Ed Sanchez

Product & UX Design

Product & UX Design

All selected work

CASE STUDY / INKBOX

Inkbox: From Screen to Skin

Role: Senior Product Designer

Focus: Omnichannel Journey Mapping, Physical/Digital Usability, In-House Lab Testing, Design Mentorship

01 / THE CORE PROBLEM

The Physical-Digital Experience Disconnect

Inkbox’s proprietary semi-permanent tattoo formula lasts 1–2 weeks, developing in the skin over 24–36 hours. While marketing drove high interest, the customer journey suffered severe drop-offs at both ends:

Digital Catalog Overload

With 15,000+ designs, customers struggled to browse effectively. Photography lacked demographic diversity, and custom design guidelines were buried in technical jargon.

"Bathroom Surgery" Application Anxiety

Customers unboxed a confusing array of items (gloves, warm damp towels, adhesive patches, primer wipes) accompanied by dense text instructions. 30% of users failed the application process due to improper placement or adhesive slippage.

02 / DIGITAL DISCOVERY + PHYSICAL APPLICATION

Research Methodology

Lacking dedicated testing facilities, I converted an internal studio space into an in-house usability lab equipped with dual-angle cameras (capturing facial expressions and mobile screens) and live audio/video streaming to an observation room. This allowed industrial engineers, marketers, and developers to observe customer behavior in real time.

RESEARCH / FOUR BEHAVIOURAL INSIGHTS

Study 1: E-Commerce & Custom Studio Discovery (20 Mobile Participants)

70% could not locate a preferred design immediately upon landing on the homepage. 80% reported that lifestyle imagery lacked representative diversity. 100% expressed strong interest in the custom tattoo creator but were confused by file constraints such as resolution, linework contrast, and transparent PNGs.

Study 1: E-Commerce & Custom Studio Discovery (20 Mobile Participants)

70% could not locate a preferred design immediately upon landing on the homepage. 80% reported that lifestyle imagery lacked representative diversity. 100% expressed strong interest in the custom tattoo creator but were confused by file constraints such as resolution, linework contrast, and transparent PNGs.

Study 2: Unboxing & Physical Application Usability (15 Participants + Multi-Day Diary Study)

30% failed application during observed unboxing. 90% preferred visual illustrations over body copy. 0% scanned the package’s Facebook QR code for video instructions. Many needed both hands to hold the patch, making a paper instruction booklet physically impossible to handle.

Study 2: Unboxing & Physical Application Usability (15 Participants + Multi-Day Diary Study)

30% failed application during observed unboxing. 90% preferred visual illustrations over body copy. 0% scanned the package’s Facebook QR code for video instructions. Many needed both hands to hold the patch, making a paper instruction booklet physically impossible to handle.

03 / JOURNEY IMPROVEMENTS

Digital Journey & Cross-Functional Innovation

Material Breakthrough

Partnered directly with industrial engineering to validate a new clear medical-grade adhesive (Saniderm). The transparent backing eliminated the guesswork of tattoo placement, removing the need for hot towels and messy gloves.

Material Breakthrough

Partnered directly with industrial engineering to validate a new clear medical-grade adhesive (Saniderm). The transparent backing eliminated the guesswork of tattoo placement, removing the need for hot towels and messy gloves.

"Show, Don’t Tell" Packaging Redesign

Collaborated with design agency Concrete during the company's 2019 brand evolution. We redesigned the packaging into a collectible format inspired by vinyl record sleeves, utilizing clear numerical ordering and step-by-step visual storyboards to guide the customer through the unboxing ritual.

"Show, Don’t Tell" Packaging Redesign

Partnered directly with industrial engineering to validate a new clear medical-grade adhesive (Saniderm). The transparent backing eliminated the guesswork of tattoo placement, removing the need for hot towels and messy gloves.

"Show, Don’t Tell" Packaging Redesign

Collaborated with design agency Concrete during the company's 2019 brand evolution. We redesigned the packaging into a collectible format inspired by vinyl record sleeves, utilizing clear numerical ordering and step-by-step visual storyboards to guide the customer through the unboxing ritual.

"Show, Don’t Tell" Packaging Redesign

Partnered directly with industrial engineering to validate a new clear medical-grade adhesive (Saniderm). The transparent backing eliminated the guesswork of tattoo placement, removing the need for hot towels and messy gloves.

"Show, Don’t Tell" Packaging Redesign

Collaborated with design agency Concrete during the company's 2019 brand evolution. We redesigned the packaging into a collectible format inspired by vinyl record sleeves, utilizing clear numerical ordering and step-by-step visual storyboards to guide the customer through the unboxing ritual.

Interactive Design Studio Onboarding

Overhauled the custom tattoo digital editor by introducing an interactive onboarding wizard, automated vector quality checks, and real-time scale/placement previews on 3D body models.

Interactive Design Studio Onboarding

Partnered directly with industrial engineering to validate a new clear medical-grade adhesive (Saniderm). The transparent backing eliminated the guesswork of tattoo placement, removing the need for hot towels and messy gloves.

Interactive Design Studio Onboarding

Overhauled the custom tattoo digital editor by introducing an interactive onboarding wizard, automated vector quality checks, and real-time scale/placement previews on 3D body models.

04 / BUSINESS IMPACT

Digital Journey & Cross-Functional Innovation

50% to 95%

DIGITAL FUNNEL OPTIMIZATION

Designed a guided digital onboarding tour for the custom studio editor, skyrocketing print-ready design submissions from 50% to 95%.

Visual storyboards

PHYSICAL ERROR REDUCTION

Reduced physical at-home tattoo application error rates from 30% to near zero through Saniderm validation and visual storyboard instructions.

15% fewer calls

OPERATIONAL SAVINGS

By integrating a clearer digital web design with the overhauled physical packaging instructions, we successfully reduced customer support calls related to product activation by 15%.

All selected work

  • Increased custom tattoo studio submission completions from 50% to 95%.

  • Reduced physical at-home tattoo application error rates from 30% to near zero.

  • Decreased customer support activation tickets by 15% through end-to-end packaging and instruction overhauls.

© 2026 Ed Sanchez

Creative technology. Human-centered design.