Building a Global Digital Experience for Tommy Hilfiger
A multi-year evolution in digital design, brand expression and customer experience
Context
When I first joined, Tommy.com was fully outsourced and extremely limited.
There was no mobile experience, no insights, no experimentation. There were only basic design capabilities which delievered a limited connection to the brand.
The foundations were functional, but the experience wasn’t expressive, modern or customer-centric.
The opportunity: Transform Tommy.com into a true digital flagship store
Vision
My guiding principles:
a flexible system that supports both brand, commerce and business needs
design for the ecosystem, not isolated pages
mobile-first, insight-led, globally consistent
expressive, relevant and effortless to use
“I wanted the site to become the most complete expression of the brand. A place where storytelling, usability, and modern craft come together.”
The Evolution
01. Fixing Foundations: Improve the basics and unlock revenue.
Delivered a mobile-first experience
Fixed usability gaps and reduced friction
Introduced insights + early testing
Injected the first elements of brand expression
Even small changes created meaningful commercial impact.
02. Unlocking brand expression: Move from functional to expressive.
After re-platforming, built a modern visual language
Refined typography, layout and content structures
Introduced motion, micro-interactions and richer product storytelling
Elevated photography and art direction across the journey
It was then that Tommy.com began to feel like a brand experience and not just a catalogue.
03. Designing an Ecosystem
Digital expanded far beyond the website.
I was a key leader in the shaping of experiences for:
CRM + newsletters
B2B touchpoints
retail digital screens
omni-channel foundations
My teamcreated shared components and flexible patterns that worked across 25 markets in 8 langcuages and all the various touch-points.
04. Experience Leadership
Digital became a strategic voice.
Co-led elements of the global digital brand identity refresh
Built guidelines and patterns used across regions
Presented digital vision at senior leadership levels
Aligned brand, product, marketing and tech around a single experience language
This was the moment digital design became a recognised strategic partner.
Impact
Impact
Significant uplift in mobile revenue after redesigns
Year-on-year contribution to double-digit e-commerce growth
A globally consistent digital identity across touchpoints
Stronger collaboration between brand, product and marketing
Increased trust in design as an input into brand decisions
Adoption of Design Thinking across Ecom and beyond
Reflection