Swatch samples are an important tool for potential customers to help determine what colours of furniture might work in their space. Article’s complimentary swatch program was very popular and it was routine to put mail swatch packages.

Not all of Article’s upholstered products were manufactured by the same vendor. This meant that when vendors supplied swatches they were different sizes, with various levels of finish. They would be labelled in different ways, for examples some vendors would put the labels on the front and others on the back. The experience for the customer was really inconsistent and not a good reflection of the Article brand, or an accurate reflection of what a customer could expect in terms of quality,

My team developed a labelling system that all vendors could follow. This determined the size of the swatch, the edge finishing, the label size and placement. We sourced a widely-available label product in Asia and at times provided the laser printers for the labels to be printed on. The system improved the consistency of the swatch immediately and dramatically.