Experience strategy for Diageo’s “The Bar” platform

Context

I worked with TMW and Diageo on the development of “The Bar”, a digital platform designed to help customers create cocktails and enhance their experience of Diageo products.

I was brought in to introduce experience strategy into the project, which was a relatively new approach for the organisation.

The situation

The project was already underway but was proving challenging, with a combative dynamic between teams and a lack of shared understanding of how the experience should be designed.

There was limited alignment between stakeholders, and the process for developing the experience was not yet well established.

The work

I introduced a more collaborative, research led approach to experience design.

This included working closely with designers and stakeholders to translate research into shared artefacts, using wireflows to map interactions and make the experience visible to the wider team.

By putting these artefacts into a shared environment, it enabled experience strategists, business analysts, and client teams to work together more effectively and understand how their contributions connected.

I also ensured that stakeholders were actively engaged with research outcomes, helping to ground discussions in user needs rather than assumptions.

What changed

The introduction of co-design and collaborative working practices shifted the dynamic of the project, moving it from a combative environment to a more aligned and productive one.

This enabled the team to develop a clearer and more cohesive experience for the platform.

What this demonstrates

The ability to introduce experience strategy and collaborative ways of working into complex or misaligned environments, improving both team effectiveness and design outcomes.