Build-A-Bear
Sweet partnered with Build-A-Bear to create and bring NFTs to their product line. To celebrate their 25th Anniversary of their bear-y furry friends they’ve built all around the world, we delivered a customized microsite and experience into the world of digital collectables.
Overview
Role
I was the solo Senior UX/UI Designer for Build-A-Bear from conception to launch. I designed all 3 phases and a custom design system.
Tools
Figma for Web Design
Adobe CC for NFT ART
Trello for Project Management
The Team
I partnered with our Program Strategy Manager, Head of Design, and the Engineer.
Duration
We worked with Build-A-Bear for 3 months on their Microsite and NFT Program. This included launches until Dec 2022.
Who is Build-A-Bear?
Originally conceived as a place for children to create their own special teddy bear with a step-by-step process including there now iconic Heart Ceremony, Build-A-Bear is now a multi-generational, multi-dimensional global brand appealing to diverse consumer demographics.
With nearly 500 global retail locations, multiple online experiences and brand power that extends beyond retail, they are excited about what their future has in store.
View their NFT Website: Build-A-Bear
Project Goal
To celebrate Build-A-Bear’s 25th Anniversary and introduce their collection of NFTs, our goal was to create an experience marketed towards Gen Z and Millennials. For the one page site, we leaned into dark mode and neon elements for a completely different look and feel compared to the official site. With a 3 drop NFT program, each phase introduces a new bear(s) with added sections and components to the site.
Process
Concepts
Client or pitched concepts often shape the strategy of each Studio client’s NFT program at Sweet. We proposed several concepts for Build-A-Bear and with the clients approval, we then began planning requirements and deliverables.
Design
With the client brief and creative freedom to deviate from the current website, we began exploring designs in dark mode centering around their after dark theme and common NFT UI patterns. The designs were centered around the Swarovski Bear NFT.
Build
After handing off designs to the Front-end Engineer and QA team, I had daily syncs with the FE Engineer. We reviewed the responsiveness, ensured all elements were correct, and worked together to solve any issues that arised.
Manage
With more components, sections, and states being added/updated, I managed the designs with the Program Manager and FE Engineer. We communicated frequently to stay aligned and used tools like Jira and Figma to track progress.
Design System
For each NFT Microsite, we create a custom design system for that client. This was built with Build-A-Bear’s required assets and some new components unique to the NFT program. With multiple drops (website updates), having component sets and an organized design system helped quickly create and update the designs for Engineers. Build-A-Bear was the first custom design system for Sweet’s clients and set the structure for following projects.
Minted and Shipped | View Website
As NFTS are becoming more popular for brands and clients to adopt, they’re looking to us for the knowledge and expertise on how to take the first step into launching their own NFT Program.
With a thought out NFT Program on how to market, strategize, create, and build upon like Build-A-Bear’s, the possibilities are endless. We shipped Build-A-Bear’s Microsite for their NFT Program in September 2022. The first phase started with the Swarovski Bear NFT with the utility (benefits) of a physical bear and trip to their Gala. The Swarovski Bear NFT sold for $3,400 in 4 days.
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