Talent Lab for Made.com

Pink background with white text reading "MADE" inside a white rectangle with rounded edges.

The Challenge

By 2015, Made.com had run a small emerging talent award for 2 consecutive years in the UK home market. 

The CEO set the challenge of expanding and elevating support for emerging Talent, with a view to covering all of the business’ markets, cementing Made’s reputation in the industry as a supporter of new design, and creating a platform for finding new successful design collaborators for made.com. 

“Ruth’s work on Talent Lab for made.com brought the brand’s core mission to democratise design to life. Her creative oversight and strategic direction launched a brand within a brand that was incredibly exciting.”
— Michelle Ogundehin, Writer, Author and TV Presenter

The Solution

The result was Talent Lab, a crowdfunding platform for new design with an ambition of launching up to 200 new designs each year.

End-to-end delivery of the project spanned the pitch to the board, managing the brand and site development, recruiting the internal team and external designers and curating the collections for launch.

A top-down view of various textured and colored samples of material and paint on a gray concrete surface. The samples include a large pink circle, a rectangular blue textured piece, a bluish-white speckled sample, a black foam-like material, a blue foam, and a dark colorful speckled sheet.
A website infographic explaining the process for shopping at TalentLAB, including uploading ideas, selecting designs, depositing money, receiving popular designs, and getting a refund if not selected.
“One of our brands to watch for this year”
— WGSN, 2018

A Distinct Identity

Interior of a modern showroom with furniture and decorative items, featuring a hanging black and gold light, a colorful rug, a gray armchair, and minimalist decor with the text 'Where bright ideas get MADE' in large white font.

The identity was aligned with the main site but with a more punchy attitude. The solution was to work with the key made.com fonts, but use a bolder version. 

We developed a two colour design with the aim of changing the colours for each collection.

A colour outline for the site meant that users would know when they were on the Talent Lab micro-site. And the lock-up logo used this same border motif. 

Strategic Partners

A woman kneeling on the floor adjusting a pink upholstered chair with gold legs, with a beige knit cushion on the floor in front of her.

We joined forces with influential partners from across the design industry, such as Michelle Ogundehin, to help us curate collections, build awareness and lend credibility to our platform.

TalentLab launched at the V&A during London Design Week 2018 amongst an invited group from across the global design profession. 

The Outcome

TalentLab launched over 120 products from across 6 continents. This included various bestsellers for Made.com, created by designers who went on to be regular collaborators. The platform was regularly featured in the press and continued to be a talking point amongst customers and design professionals. 

Two modern bedside tables with three drawers each, painted in shades of white, pink, and peach, on wooden tripod legs, with measurements of 75cm and 12cm height.