Role
Senior Product Designer
Led the design from service definition and MVP planning through validation, delivery, and launch.
Premium membership service · Harrods China
Harrods
The Residence
Designing the service model, member journey, and clienteling tools that make every high-touch interaction feel considered, personal, and connected.
Project
snapshot
Timeline
2020–2022
From the first Shanghai release through Beijing reuse and the phase-two member proposal.
Status
Launched
Shanghai launch · Beijing reuse · Phase-two member proposal
Collaboration & delivery
Team
Design leadership
I led product and service experience design, mentoring a junior designer who supported selected wireframes, research synthesis, and meeting notes.
Cross-functional team
Worked with UK Harrods stakeholders, the Shanghai Residence manager, personal shoppers, and an IBM team spanning product, consulting, architecture, engineering, and QA.
Delivery
- 01
Define
Service model · Two-sided journey
- 02
Shape
MVP scope · Operational workflows
- 03
Validate
Prototyping · User testing
- 04
Deliver
iPad workspace · Launch
How I contributed
From service model to working product.
As the Senior Product Designer, I translated Harrods’ private-retail concept into an operational service connecting the member journey, shopper workflows, and back-office delivery.
I owned
- The two-sided journey for members and the Residence team before, during, and after each visit.
- The operational model connecting appointments, client preferences, cross-brand curation, allocation, payment, and returns.
- MVP definition, user stories, prototypes, user testing, and the interaction and interface design of the shopper iPad application.
- Design collaboration with architecture, engineering, and QA through implementation and launch.
- Mentoring a junior designer while remaining accountable for design direction and quality.
I collaborated on
- Service and product direction with UK-based Harrods stakeholders.
- Operational validation with the Shanghai Residence manager and personal shoppers.
- Business scope and client alignment with the IBM Partner and consultants.
- Technical feasibility, implementation, testing, and launch with the delivery team.
Outcome
From service concept to daily operation.
The product launched at the Shanghai Residence for approximately 20 managers and personal shoppers. The same service and operational system was later reused in Beijing, and the engagement continued into a phase-two member experience proposal.
01
Frame the challenge
Research-led opportunity
A private retail model needs a service system before it needs an app.
As the pandemic disrupted high-end retail, Harrods Shanghai created The Residence Garage: a private retail villa for high-value clients. The engagement began by defining a service model and operating system—not simply an app—for a more personal, lower-density way to shop across brands.
The changing context
- 01
Travel changed the relationship
As cross-border travel paused, Harrods could no longer rely on London visits as the primary moment of connection for clients in China.
- 02
One client still meant many brands
High-value clients often had to travel between individual brand stores to see a seasonal edit. The Residence created one calmer place to bring that discovery together.
The service proposition
- 01
A private place, not another store
The Residence Garage proposed an appointment-led Shanghai setting where service could be tailored around each client rather than a shop-floor transaction.
- 02
A service model, not just a venue
Before each visit, the team could source selected pieces from partner brands, bring a client’s preferred labels together, and return unpurchased items afterwards—creating a high-touch, asset-light retail model.
02
Define the service
Two-sided journey
Two journeys. One private visit.
The consulting work defined the service blueprint before the interface: how a client's preference becomes a cross-brand edit, a prepared Residence appointment, and either a completed sale or a tracked return.
- 01
Before the visit
Residence team
Curate across brands
Translate client preferences into brand requests, product allocation, and one prepared appointment.
Member
Share a wish list
Choose a private visit and share the brands, pieces, and seasonal collections worth exploring.
- 02
During the visit
Residence team
Host the private edit
Bring a cross-brand selection together, support the fitting, update the client record, and complete payment.
Member
Shop in one place
Explore a personal edit across brands in a private setting instead of travelling from store to store.
- 03
After the visit
Residence team
Close the loop
Confirm the sale, return unpurchased pieces to partner brands, and keep operations and reporting traceable.
Member
Continue with confidence
Leave with the right pieces and a relationship that stays connected beyond the appointment.
03
Co-create the MVP
Mural workshop
From a new retail idea to a shared product scope.
Working with Harrods stakeholders, we used the workshop wall to make service hand-offs, cross-brand allocation and return rules, MVP priorities, user stories, and front-to-back-system implications concrete.
Map the journeys
Surface the operating moments shared between the advisor and the member.
