“This was not just wireframing — it was platform-level systems thinking applied to marketing, CX, and technical integrations. [Joe’s] work tackled UX, workflow optimization, cross-system data orchestration, and loyalty strategy in one unified experience. Few designers or PMs operate at that level of interconnected complexity.”

Role: Lead UX Designer & Information Architect
Team: PMs, Developers, Marketing Strategists, Customer Support Leaders
Tools: Axure, Visio, Excel, Illustrator, SharePoint, Jira
Outcome: 13+ years live, reduced CSR handle time, increased campaign velocity, sustained loyalty engagement

Project Summary

Bare Escentuals wanted to create a scalable loyalty experience across in-store, web, and phone center touchpoints. Existing systems were fragmented and reactive. Reps lacked visibility. Marketers couldn’t execute personalized campaigns. Customers received inconsistent service.

My Role
As Lead UX Designer and Information Architect, I designed the foundation for a loyalty platform that unified three major interfaces: a marketing campaign tool, a CSR service portal, and a customer-facing microsite. I translated research into architecture, mapped flows, authored specifications, and planned for system integration.

The Challenge

• Loyalty experience was fragmented across channels
• Reps had no real-time view of customer history or rewards
• Marketing could not target or scale campaigns
• POS, e-commerce, and call center systems did not communicate
• Customers had no clear way to engage or redeem rewards

The goal was to create a loyalty platform that delivered consistency, personal relevance, and longevity.

Discovery and Architecture

Research Synthesis

• Reviewed more than 200 pages of legacy research and business requirements
• Conducted interviews with store clerks, phone reps, and marketers
• Shadowed real-time customer service sessions
• Mapped gaps in current-state customer journeys across touchpoints

This confirmed the need for a connected, role-specific system with real-time data and shared structure.

System Architecture

I designed an integrated architecture to serve three audiences:

• Marketing Tool for building and measuring campaigns
• CSR Portal for resolving service issues with real-time data
• Customer Microsite for account management, redemptions, and personalized offers

Each interface shared a common foundation for loyalty logic and campaign data.

Experience Design

Customer Service Representative Portal

• Role-aware views based on customer enrollment status
• Intelligent prompts and prefilled actions
• Disable/enable logic to prevent errors
• Quick access to gift redemptions and profile updates
• Visual feedback on task success and system sync

This drastically reduced handle time and improved first-call resolution.

Customer Loyalty Experience

• Personalized homepage with countdowns, rewards, and birthday gifts
• “Own Sale Day” allowed users to choose their own exclusive reward day
• Multi-channel redemption and seamless access to offers
• Profile completion incentives and dynamic messaging

The experience was designed for daily engagement and ongoing opt-in behavior.

Campaign Management

• Visual builder with validation and scheduling logic
• Conditional targeting rules by customer segment or event
• “Clone Promotion” function to speed campaign iteration
• A/B preview tools and performance analytics built-in

Marketers could create, test, and refine promotions without dev involvement.

The Solution

The system launched with five core outcomes:

1. A unified loyalty experience across web, store, and phone
2. Smart CSR tools that reduced service effort and improved outcomes
3. Personalized loyalty engagement that adapted to user behavior
4. Campaign tools that reduced time to market for promotions
5. A technical integration model designed to scale and evolve

Outcomes

• Operational for over 13 years and still going as of 2025
• Sustained user engagement through multiple brand transitions
• Campaign logic and loyalty strategy still in active use
• Scaled to support new channels and additional market rollouts

Few UX programs last over a decade without replacement. This one did.

Lessons Learned

1. Research synthesis sets the stage for long-term relevance
2. Empowering reps improves service and retention
3. Modular system design supports continuous growth
4. Marketing flexibility drives adoption and business value
5. Cross-functional alignment keeps complexity manageable