[ Murray Uniforms ] Successful Design: A journey through new uniform

There is a well-known element that can decide the success or failure of any business – first impressions count. For customer-facing businesses, such as those in the retail sector, this sentiment is vitally important. One crucial aspect of creating a long-lasting impression is the appearance of staff.

The clients that we work with at Murray understand this well, and in their quest to refresh their image and enhance customer experience, they choose to embark on a journey with our Design Team to redesign their employee uniforms. But what are some of the pain points they encounter and how do we resolve challenges through design when creating a new uniform? We’ve captured some of them here to give you a brief overview of what goes into designing a new uniform.

Before diving into design, our design team needed a comprehensive understanding of the client’s brand identity. What are the characteristics that the client’s brand is well-known for? What sets them apart from their competitors, and what do they wish to be known for? What values do the company strive towards? The new uniform must reflect these core values and resonate with both employees and customers.

For this challenge, the design team begin by conducting surveys and focus groups with employees to gather insights. Speaking to the people that wear the uniform every day is the best way to gather honest feedback about what they like about their current garments, and also what they don’t. We create an open forum in which we probe staff to gather vital information not only about how the uniform looks and performs, but how it makes them feel. This information can then be used to inform further research by the design team on fashion trends and the type of materials that can be used to evoke the desired image and functionality. This research-driven approach ensures that the uniform design aligns perfectly with the wearer.

Often, with bigger clients, a challenge we have to tackle is the integration of multiple internal roles that need to wear the uniform. This can include customer-facing and non-customer-facing, staff working in different environments or climates and staff who need different levels of protection. Balancing these different needs whilst maintaining a unified look and a uniform offering that isn’t too vast can be a challenge. How do we make the brand identity of the client easily recognisable across a whole range of garments?

We start by experimenting with different designs inspired by the brand, using their colour scheme to tie things together, all whilst ensuring that we keep in mind the budget and minimum order quantity of the project. Incorporating one element across the uniform range that represents the brand, such as a logo or colour scheme will often further inspire the shape and elements of the garments, such as side panelling.

By taking the technical aspects of a garment and incorporating elements of the client’s brand identity, we can ensure a harmonious representation of the brand through its design language.

We offer a variety of products in a uniform range to ensure we cover all geographical locations as well as seasonal changes. This makes the uniform range not only cohesive and stylish but also practical.

When rolling out a new uniform, it is always clear to see a remarkable transformation in how employees embrace it. It is a pleasure to witness staff wearing their new uniform with a sense of pride and enthusiasm.

A new uniform must not only reflect the brand’s identity but also incorporate comfort and functionality, giving wearers a new level of confidence which then translates into improved interactions with customers, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to quality and service.

With smiles on their faces, staff adapt to a new uniform, turning it into a symbol of unity and professionalism within the company.

To find out more about a design-led approach to uniforms, contact Murray here.

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