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Functional Furnishings
The Digital Showroom Experience
OVERVIEW:
Responsive Architecture & Content Strategy
Functional Furnishings is a premier purveyor of mid-century and modern modular solutions, defined by European craftsmanship and architectural flair.
Following the successful development of the brand's visual identity, the mission was to create a responsive digital home that mirrored the experience of walking into their physical showroom. Rather than a traditional e-commerce platform, the site was architected as a high-end marketing asset and customer service tool—a virtual gallery designed to inspire, educate, and assist consumers in home and office space planning.
ROLES:
Senior Art Direction
Lead UX/UI Design
Design System Architecture
Content & Brand Strategy
INSIGHT:
Operations over E-commerce
For a boutique firm managing European imports and bespoke lead times, a transactional e-commerce model posed a significant operational risk. The friction wasn't just in the shipping—it was in the "Choice Paradox" of modular design.
Customers didn't just want to buy a chair; they wanted to understand how a modular ecosystem fit into their lives. The insight was to pivot from a "Storefront" to a "Digital Resource Center"—leveraging the website to manage customer expectations and provide professional design services free of charge.
STRATEGY:
The Color-Coded Taxonomy
To manage a diverse inventory without visual clutter, we implemented a sophisticated, color-coded navigation system that utilized the brand’s palette as a functional wayfinding tool.
Product-Type Differentiation: While the core brand green remains the anchor, the identity is dynamic. The logo color shifts to match the product category—Dining, Living, Sleeping, Lighting, or Office—creating an intuitive, non-verbal guide for the user.
Scalable Typography: We selected Roboto for its neutral, contemporary aesthetic and its technical flexibility. This choice ensured that the typography remained legible and consistent across the responsive grid and future-proofed the brand for a range of upcoming digital marketing initiatives.
Virtual Gallery Logic: We prioritized large-scale imagery and "Visual Quiet" to evoke the feeling of an art gallery, allowing the mid-century modern aesthetic of the products to drive the user experience.
OBJECTIVE:
High-Touch Digital Engagement
The goal was to create a clean, contemporary responsive destination that served as a 24/7 brand ambassador—providing instant access to shipping policies, sales promotions, and the brand's signature space-planning design services, all while maintaining the premium allure of the physical showroom.
RESULTS:
Functional Synergy
The resulting platform successfully bridged the gap between the brand's physical presence and its digital audience.
By focusing on utility and inspiration over transactions, Functional Furnishings strengthened its customer service loop and successfully launched its free space-planning initiative, resulting in a cohesive digital ecosystem that feels as intentional as the furniture it showcases.
