Staples Easy Care Application + Packaging

The Setup

Staples EasyCare needed its software to be as easy to get as it was to use, both online and on the shelf. Customers were buying protection plans at the register or on staples.com, then leaving with a code and no clear next step. The product was simple once it was running. Getting it running wasn’t. Activating, choosing devices and installing felt like separate chores, and the box on the shelf told a different story than the screen at home.

What I Led

I led the design of the EasyCare software download web application and its packaging. I treated the code in the box and the download on screen as one continuous experience. Activation, device selection, download and install became a single guided flow: one decision per screen, plain language and a clear sense of progress. The dashboard, claims and support were built on the same pattern, so the experience stays as easy after the install as it was getting there. I took cues from Staples’ visual system, with its red, its confident type and its clean structure, and pushed it toward something lighter and more elegant. A sweepstakes, built into sign-up, gave people a reason to register and share. Lifecycle emails kept them engaged after the install.

What We Delivered

The download web application. A download web application for the EasyCare software, carrying the guided activation-to-install flow and the dashboard, claims and support experience built on the same pattern.

The retail packaging. Retail packaging designed to carry the same experience into the store. The packaging system covered three plan editions, an activation card, and in-store pieces including an endcap, shelf talkers, peg cards and checkout screens. Each one pointed to the same simple next step: open the box, enter your code, and you’re protected.