Lowe's Paint Kiosk
How our team revolutionized the paint ordering process.
The Lowe’s paint and stain kiosk is a customer facing in store tool designed to simplify one of the most complex and intimidating retail decisions: choosing the right paint or stain. The goal of the project was to reduce confusion, speed up decision making, and increase customer confidence while aligning tightly with in store associate workflows and tinting systems. This case study outlines my end to end design process, from problem definition through interaction design and iteration, with a focus on how structured decision making and progressive disclosure shaped the final experience.
Client
Lowe's
Services
Visual Design UI & UX Design Product Design, Usability Testing, User Interviews,
Industries
Retail
Date
March 2023 - Current
The Problem Customers entering the paint department often arrive with uncertainty. They may not know whether they need paint or stain, what product category applies to their project, or how brand, sheen, and color choices affect the outcome. This uncertainty leads to stalled decision making, long associate interactions, and frequent product returns. From a business perspective, the challenge was twofold: 1. Reduce cognitive load for customers without oversimplifying the decision 2. Create a scalable self service experience that still feels guided and trustworthy
Goals & Constraints Primary goals: 1. Guide customers to the correct tintable product with confidence 2. Minimize backtracking and dead ends 3. Match the mental model customers already have when thinking about a paint or stain project Key constraints: 1. Must integrate with existing tinting systems and product catalogs 2. Must work in busy, high traffic store environments 3. Must be usable by customers with no prior paint knowledge 4. Must support both paint and stain flows without feeling fragmented