Sarita is a UX and visual designer who draws on a decade of entrepreneurship and leadership experience to craft user-friendly experiences and authentic brand identities. She loves to collaborate with diverse, passionate, and interdisciplinary teams that value thoughtful critique, inquiry, and perpetual professional development. In her free time, Sarita serves on nonprofit boards, travels, runs trails, dances, and composes hand-written letters.
Starbucks Propel Gas Station of the Future
Starbucks Propel is a concept gas station that reimagines the experience of fueling up. The design improves the experience for customers as well as baristas; it demonstrates how UX can positively impact brand perception and a company's triple bottom line. The central cafe island encircled by pumps and green space builds on Starbucks' minimum footprint cafes, inspired by shipping containers. Registered Starbucks Propel users affix an electronic transponder to their vehicle(s); as cars enter the station, an antenna reads the transponder and the user’s account is cued up at open pumps. Orders placed at the pump are filled by baristas while customers fill up. Payment info, fueling preferences, and drink preferences are all saved for the user.
Airbnb connects travelers seeking authentic, high-quality accommodations with hosts offering unique places to stay. Belong magazine extends the Airbnb brand off-line, using personal stories and narrative photography to transmit the colorful and serendipitous experience of Airbnb travel and hosting.
As a designer and an Airnbnb host, I saw an opportunity to strengthen the brand by developing a life-style magazine that re-inspires current customers and drives new users to the website and app.
The day I finalized my magazine, Airbnb validated my concept by unveiling Pineapple, a quarterly print magazine the company had been developing in stealth for months.
Third Place Books Re-brand
Third Place Books is a general interest bookstore with two Seattle locations and new store set to open in July 2016. Founder Ron Sher was inspired by sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s concept of the “third place”, an inviting and regenerating meeting place that exists separately from home (the first place) and work (the second place). Each store features local food vendors, childrens' play spaces and a “commons” that hosts author events, concerts and other community programming to enrich the neighborhood.
The challenge and opportunity of this re-brand was to visually unify the three stores while allowing each to express its distinct neighborhood flare. The solution was a liquid logo with location-based coloration and infinite changeability.
