The Premise
What if a skincare brand could slow time?
Interlude was a concept for transforming in-transit moments - like airport lounges - into spaces of ritual and restoration. A new kind of wellness experience, where scent, silence, and story reframe luxury as care.
Role: Systems Researcher & Service Designer
Sector: Wellness, Experiential Retail, Emotional Design
Academic Project : Service Design for Aesop
Interlude : Creating Moments of Stillness During Travel
"A sensorial pause between destinations- where rare formulations, refined refreshment, and quiet rituals invite restoration in motion.”
The Premise
What if a skincare brand could slow time?
Interlude was a concept for transforming in-transit moments - like airport lounges - into spaces of ritual and restoration. A new kind of wellness experience, where scent, silence, and story reframe luxury as care.
Role: Systems Researcher & Service Designer
Sector: Wellness, Experiential Retail, Emotional Design
Academic Project : Service Design for Aesop
Duration : 2 Weeks (April 2025)
Brief
A leading skincare brand wanted to extend its presence beyond stores and into the premium travel experience. The brief was to create a wellness offering that could elevate brand intimacy, support traveler well-being, and unlock new cross-channel revenue opportunities.
The Role of A Strategic Designer in Addressing this Brief
My Contributions
-
Conducted in-depth persona and emotional journey mapping to identify traveler pain points and opportunity zones
-
Designed service flows and sensory touchpoints tailored for high-value customer segments
-
Developed a scalable platform strategy linking lounge experiences with product lines and retail conversion
Strategic Impact
-
Created a new vertical for brand activation within airline partnerships
-
Extended the retail ecosystem into high-emotion, low-interruption environments (lounges, in-flight)
-
Enabled future revenue pathways through travel kits, co-branded experiences, and sensory-driven loyalty mechanics
Process & Methodology
Business Modeling & Scenario Planning
Designed revenue levers across retail, airline, and hospitality channels using service platform strategy.
-
Value Proposition Design - for aligning emotional needs with sensory features
-
Platform Business Modeling - for designing the suite of offerings (drinks, lounges, travel kits, etc.)
-
Service Blueprinting - for journey stages and operational touchpoints
MAIN THEMES BEHIND PROPOSED SOLUTION
Emotional Differentiation as a Business Lever
Drawing on case studies like Aesop’s immersive stores or Glossier’s experiential marketing, Interlude was designed to translate brand ethos into emotional capital : building deeper, lasting relationships with high-LTV customers.
Experience as Ecosystem
Aligned with models from hospitality and luxury (e.g. Aman, Soho House), we structured Interlude not as a one-off service but as a replicable blueprint across travel nodes, offering continuity of care and customer retention
Why This Is Strategic for Aesop
-
This introduces a replicable service blueprint that can scale to wellness pop-ups, hospitality, or retail-as-sanctuary models.
-
Aesop doesn’t just sell products - it sells atmosphere.
-
Customer LTV : A customer who first experiences the brand in a lounge might go on to:
Buy full-sized products in-store or online
Join loyalty programs
Gift Aesop to others
Stay loyal across countries and years
​
Multi-Layered Brand Extension
​The Interlude experience architecture (aromatherapy, drinks, travel kits, spatial calm) elegantly extends Aesop’s identity into a new domain
Strategic placement in first-class lounges is high LTV, low-interruption, perfect for premium emotional branding.
a sensorial retail experience in flagship airport stores, first-class lounges - seamlessly connecting retail, inflight, and digital touchpoints
defining customer journey and value proposition of Interlude
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT ON MY PRACTICE
Learnings
Aligning Business Innovation with Experiential Design
This was the first time I got to actively bridge service design with business modeling - designing not only what the experience felt like, but also how it fit into the brand’s ecosystem, monetization strategy, and loyalty levers.
Strategic Storytelling for Non-Essential Spaces
Unlike social services or public systems, Interlude wasn’t solving a “pressing problem.” It was creating desire and meaning in transitional space. That meant the story had to do more — not just inform, but seduce, calm, and inspire.
What Would I Do Differently?
-
Explore partnerships with more varied Airlines
-
Focus on building experiences in flagship stores on Airports; anchoring Aesop Stores as upscale wellness spaces for pausing during travel
-
Added emphasis on Omnichannel Strategy
-
Expansion into other service offerings related to Aesop's product range
-
More marketing push for the "Aesops Sips" concept which highlights the transparency and freshness of ingredients used in the skincare products