Bricoteca Community

A new online community platform to revolutionize and foster the DIY and crafts sector.

Context

Bricoteca is a company that operates physical spaces in Spain for DIY enthusiasts and creators. It is a project initiated by Henkel to create new revenue models for the company. The project has gone through several phases including the validation of the general idea, the construction of brick-and-mortar centers, the creation of an initial community MVP, and online tests for course validation.

Key screens of the Bricoteca Community

scope of the project

The idea of creating the online community came from the necessity to maintain a sustainable business. Its goals are: to increase customer loyalty to boost retention, a new source of business not attached to the physical places, customer acquisition at a lower cost, and promote engagement so users are connected inside and outside of the Bricoteca centers.

Filter screen on desktop & mobile

My role

As the lead designer, I was deeply involved in every stage mapping out the product roadmap, crafting the platform’s design system, and working closely with the external development team to bring our vision to life and guarantee our roll-out was going according to plan. I led the Design team in creating a Design System and a Design Framework.

Our team built specific design components for the project, initiating the Bricoteca Design System

Real user data

Through data analysis and community feedback, we refined our features list, focusing on those that offered the most value and engagement potential for our users.

Research

Packed with our own early adopters’ qualitative data, we started with extensive desk research to expand our knowledge base aspiring to answer these questions:

  • What features are essential for a community?
  • Is there a standard practice?
  • What companies have a relevant presence in creating their communities?
  • Who are our direct competitors in the DIY sector?
  • Why do users interact in a community?

 

We found that creators expected to have, apart from the basic resource-rich environment for DIY, an interactive forum and a robust loyalty program, challenges that could motivate and teach them new techniques and a direct line to talk to experts.

Bricoteca brand ecosystem

Desktop main screens

Hands-on

Our first step was to create a site map of the complete platform. Then, together with the client and developers, we decided what features should be prioritized and taken into production of our first version.

Bricoteca site map

Desktop main screens

Design system

Knowing that the handling of the platform would be out of our control after the complete launch, we decided to create extensive documentation to maintain our design decisions and visions for future outcomes.

 

We created a detailed and well-explained design system and constantly checked with developers to have everything well presented and organized.

Example of how the team organized and created the Design System for Bricoteca

As part of our standard procedure, we also developed functional prototypes for both desktop and mobile platforms to check for errors and provide guidance to the developers.

Animation created to demonstrate the search bar behavior

Impact of the project

The project not only demonstrated our ability to tackle complex challenges but also made the team proud. Our work laid a strong foundation for Bricoteca’s online presence in the future.

Team work

Working with an amazing team was crucial to our success. The collaborative spirit between designers, engineers, product managers, and the entire Bricoteca staff was key to overcoming challenges and achieving our ambitious goals.

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