Sillage
Lab
Client - Self-Initiated
Challenge - How to design an olfactory pop-up experience that rekindles memories.
Outcome - A fully built experience in a university pop-up event hosted in San Francisco.
Scope - Design Strategy I Experience Design I Iterative Testing & Prototyping I User Research I Innovation I Interior Design
Team - Sabrina Cismas, Juan Hernandez, Jinney Kho, Lisa Sanford
Role - Design Strategy, Branding & Packaging
01 Introduction
A Journey of Scent Exploration and Interaction
Sillage Lab is a concept pop-up experience that aims to help individuals revive their memories by utilizing scented vessels as triggers. This involved a carefully planned process where the design team orchestrated various elements of the experience, providing opportunities for participants to co-create and sustain interactions. The entire experience, from start to finish, is designed with extensive user research, creativity, and iterative prototyping.
​
Contribution
Throughout this project, I played a key role as a design strategist, with a focus on elevating the branding and packaging aspects. My responsibility was to infuse a sense of beauty and luxury into every facet of the memory boxes and the overarching brand. I worked diligently to enhance the visual and tactile elements, ensuring each component reflected a premium and aesthetically pleasing experience for the participants.
02 Context
Crafting Unforgettable Experiences
The service design concept I worked on with this team involved creating a unique and memorable experience for individuals through a pop-up called Sillage Lab. In this project, the focus was on experience design. The goal was to integrate and holistically design solutions that this audience values, ensuring efficient and delightful interactions. This experience specifically aimed to revive memories using customized scented vessels as triggers. The entire process was guided by extensive user research, creativity, and iterative prototyping, spanning multiple design disciplines such as visual communications, packaging, product design, interior design, media strategy, architecture, and service design.
03 Approach & Research
Scaling Discoveries into Unique Retail Adventures
To gather insights and shape the experience, we conducted 12 qualitative interviews, progressing from early discovery exploration to shaping concepts and prototypes in collaboration with target participants. We based the discovery and design process using frameworks such as Jobs To Be Done and the 5 E's. This formed the foundation for an experience that can be scaled, repeated, and adapted. With this in mind, we created a unique retail experience centered around fragrance, known as 'Sillage Lab.' This pop-up concept offers a sensory journey focused on memories, where participants engage in a multi-step experience to uncover the unique scents associated with their memories, resulting in a personalized scent box.
Prototyping for Innovation
To support the development process, we employed prototyping techniques, creating a range of physical and digital stimuli and prototypes using contemporary prototyping tools. This allowed us to progress from storyboards to low-fidelity and higher-fidelity prototypes, adopting a "building to learn" approach.
During the micropilot phase, we examined various dimensions including participant types, branding, environments, and senses. This allowed us to create generative and descriptive updates based on primary and secondary research, which pointed to new opportunities for enhancing the overall experience.
04 Output
Beyond the Storefront
The result was a popup experience at an event in San Francisco. This included a consolidated product and brand direction, delivering a unique in-person sales experience that enriches the personal act of creating a memory box. The store design reflects the 5E's customer experience, featuring simplified brand messaging and intentional touchpoints. The participant journey includes entering the space, engaging with Sales Associates for memory recollection and scent exploration, and completing the experience with a seamless exit, including payment and a takeaway vial. The post-visit extension involves survey feedback, tracking the purchase until the delivery of a thoughtfully packaged memory box, and home use of the vials.