Design Thinking: Queen of Sparkles

(Image courtesy of Queen of Sparkles.)

In Graduate School, one of the buzzwords professors love to discuss is “Design Thinking.” Design Thinking is an iterative process in which we seek to understand the user, challenge assumptions, and redefine problems to identify alternative strategies and solutions that might not be instantly apparent with our initial level of understanding (Dam and Siang). Design Thinking enables companies to understand consumer needs to serve their audience better. For this project, I contacted different companies to learn how organizations apply Design Thinking and spoke to Genevieve Cottrell, QOS Collab Team, to learn more about the company.

(Image courtesy of Queen of Sparkles. The image depicts founder Jamie.)

1. What makes Queen of Sparkles different from other brands?

Queen of Sparkles differs from other companies as its constantly looking for new ways to challenge the norms in the fashion industry. The main purpose of Queen of Sparkles is not necessarily the clothes but more about how the clothes make our customers feel! We want our customers to feel the most confident and happy they have ever felt while wearing our brand, and I think we have accomplished this in our collections thus far.

(Image courtesy of Queen of Sparkles.)

2. Where does Queen of Sparkles find inspiration during its design process?

Designer Jaime Glas has always been passionate about clothing, especially clothing that features bright colors, sequins, feathers, and of course, SPARKLES! Jaime starts creating each season by considering the various styles and colors she wants to wear, with the hope that others will love her designs as much as she does! Jaime explains, "The psychology of color is very interesting to me. Bright colors simply make people feel happy. You do tend to stand out a bit, but when people wear our clothes, they mention being complimented all of the time because they do stand out. That helps people build confidence day to day!”.

(Image courtesy of Queen of Sparkles.)

3. How does Queen of Sparkles incorporates its mission and vision into its products?

Each piece is handmade with the purpose of empowering our customers' confidence! Queen of Sparkles is impossible to wear publicly without receiving a barrage of compliments. In turn, the many compliments offer our customers the self-assurance they need to challenge the status quo! Jaime is a strong-willed, powerful woman who expresses herself through her clothes. In my opinion, many times, her designs provide her with the extra confidence boost that she sometimes needs. We believe that our company can continue to empower our customers and bring a little joy to their daily lives!

(Image courtesy of Queen of Sparkles.)

4. What is the future of the company?

We want to cover the world in sparkles! Genevieve Cottrell, the Collaborations Manager, is currently hard at work building relationships with various businesses in the hopes that we might create more than just clothing in the future. According to Jaime, “The focus is to be a brand that has a variety of products and sparkly things for everyone. I want to do bags, shoes, and maybe even sparkly dog collars. The sky’s the limit. I don’t want to stop!”. Keep a look out for some upcoming collaborations that are currently in the works:)!

(Image courtesy of Queen of Sparkles.)