1) Select one of the four design thinking tools presented in the course (listed

below) that you are interested in applying to a challenge of your choice.

StoryTelling

2) Describe your challenge, including all relevant information.

I work with a sustainable e-commerce retailer. Despite environmental concern

and cheap labor costs, consumers still love fast fashion. Customers are not

likely to change their shopping habits out of concern for the environment or

ethical workforce.

3) Selection: In your own words, briefly describe the tool you selected (e.g., what

it is and why you selected it for your challenge -- including any appropriate

video lecture references).

I have chosen story telling as one of the four design thinking tools presented in

the course. Storytelling is a fundamental part of every great brand. Within an

organization, storytelling can act as a carrier for messages, assist in reinforcing

cultural values or transform into a powerful persuasive tool.

Application: Describe how you applied the tool you selected to your challenge

(e.g., what you did and how the tool was applied effectively or ineffectively).

The first and foremost thing that I did was ​get to know my audience. Me and

my team did my research on who our targeted audience was, ​understood the

audience before we wrote our story and decided where to distribute it. Who are

they? What are their biggest wants and fears? More importantly: Why should

they care about us ?

Talk to existing customers to understand their pain points and why they buy

from us already or why have they not considered buying from us.

We did this through quantitative customer surveys. Online reviews also provide

insight into what our customers wanted, thought, and feel about our brand.

4) Insight: Describe the insight you gained from applying the tool you selected to

your challenge (e.g., how an insight affected your thinking about the

challenge and about design thinking more broadly).

Right now sustainable fashion just isn't happening at the scale it needs to.

According to our research, we found out that shopping priority, price

sensitivity, thoughts of greenwashing, and low influence that sustainable labels

have are the most important reasons why sustainable shopping is struggling on

the market. Buying sustainably is often presented as something lifestyle

influencers and celebrities do.

Oftentimes sustainable fashion brands price their products beyond the average

consumer’s budget, which makes it harder especially for younger generations

(like those in Gen Z) to afford and adopt sustainable fashion practices.

Furthermore, based on our findings, the main quality the consumer looks for in

a garment is style and design. which is most valued, even when considering a

sustainable garment.

5) Approach: Describe what you might do differently next time -- applying the

same tool you selected or a different one -- and the reason(s) why.

Our social conscious story will not only be on our site but also across videos and

other social platforms. We will share behind-the-scenes videos of the

photoshoots and video shoots, how the clothes are sourced and the

manufacturing process, entertaining stories and contents, etc. This way our

consumers will get to know would give them a great story to tell whenever they

wore the clothing line.

We will answer various questions such as, `` Why did we start our business?

How will it solve a problem for customers or the world? Why should they care?

Then continue to tell the story in different ways.

Another way to use integrated storytelling to sell your products is to immerse

customers in new digital experiences. We shall also release online versions of

an e-magazine, featuring all our designs and articles on outfit and styling

ideas, how-to articles, etc. It is actually a clickable magazine that allows

consumers to shop right from the page. It helps them see our brand from a

fresh perspective.

Collaborate with celebrities and influencers to tell our brand’s story and

initiative for us. The aim is to create content that appeals to the aspirational

lifestyle of its customers and an opportunity to get more eyeballs on our brand

that advocates for sustainable choices. If we have content that has real

meaning, people are more likely to click and go look at the actual product. If we

can try and get across our brand message and make people feel inspired or

motivated, then they might  go and buy our product.

We need to make sure to use a unique voice, tone, colours and style that not

only speaks to our customers but reveals your brand personality.

