/female-fashion-addicts-change-china-s-19-billion-market-retail http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Chinarsquos-Internet-Users-Increase-Weibo-Logins/1010493 http://marketingtochina.com/chinese-consumers-want/ http://www.ptl-group.com/blogs/en/kol-key-opinion-leaders

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