Indigo
Designing an intentional shopping experience
Indigo Books & Music brought our team in during a major commerce platform migration. Beyond the technical work, they saw an opportunity to rethink how the online experience reflected the Indigo brand.
The goal wasn't simply to make shopping more efficient. It was to create an experience that encouraged the same sense of curiosity and discovery people found in Indigo's stores.
Role
Lead Product Designer
Focus
E-commerce UX, Experience Strategy, Concept Design, Design Systems, Editorial Commerce
Stage
Discovery, Concept Development, Design Direction, Design System Consultation
Collaborators
Client stakeholders, Product Owners, Engineering Teams, Brand & Marketing Teams, Design System Contributors
Product Tension
More than a faster way to shop
Most e-commerce experiences are designed to get people from search to purchase as quickly as possible.
Indigo wanted something different. Rather than competing with Amazon on efficiency alone, the experience needed to give people space to browse, discover new things, and find inspiration.
At the same time, the work needed to support a new commerce platform, establish a scalable design system, and create foundations that could extend beyond the web.
Key Experience Design
Bringing the store experience online
I worked as part of a consulting team focused on product strategy, concept exploration, UX direction, and design system guidance.
We looked closely at what made Indigo's physical stores distinct. People didn't always arrive knowing exactly what they wanted. The stores encouraged them to wander, discover something unexpected, and understand products through curation and context.
We wanted the digital experience to support that same behaviour.
Creating space for discovery
Instead of optimizing every screen around product density, we introduced more space and stronger hierarchy to make browsing feel calmer and more intentional.
We also moved beyond endless product grids, introducing editorial content, curated collections, and moments of inspiration throughout the shopping experience.
The goal was to make it easier to meander, to move between products, ideas, and categories without needing to start with a search.
Building foundations for scale
Alongside the experience work, we helped shape the evolving design system so these ideas could scale consistently across the commerce experience and future digital products.
This became particularly important as Indigo expanded beyond the web into native applications.
Outcome
Establishing a Lasting Experience Direction
Our engagement focused primarily on strategy, exploration, and establishing a direction rather than taking the entire experience through implementation.
Many of the ideas developed during the project continued to influence Indigo's digital products after our involvement ended. The work helped establish a more editorial approach to commerce, create stronger foundations for the platform migration, and bring the digital experience closer to what made the Indigo brand distinct.
Several of those ideas can still be seen in Indigo's experience today.
© 2026 Nelson Leung in Canada.