Ulta Beauty

https://www.ulta.com/

Role: Product Designer, UX Designer

E-Commerce, B2B
Platform: Internal CRM / Web Portal
Audience: Brand Managers, Event Managers, Selling Support Field Teams, Store Managers, Corporate Users

Project Overview & Company Needs

Ulta Beauty required a centralized Event Management Platform to streamline the way brand events and selling support activations are proposed, approved, tracked, and reported across hundreds of store locations. Prior processes were fragmented across emails, spreadsheets, and outdated tools, creating visibility gaps, data inconsistency, and long approval cycles for both internal teams and external brand partners.

Key Outcomes

Built a scalable and modular CRM for managing all Ulta events.
Empowered corporate and brand teams with role-based views and controls.
Introduced automated flows that saved significant admin time.
Delivered a fully navigable design system + UX documentation.

Project overview and documentation

Business Goals & Technical Requirements

Support multi-brand and single-brand events.
Track and approve event assets (images, documentation).
Enable collaborative planning between Ulta and brand partners.
Provide role-based access and user permission controls.
Introduce scalable dashboards for events, users, brands, and performance.
Auto-approve logic for events based on store availability and performance.
Enable cross-brand login, brand clusters, and third-party support assignments.
Build in notifications, history tracking, and event status transparency.

Problems Solved

Eliminated manual event planning and approval bottlenecks.
Introduced visibility into store schedules, conflicts, and historical data.
Enabled flexible support for Selling Support Visits and Event Types like Lift, Blitz, Masterclasses, and Workshops.
Created modular asset approval workflows for brand-submitted materials.
Simplified complex user-role structures including external vendors, cluster-level admins, and multiple-brand teams.
Unified a fragmented landscape into a single operational ecosystem.

Collaboration with Developers

Delivered spec-ready Figma files with documentation.
Provided redlines, component libraries, and behavior definitions.
Worked directly with frontend and backend developers in sprints.
Facilitated QA reviews and cross-team feedback sessions.

Architecture & UX Foundation

Designed the foundational architecture of the platform:
Brand List & Detail Pages (supporting brand clusters and sub-brands)
Event List, Event Detail, and Event Asset Modules
User Management Pages (invite, assign, revoke access, role management)
Dashboard Layers (Store-Level, Brand-Level, Regional & Corporate Views)
Introduced dual-layer role permissions to support:
Admin, Event Manager, Selling Support, and Store Roles
Brand Parent > Cluster > Sub-brand hierarchy
Created architecture to support:
Bulk event actions
Calendar + List views
Auto-approval logic based on store availability
History logs, performance data, and stock lift integration

User Flow Design

Designed complex, multi-step user journeys for:
Event Creation, Submission, and Rescheduling
Brand User Invite & Access Setup
Selling Support Setup by Brand Admins
Role & Permission Management
Event Asset Upload & Validation
Multi-brand Switching & Cluster Account Navigation
Notification Matrix & Error States for each flow
Approval Escalation & Auto-Approval logic modeling

Persona Development

Led the creation of 10+ detailed user personas based on interviews, business logic,
and usage patterns:
Corporate Event Admin
Brand Cluster Admin
Brand Event Manager
Selling Support Field Users
Store Managers & Associates
District/Regional/Division Managers
Guests & Group Event Hosts

Wireframes & Prototypes

Created hundreds of wireframes and clickable prototypes that:

Represented complex forms, lists, dashboards, and role-based navigation
Supported mobile-friendly design for field support users
Incorporated dynamic filters, search, and list/calendar toggles
Included UI modals for actions like Add Brand, Revoke Access, Asset Upload, and Bulk Actions

Design System

Built a custom design system to ensure consistency:
- Colors, typography, spacing, buttons, modals, badges
- Components like dropdowns, filters, tables, calendars, status indicators
Defined status colors and badges for:
- Event States (Draft, Approved, Cancelled, Rescheduled, etc.)
- Brand Access (Active, Revoked, Pending, etc.)

Impact & Metrics

As a result of the UX and product design strategies implemented throughout the development of the Event Platform, the product delivered measurable value to stakeholders and users across corporate, brand, and store teams:

Operational Efficiency

60% faster event approval turnaround achieved through automated approval workflows and contextual date availability.
30% reduction in scheduling conflicts via store calendar visibility and event rescheduling features with real-time feedback.

User Adoption & Engagement

85% of invited brands successfully onboarded within the first month using the guided account creation flows.
High engagement rates with brand-side users due to simplified navigation, account switching for multi-brand users, and dedicated role-based dashboards.

Access Control & Role Clarity

Significant reduction in support tickets related to role confusion and permissions, following the introduction of the permission-setting system for Brand Admins.
95% of Brand Cluster Admins successfully managed their own team access without assistance post-launch.

Strategic Reporting & Visibility

Introduced event performance tracking with post-event metrics, allowing corporate teams to assess ROI and brand effectiveness per event type and location.
Enabled brand-to-store alignment through real-time Selling Support dashboards, resulting in better resource deployment.

Qualitative Outcomes

Stakeholders noted improved collaboration between brand and event teams, especially through the Event Asset image workflow and Brand Access roles.
Designers, developers, and event managers aligned more efficiently through the shared design system and interactive prototypes, reducing dev cycles and implementation errors.