Dulux Branches Out into Amazing Space Platform

If Christmas is eating up your budget but your house needs a lick of paint and some redecorating, look no further – UK paint brand Dulux has expanded its services and introduced an interactive online platform, created by MRM Meteorite.

Amazing Space makes interior design services accessible and available to all, with affordable prices starting from £75 (although there’s currently a Christmas discount on making it even cheaper).

No longer do you require an actual interior designer to help you remodel your home, the platform provides customers with a bespoke 30-minute video consultation in which their taste, budget and room specifications are identified. Together with an on-hand Dulux design expert, a suggested style guide will be offered to customers and collaboration is encouraged.

Other features include a floor-plan with 3D rendering and an interactive shopping list, earning customers discounts from partner stores John Lewis, Made.com and Dunelm.

Dulux head of colour and design Dinny Court, MRM Meteorite technical director Alan Saikale and creative director Andrew Day spoke to shots about the inspiration behind the amazing spaces.

Why did Dulux decide to expand its services into digital consulting?

Dulux’s Dinny Court (DC): As a mass market brand, we’re always looking for helpful and inspiring ways to enable homeowners to create a space they love. We were determined to find a new service solution that would truly democratize design for all.

Dulux Amazing Space successfully positions us as a brand that really allows homeowners to confidently change the interiors of their homes. It brings great differentiation for our brand and enables us to extend beyond paint - which accounts for perhaps just 10 percent of a decorating job.

What was the inspiration for the platform?

DC: More than half of homeowners say they want help and advice when restyling their homes. But the personalised help on offer is out of reach for the majority.

Technology has effectively disrupted many other categories. At the outset we felt certain that the balance of technology and expert design would enable us to offer what was not currently available on the market – an affordable, quality interior design solution.

What were the challenges behind creating an online interior design platform?

DC: The main challenge was to create an optimal consumer experience; for the homeowners to quickly and easily give designers key information about their room and their vision for the room; and for the expert designers to be satisfied with enough information to produce a high quality, personalised design.

Why did you enlist the help of MRM Meteorite?

DC: MRM Meteorite is greatly experienced in developing full, end-to-end, digital service solutions with insight-driven user experience. We worked with the agency from the onset of the project, using extensive research techniques to develop and refine our ideas.

Their full service expertise meant that we have been able to go through the entire journey – from initial business strategy through build to launch and support – with a single agency.

And MRM Meteorite, how did you ensure that it fit with the pre-existing Dulux brand?

MRM Meteorite creative director Andrew Day: Thanks to the old English sheepdog (below) and consistent recommendations from decorators, Dulux is a household name. We knew Amazing Space had to use familiar design cues and master brand colour, yet we also wanted to create a new look that clearly showed how Dulux is moving into a completely different direction by offering its new service.

We didn’t want to overwhelm our audience with bold or strong colours – Amazing Space helps you decide about interior designs within a neutral and engaging environment. The choice of font, its weight and the subtle colour palette is purposefully designed to be warm and welcoming – while creating a new identity for the service.

However, we did enhance the colours for the photographs, as ultimately these are supposed to inspire and engage customers with their alluring, well styled scenes that we hope feel grounded and familiar, yet ever-so-slightly aspirational. These images had to fit in and reinforce the message that Dulux is a credible brand, capable of delivering bespoke home-styling solutions. We hope that in time Dulux will be as famous and trusted for home-styling as it is for paint!

Were there any difficulties in creating the website? And if so, what were they?

MRM Meteorite technical director Alan Saikale (AS): We had to consider the input of multiple business and technical stakeholders. It was important to keeping the code base well-structured, maintainable and easily expandable.

We’ve kept various parts of the system separate from one another, so if one goes down, the rest of the solution continues working unaffected. We’ve tried to carefully plan ahead for potential error situations, such as if the customer’s internet connection drops and they don’t make it back to the final page but have already paid, we have a system in place which recreates an order for them as if everything went well. Hopefully, this foresight will make the Dulux Amazing Space service stress-free for customers.

Why do you think personalising content is so important for consumers and how do you ensure that each Amazing Space experience is tailored to each customer?

DC: Amazing Space provides consumers with an affordable and accessible design service. Users book their online consultation with a professional designer at a time that suits them – including evenings and weekends – at a price that is more affordable than what is generally publically available. This accessibility of designers is critical to enabling the majority of homeowners to access the expertise they are looking for.

The added extra features – 30 minute consultation with a design expert, room floor plan, 3D visualizations and an interactive shopping list containing the furniture and furnishings – make it easy to start on the redecoration. Each section of the service is focused on the homeowner’s room, budget and preconceptions about how the space looks and what they want from it. The difference between a house and a home is making it feel personal.

Why did you feel that you had to create this platform in order to be closer to the customer?

DC: Dulux is famous for inspiring and enabling beautiful living spaces. Paint can play a significant role in transforming a room but design is key. Helping homeowners with the whole look unlocks a significant barrier and by offering this service, we can build on the transactional relationship around paint and develop a relationship with the homeowner far earlier in the redecorating process.