The problem: the assortment was hard to see as a whole
Vera Bradley wanted a clearer, more visual way to build and review its seasonal assortment. The team was also expanding its use of 3D assets and needed to see those alongside product information and the broader range.
Instead, the line was fragmented across physical boards, individual Illustrator files, PowerPoint decks, and separate product data.
- Physical boards went stale immediately
Teams printed CADs to assemble full-product boards, but a product update could make the board inaccurate almost as soon as it was created.
- Design work stayed inside individual files
Designers worked across separate Illustrator files and presentations, making it difficult to see what other categories were developing or how individual concepts fit the wider assortment.
- Reviews required repeated rebuilding
CADs and product information had to be transferred manually into presentations. Each change created more copying, formatting, and version reconciliation.
- The full assortment came into view too late
Without one current view of the assortment, duplication, gaps, and over-assortment were harder to see before design and sampling effort had already been committed.
The solution: one live view of the seasonal assortment
Vera Bradley used VibeIQ to bring visual design, product information, and the seasonal assortment into one current view. Instead of rebuilding the line for each review, teams could work from the same product context as the season changed.
- Creative work and the assortment came together
Designers could bring inspiration, CADs, 2D concepts, and 3D assets into the same seasonal environment, making it easier to understand creative work in the context of the full line.
- Product information stayed attached
Product data and visuals appeared together, reducing the need to re-enter item information or rebuild the same product story for every review.
- Reviews started from the current line
Teams could pull the full assortment, a category, or another segment into a visual review and see missing assets, placeholders, duplication, and over-assortment without reconstructing the presentation first.
“One of the key outcomes was being able to see the full assortment in a visual, live plan. By far, that has made the most impact on our team and cross-functional partners.”
Kelly Thornsen, Director of Product Development
The results
- 10% fewer SKUs before sampling
Seeing the full assortment earlier made over-assortment visible while the team could still remove unnecessary options before more sampling and development work was committed.
- More design time returned to design
Automatically updated product information and review views reduced the copying, formatting, and presentation rebuilding surrounding the creative process.
- Design and merchandising reviewed one current assortment
Feedback moved away from long email chains and toward working sessions where teams could see the same line and make decisions together.
- The team launched in a month
Vera Bradley launched the workflow in about one month. After the first month of use, every surveyed user rated VibeIQ five out of five.
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