The Visual Journal

Internal Store Operations Platform, Lead Product Designer

The Visual Journal is an internal, mobile‑first product that enables REI store teams to access visual merchandising guidance, product placement standards, and execution updates in real time. The platform supports daily visual operations in-store, helping teams quickly understand what’s current, what’s changed, and what actions to take on the sales floor—without slowing down customer service.

I owned end‑to‑end product design for this custom solution, built on WordPress VIP. I defined the experience strategy, development road map, and designed the wire-frames for the engineers to build. I partnered closely with cross-divisional stakeholders from discovery through delivery, to bring this tool to life in-stores.

Research & Usage Insights

To ground decisions in real store behavior, I implemented Adobe Analytics and conducted a qualitative survey and QA interviews with store and field participants. Research revealed key opportunities around mobile usability, homepage visibility, and content discoverability during active floor work.

I led a UX redesign in collaboration with a web developer, tested prototypes with store teams, and facilitated rollout across retail. As a result, annual usage grew from approximately 80,000 visits in 2021 to over 380,000 visits by 2024, with the majority of traffic coming from mobile devices.

UX Design & Accessibility

The Visual Journal is designed to be mobile‑first, fast to navigate, and intuitive during moments of interruption, mirroring the store’s physical layout so employees can quickly find guidance while on the sales floor.

The platform supports hundreds of daily viewers and dozens of headquarters contributors. I prioritized accessibility from the start, applying WCAG best practices and leveraging components from REI’s Cedar Design System to ensure usability across devices and assistive technologies.

Features such as tagging, metadata, and recommended content help connect related resources and reduce cognitive load for frontline users.

Login & Personalization

At sign‑on, users complete a brief profile to identify their role, store, and primary use cases. This information enables light personalization and helps surface relevant content more quickly, without adding friction to entry.

Home

The homepage provides a real‑time snapshot of what matters most at a given moment in time. Research highlighted the need for users to easily resume work after breaks or customer interactions, directly informing the layout and prioritization of homepage content.

Notifications

Time‑sensitive updates trigger notifications that alert store teams to late‑breaking changes, corrections, or new guidance. Each notification links directly to the relevant content, helping teams respond quickly without searching.

Search

An Elasticsearch‑powered search experience allows users to quickly find displays, standards, or guidance using filters and keywords. Search is designed for speed and clarity, supporting common store mental models and terminology.

Standards & Guides

The ‘Standards & Guides’ page is a directory of ongoing visual merchandising guides and training resources, designed for frequent reference to support sales floor execution and decisions. It hosts all store and department standards, along with other essential VM materials.

Floorset

The Floorset section delivers seasonal visual merchandising guidance aligned with merchandising, marketing, and sales priorities. Updated year‑round, it functions as both an execution reference and an operational audit tool.

Clear visual cues highlight what’s new, what’s changed, and what’s currently on the floor—helping store teams quickly adapt to feedback, inventory shifts, or last‑minute updates.

Support

The Support experience enables store teams to quickly find answers or contact the Visual Merchandising Communications and Training team when additional help is needed. A dedicated feedback channel captures ideas and pain points, informing ongoing product improvements and prioritization.