Danone SaaS

Duration

2019-2021

Deliverable(s)

Fully Developed SaaS

My Role

UX Research
User Testing
Product Strategy

UX/UI Design

Pitching

Collaboration

Project Manager
Development Vendors

Visual Design Vendors

Challenges

When poor design caused Danone’s first e-commerce slowdown in growth rate in China, I uncovered a 7-year-old issue—a chaotic design workflow that no one had addressed.

The year 2018 was pivotal—Danone, the largest French FMCG company, experienced its first slowdown in the growth rate in China due to poor visual design. Though Danone was sales-driven, design—a crucial part of its success—had long been neglected.

After joining as a UX & Visual Designer, I uncovered the root cause of this issue: a messy design workflow that had gone unaddressed for seven years.

Imagine you’re a marketing expert in the e-commerce division of a traditional FMCG company. You recognize the importance of design thinking but lack experience in it. Initially, you rely on external design vendors but soon encounter several pain points:

Communication gaps

Misaligned design language leads to frequent misunderstandings with vendors.

Cross-functional fragmentation

Departments interpret design differently, resulting in back-and-forth approvals that delay projects or reduce the quality of customer-facing materials.

Disorganized file management

Design files are scattered and poorly managed. When key employees leave, finding essential files becomes nearly impossible, creating a long-standing issue that impacts the entire organization.

Figure: A siloed design culture

Roles & Goals

As a UX & Visual Designer and liaison bridging internal teams (marketing, sales, operations, and regulatory) and external design vendors, I set out to:

Build a scalable, cross-functional design process to resolve this long-overlooked issue.
Secure budget approval from C-suite leadership and successfully launch the solution.

Uncover deeper insights by nudging designers to share their perceptions of AI.
Ensure timely MVP delivery through close collaboration with engineers for quality assurance.
Develop a strategic storytelling approach to drive early adoption, securing 50+ users.

Research & Design

External Collaboration

For the first time in Danone’s history, I redefined vendor collaboration:

Reversing Roles

Instead of directing external vendors, I treated them as users to understand their collaboration pain points.

1-on-1 Interviews

Recognizing vendors' hesitance to share openly in group settings, I conducted exclusive one-on-one interviews to encourage honest feedback.

"Fly-on-the-Wall" Observations

I assigned tasks and observed vendor actions to collect performance data alongside their preferences.

Cross-Functional Alignment

Kano Analysis & "Better vs. Worse" Prioritization: To align departments with competing priorities, I used data-backed methodologies to demonstrate which services mattered most and why.

Data-Driven Storytelling for Leadership Buy-in: Instead of complex design diagrams, I presented clear data comparisons (e.g., expenses vs. benefits) and reframed the investment as a smart "expense" rather than a "cost."

Tangible "Before & After" Scenarios: For cross-functional stakeholders, I illustrated the benefits of the new process using relatable, results-oriented narratives rather than abstract UX workflows.

Figure: Demonstration of KANO Analysis

Figure: Better-Worse Analysis

Figure: Pitching using a "Before & After" storytelling mode

Development Strategy

Given limited development resources, I proposed an Agile approach using existing design systems (like Ant Design) to accelerate full-cycle development while maintaining consistency.

Figure: Wireframing before official development

Feature 1 - Asset Management | Filtering

AI Color Filtering

Danone E-business design elements are strictly constrainted within brand colors; this function helps users target the accent colors efficiently.

Filter Customization

Departments varies tremendously in their need for design assets.

Feature 2 - Asset Management | Documentation

Tracable Filing with Data

In a single file, users can review its general information, details like its creator, history of approval, and make comments to request or help improve it.

All-In-One Requests, Approvals and tracking

Cross-functional users can request for new design, comment on existing files, and see the approval status of file censorship, all in one place.

Feature 3 - User & Stakeholder Management

Dashboard - User Ranking

This function is mainly designed for external design agencies that require data for designers' quantitative performance review. It also provides reference data for charging in case of retainer services.

User Activity Histories

Searching through activity history is one of the most unique and frequent methods for external design agencies.

Business Impact

20%

Cost Reduction

The solution reduced Danone's annual e-commerce design costs by 20% in its first year.

Sustained

Adoption

Three years later, the system remains an active legacy tool, extending its influence from the e-commerce team to the entire company.

Learning

This project was unique because I reversed the typical dynamic—treating the design vendors, who usually served me, as the users I aimed to support. During user interviews, some designers even cried, expressing how overlooked their needs had been due to the contracting relationship. This role reversal gave me deep insights into upward and downward communication, setting an example for the company that respect should be based on human attributes, not just industry roles.

I also honed my skills in upward persuasion—presenting simple, elegant visuals with key metrics to engage business-savvy C-suites, while keeping detailed data in reserve for follow-up. It reinforced that concise, impactful storytelling backed by data resonates far more than a process-heavy narrative focused on technical skills.

Use Analogies to Inspire: When testing novel concepts, I found that providing relatable analogies (e.g., comparing our experimental concept to similar existing 3D design terms) and provided a range of options during sacrificial tests helped nudge clearer decisions. This approach revealed nuanced insights, particularly in areas like feature preferences and pricing strategies.

Iterative Mindset: Working with engineers on a complex, industry-wide challenge reinforced the importance of iterative collaboration to deliver an MVP with core features, while saving "nice-to-have" features for future iterations.

Thanks for reading!

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