Dunkin’ Brands
Overview
In 2010, digital signage was rare in Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR)–only three brands had pilots in market. Dunkin’ Brands was seeking to be an early adopter because their franchise model had led to inconsistent brand experiences from store to store. Over a 3-year engagement, Tim led the strategy, design, research, and production for what would become a network-wide rollout of digital menuboards–transforming the Dunkin’ store experience for millions of customers daily.
The Challenge
Franchisees prioritized local needs, creating brand inconsistency.
Menu complexity and poor visual hierarchy slowed decision-making and frustrated customers with long wait times and incorrect orders.
Digital signage was unproven and initial hardware and production costs were high for many store owners to take on without a business case.
Approach & Strategy
Experience Design & Innovation
Developed a new framework for content strategy called “wirestreams”–time-based storyboards synchronized to the average customer dwell time (2:34)–ensuring high-priority content surfaced at the right moment.
Designed digital boards to support both interior and drive-thru formats, adapting content hierarchy and animation pacing accordingly.
Customer Research & Insights
Conducted store observations, intercept surveys, and an eye-tracking study to understand menu content, physical layout, and employee interaction shaped customer decisions.
Identified friction points such as menu overload, item inconsistency, and inefficient dwell time usage.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Partnered with IT, AV integrators, marketing, and store operations to ensure the solution was technically feasible, operationally sustainable, and visually aligned with Dunkin’s brand evolution.
Supported store design teams during West Coast expansion, integrating digital signage into the overall in-store experience.
Brand Consistency
Collaborated with internal product teams to standardize naming conventions and develop a structured lexicon, ensuring clear and consistent communication across thousands of stores.
Built a scalable design system and templates that could be customized within guardrails—empowering franchisees while protecting the brand and aligning to the monthly marketing production timelines.
Impact
Expanded from 5 pilot stores to thousands of locations nationwide, becoming a core feature in all future store designs.
Increased post-installation store sales by average of ~7%, covering expenses within 6-9 months.
Enhanced customer throughput and decision speed, especially in drive-thru environments.
Restored brand consistency across a fragmented franchise ecosystem.
Positioned Dunkin’ as a category leader in digital in-store experience, well ahead of most competitors at the time.
