National Retail Federation Event: Use Case Simulation

Directed the design of Kyndryl’s NRF award-finalist demo — leading concept, design execution, and team mentorship for a high-impact event experience.

I led the design of Kyndryl’s award-finalist NRF demo, shaping the project from journey mapping and wireframes to a fully animated, persona-driven experience. Built in Figma with smart-animate, component sets, and GenAI enhancements, the demo showcased scalable storytelling while I also mentored a junior designer. Praised as the booth’s highlight, it kept audiences engaged and demonstrated the impact of creative direction on both design and business outcomes.

Finalist for the 2025 Content Marketing Award (“Best Content Marketing Launch”), this project showcased Kyndryl’s in-house interactive demo as the centerpiece of its NRF booth at the Javits Center.

I art-directed and designed the persona-driven experience, collaborating with booth designers and leading every stage—from Figma wireframes and journey mapping to a fully themed, functional, animated demo built with smart-animate, component sets, and variables. To simplify the original lengthy demo copy, I created a user journey chart that visually mapped the buyer and seller experiences, helping the client quickly understand the flow. I also incorporated Firefly GenAI to generate missing visual elements (like the checkout desk), enabling more accurate storytelling.

In addition to managing all design execution, I trained and mentored an assistant designer who was new to Figma, helping them develop their skills while contributing to the project.

The demo illustrated a complete buyer journey: AI-powered AR room scans and chatbot recommendations at home, in-store navigation with a dedicated salesperson, interactive phone and tablet apps for buyers and sellers, and a training platform with CCTV coaching videos.

At NRF, Kyndryl’s sales team presented the demo with a storytelling talk track, attracting repeat visits from VPs of a $135B telecom company, as well as interest from a $12B supermarket chain, an $18.84B convenience/gas chain, and global delegations. Marketing leadership rated the project an “A,” calling it the booth’s highlight, and requested expansions for future events.

By designing this in-house, I also saved the team upwards of $40,000 per demo compared to outsourcing.

^ Start screen, where you can choose the persona you want to follow.

^The Phone scrolls when you touch it like a regular phone.

^ Video plays in the background.