From Stockroom to Success
Internship Project @ Tecovas
Project Area
UX, Tech Operations, Training, & Merchandise
Role
Retail Operations Intern
Tools
Figma, Claude Code, Excel
Scope
May 2026- August 2026
Replacing Walkie Chatter With An In-House Request Tool
Product requests were called by walkies, an outdated tool. A customer asks for a product,t and an associate radios over for a runner to bring it out from the stockroom. It worked but sometimes didn’t. Walkies created three distinct problems:
Walkies increased noise on the sales floor and reduced time with the customer. Multiple requests coming at once left the stockroom runner confused and helpless.
Walkies are customer-facing, hearing repeated requests and unrelated chatter, and can see firsthand when there is an issue in the stockroom. A tool that was thought of as internal was actually part of the customer experience.
Because requests were verbally made, there was no way of tracking how many requests were coming in, what fulfillment time looks like, and what products are asked for but not available.
Walkies became not just an inconvenience but also a problem that needed to be addressed to better support employees and create a hospitable environment for customers.
Setting Goals
The purpose of the site is to attract forward-thinking agencies that seek inclusive and meaningful work through a clear emphasis on social impact and accessibility. We use visuals that drive users to take action and provide guidance for learning more about The Ability Machine quickly, while keeping information architecture at the forefront.
Sitemap and wireframes
The current site for The Ability Machine is phase one that includes three pages. Phase two offers a more in-depth version with five pages that will be published in the future. The sitemap and wireframes were developed early on for five pages to ensure clear content hierarchy and intuitive user flows. This allowed for early feedback and collaboration for a bonsensus on what next steps to take to streamline the project.
fiNALIZING THE DESIGN
To support the immediate needs and growth of the creative studio, our focus was on an accessible structure. Our team worked closely with developers to ensure that we met all WCAG accessibility standards across the website to be usable by all people of all abilities. The design was eventually refined because of the evolving scope and time, to emphasize essential information while maintaining an inclusive foundation for future expansion.
Building for All Screen Sizes
We reused components created in Figma to build a cohesive design system for an easy hand off to developers.
Conclusion
The website reflects the values and motivation of The Ability Machine. It balances business needs with creativity and social impact. The foundation of phase one clearly supports immediate goals and is positioned to amplify neurodiverse talent to build on a more inclusive future.
What I learned
Collaborating cross-functionally on this project accelerated my growth as a designer in just five months. I gained first-hand experience how a marketing agency handles project timelines, design constraints, and project delivery at a professional level. Teamwork was central to every stage of this process, especially with the development team and coordination with the PR team.
My primary contributions included lo-fi and mid-fi wireframes, shaping content, and supporting quality assurance. I am grateful to the entire Lewis team for the opportunity to work on my first published project. Thank you to Eric Knepp, Senior UX Designer, for everything he taught me, and Tom Johnson for his guidance throughout my internship.
