Playboy
Revitalizing an iconic brand to power a curated commerce platform
Playboy.com was becoming disconnected from modern audiences with an ageing audience built on old business models.
We worked with Playboy to develop a new editorial experience and new business models designed to attract and monetize a modern audience base.
I led the design team of 3 while working hand in hand with the Playboy VP of Design with the mission to elevate the brand in an authentic and daring way.
Converting a customer starts with getting to know them
With a stakeholder workshop to kickstart the project, we immersed ourselves into the brand, bunny lattes and all, and mapped out the different user needs and personas.
We aligned on three unique audiences, what drives them to the site, and how to convert them:
Legacy 55+ | Pictorials | Plus Subscription
Transitional 35-54 | Trend hunters | Content Sharing
Aspirational 18-34 | Taste makers | Commerce
The bunny needed a millennial boost
The previous Playboy.com was alienating the users they wanted to cater to – young, gender empowered, and socially conscious.
Our opportunity was not in a singular focus on any audience, but changing mainstream brand perception to create an aspirational audience, while catering to the needs of transitional and legacy audiences.
So we started at the white erase board
I led a design workshop to get insights into what resonated with the team. We created moodboards, design inspiration, and assessed the current site to align on driving principles.
From there, we started wire-framing the site structure and streamlining content modules. This helped us align on layout grids and how they should function while giving the dev team a jumping off point.
And came up with three strategic design pillars
Be Bold and Expressive
With large type, proper pacing of moments, color play, and billboard like photography, stories have a vibe that feels authentic and on brand.
Make it Immersive
We want the audience to feel absorbed in the brand when on the site. Profiles are set in black backgrounds for an intimate setting. Shopping moments feel fluid within the article.
Elevate the Experience
Unexpected moments of delight are sprinkled throughout, including video snippets, micro UI interactions, parallax photography, article progress bar, and smooth article transitions.
That guided us to Playboy’s glow up
New look, blending commerce & content
We created a modular design system that empowered Playboy to engage users with targeted offers promoting signature merchandise, collaborations, subscriptions, and curated commerce.
Our main output was an editorial kit that covered an array of content types, from product to collaborations and even serialized content formats.
Flagship articles
Playboy creates compelling content and needed templates that naturally elevated that content to the level it deserved.
Keeping it fresh with a tiered article structure
With their wide array of articles, we wanted to diversify the content hierarchy, elevating richer articles.
Color blocks are programmatically chosen from the hero image, giving each article a unique vibe.
Embedded Commerce
Throughout the article templates were content that allowed Playboy to upsell featured products through editorial imagery.
We put it into a system, future proofing it for Playboy’s sub-brands
And put it to the test with users
We tested the mobile site with 6 users who saw the brand logo and 6 who did not.
100% of users tested would return to the site and share with friends. There was also an increased comfort with sharing Playboy content on social (6/6 vs. 4/6 prior to seeing the new site).
“Exploring the new site has changed my opinion and understanding of Playboy as a brand.”
Kayleigh, 26
New York City
Changing brand perception is hard but achievable
Similarly to users we interviewed, I too had preconceived assumptions about the brand and initially had reservations about working on this project. I’m grateful to have been proven wrong as the brand’s values resonated with me in a new way. And I’m so grateful to have worked with a wonderful client team who was truly collaborative.
We created a canvas that elevated content and product throughout the experience, creating meaningful relationships between reading and purchasing.
The relaunch saw an immediate increase in subscription sign ups, shop conversions, younger readers, and repeat visitors.