John Lewis

Lead Product designer

Project

We have gathered user and data insights that support the idea that improving the overall experience for My JL members in the app and differentiating the propositions and benefits available to them will enhance customers’ understanding of our loyalty scheme and increase their perception of its value. Additionally, since the loyalty scheme’s “Always On” propositions are available to all customers at all times and do not have a dedicated home in the app, this will ensure that the app remains the “Home for the loyalty customer.”

Role

As the Lead Digital Product Designer at John Lewis, I worked across multiple projects to create user-focused solutions. My role involved defining user flows, crafting prototypes, and designing interfaces while collaborating with developers, product managers, and researchers. I also conducted competitor analysis, user interviews, and data evaluations to identify pain points and drive informed design decisions.

Initial Constraints

Several constraints influenced the scope of the project, requiring creative solutions to navigate technical, design, and structural limitations. These challenges shaped the approach and ensured that the final product adhered to existing guidelines while delivering meaningful improvements.

Look and feel

All foundational elements, such as iconography, colour schemes, and typography, were predefined by an agency. The experience had to adhere strictly to these established guidelines.

Architecture

The app's architecture was inflexible and outside the scope of this project, restricting any structural modifications.

Backend Limitations

Certain features of the My John Lewis proposition were delivered by third-party or internal services that could not be integrated natively into the app.

Diversity of rewards

The rewards system was complex, with various types of rewards, each requiring unique functionality, states, and requirements.

Account Structure

The app maintained separate customer/e-commerce and My John Lewis accounts. Unifying these into a single account system was outside the project scope.

Time limitations

Given the importance of the loyalty proposition to business outcomes, the timeline prioritised delivering results quickly to generate immediate value.

The Strategy

To address the constraints, I developed a two-phase strategy:

Define the Vision

The first phase focused on gathering insights from current experiences. We explored and tested multiple concepts to shape a clear vision of our desired outcome.

Phased Deliver

The second phase prioritised what could be achieved within our time and technical constraints. We structured four release phases to deliver value early, enabling us to learn and refine while addressing technical limitations for future improvements.

Ideation

The ideation phase was a dynamic and creative process where we brainstormed and sketched a variety of concepts. Prototypes were developed and tested to gather feedback, enabling us to refine and enhance our designs. This phase was essential in the UX process, allowing us to explore and converge on the most effective solution.

Ideation workshops

Early interaction prototyping

user flows

Developing user flows was a key part of the design process. We mapped out detailed flows to visualise the user journey and identify potential friction points. This allowed us to ensure a seamless experience, refine navigation, and align the design with both user needs and business objectives.

My JL user flow

The Outcome

To ensure agility and rapid iteration, we developed an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) focusing on three core sections: Account, Membership Card, and Rewards. This approach allowed us to deliver value quickly while gathering insights to refine the product further.

Welcome

REwards

For this MVP, we have included the Always On and Member early access propositions on the same screen as rewards. This will help increase user awareness of these loyalty propositions as they visit the rewards section. As user awareness of these propositions grows, we plan to eventually give each proposition its own dedicated section.

The reward proposition

The Rewards loyalty proposition offers a diverse range of rewards, each with unique interaction requirements, destinations, and states. To accommodate these varied cases, we have designed numerous templates. This is just a small sample of the templates we have created to manage the interactions and requirements of the different reward types

non Members access

By allowing users to access the Membership card and rewards sections even if they are not members, we can introduce the My JL loyalty program and its benefits to the user and encourage them to join. We also utilized the sign-off page of the account to invite users to learn more about My JL and the benefits of membership. This approach helps raise awareness and interest in the loyalty program.