Define the MVP
Turn the most important client, product-allocation, and return moments into a prioritised product scope.
Connect the system
Align front-end service flows with the cross-brand information, return rules, and back-office actions that support them.
User stories & service storyboards
Turn the service model into testable stories.
1Client context
2Client record
3Appointment
4Stock movement
5Return stock to brand
6Product curation
7Payment
8Reporting
04
Prototype & iterate
Low-fidelity interface
Test the operational flow before the visual language arrives.
We translated the service decisions into the core tasks the Residence team needed to run every day—from cross-brand product allocation through payment and return—keeping the early conversation on information, actions, and hand-offs.
Interface scope
Open & log in
Start in the shared service workspace.
Connect client
View and update client information.
Manage stock
Track brand-supplied pieces that are available, on hold, or ready to return.
Plan appointment
Prepare the client visit and product selection.
Visit & check-in
Run the in-person service moment.
Payment & order
Complete the order through the connected POS flow.
Report
Review activity by date, shopper, and utilisation.
Admin & set up
Manage users, brands, and spaces.
Wireframe flow
Low-fidelity screens made the MVP tangible.
Each screen tested a practical part of the Residence operation—from sign-in and client context to stock returns, reporting, and administration.
Log in
Calendar
Client list
Stock operations
Loan & return
Product stock
Visit
Order list
Reporting
Admin
User testing
Put the proposed service in front of the people who would run it.
We used the clickable wireframes as a shared artefact for interviews, prototype walkthroughs, and wider feedback—testing whether the operational model felt coherent before moving into visual design.
Prototype walkthrough
Semi-structured interviews used the early flow to surface detailed questions around client context, appointments, and stock.
Functional prototype
A second round tested a more functional version of the prototype and made the feedback more specific at each hand-off.
Feedback survey
A structured survey invited a wider group to rate the clarity of the service flow and note the moments that still needed attention.
What the testing sharpened
The sessions confirmed the need for one continuous workspace: staff had to move from client context to appointment preparation, cross-brand product allocation, returns, and follow-up without losing the thread of the relationship.
- Keep client context present from preparation through follow-up, so the relationship never becomes a separate admin task.
- Treat cross-brand allocation and returns as one operational flow rather than isolated inventory screens.
- Use one workspace to connect the visit, payment, and reporting trail around the same client relationship.
05
Bring the system together
Shopper iPad application
A focused iPad workspace for every shopper task.
One clear system supports the day from appointment preparation and cross-brand product allocation through payment and return—so the shopper can stay present with the client, not the admin.
The starting point
Open, log in, and begin the day in the right Residence.
The launch, install, and sign-in screens establish a calm, recognisable entry to the shopper's iPad application.
Appointment calendar
Manage the appointment at a glance
The shared calendar helps the shopper coordinate rooms, clients, and personal shoppers before each visit.
Client management
Keep client context close
A focused client record keeps identity, preferences, and service details visible when the conversation moves quickly.
Stock management
Find the right product in the moment
Stock status and filters give the shopper a clear view of what is available from partner brands, on hold, or ready to return.
Visit & pay
Close the visit with clarity
Booked products, discounts, and payment stay in one place so the shopper can complete the purchase with the client.
Reporting
Review the service rhythm
Scheduled reports make performance, discounts, and activity easy to review without creating extra follow-up work.
Admin & roles
Keep the service team aligned
User roles and permissions give each Residence a clear operating structure as the service team grows.
06
Design outcome
The direction
One calm system behind every personal relationship.
The Residence turns a cross-brand, asset-light retail concept into one service foundation across the member journey and the operational work that brings it to life.
Reuse the model
Shanghai → Beijing
The same service, reused in Beijing.
When Harrods later opened its Beijing Residence, the Beijing team reused this service and operational system—from curated allocation to return operations—without rebuilding the model.
07
Post-launch proposal
Extension of the service model
Make every Harrods relationship feel personal.
A later proposal extended the Residence's high-touch service into a native member experience—bringing personal curation, live discovery, and connected loyalty into the customer's everyday life.
My closet
VIP discovery
A uniquely Chinese experience
Live is better
Recognise the member
Is it me?
Information is knowledge
What are they wearing?
One connected relationship
Native luxury, lasting loyalty