OVERVIEW
Hempsey's CBD is a company that sells CBD (Cannabidiol) products online and retailers in Southern California.
The goal for this client was to create a new brand identity, help users locate where to buy Hempsey's CBD products, and provide an updated website to inform new customers about CBD products while also providing a seamless online shopping experience.
RESPONSIBILITIES
As the researcher and designer, along with help from the client, I used the following methodologies:
UX
USER RESEARCH
BRANDING DESIGN
A/B TESTING+REFINEMENT
LET'S START THE CONVERSATION WITH... WHAT IS CBD?
The conversation with the client began with 'What is CBD?'. You may have heard the letters CBD before, but what exactly is it? CBD stands for cannabidiol. It is one of the active ingredients of medical marijuana. CBD comes directly from the hemp plant, but don't be confused that it is the same as marijuana. CBD does not give you "high" as most people think. CBD can be found in many forms such as tinctures, edibles, and drinks.
According to the World Health Organization,
“In humans, CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential…. To date, there is no evidence of public health-related problems associated with the use of pure CBD.”
INFORMING THE USER
The biggest challenge about CBD is the misconception that it has the same effects as marijuana. I want to inform users about the benefits and differences between CBD and marijuana. By researching CBD users, I want to create a website that showcases a CBD knowledge base and exceptional online shopping experience. I want to drive existing and new CBD users to our reinterpreted website experience.
WITH THIS IN MIND...
I utilized research & analysis, conception+ideation, rebranding, and testing & iteration which contributed to the new identity and website design for Hempsey's CBD.
WHAT I CAN SEE
By researching the current market, I can see that there are numerous amounts of CBD websites online. The problematic issue I see is that users are automatically bombarded by product images or promotional ads. Users don't have the opportunity to learn about CBD and its benefits directly on the landing page. I see this as an opportunity to educate our users first so they can make a well-informed decision about CBD before making a purchase.
REAFFIRMING THE ISSUE
As you can see from the above site comparison chart, all the CBD websites currently are almost identical in that they show their respective products before educating the user. These sites do include a 'LEARN' or 'SHOP NOW' button, but again reaffirming the opportunity to educate the customer about CBD on the landing page is lacking impact.
INSIGHTS FROM THE FIELD
I created a user study and asked 6 participants the most challenging issues about using CBD and purchasing it online. My goal was to understand what tendencies users had about CBD products and what would incline them to purchase CBD online.
This is an affinity map that includes user responses to my user research.
DISCOVERY
From these findings, I decided to hone in on creating a website that would encompass a knowledge base component on the landing page for CBD users to gain more insight about CBD before making a final purchase.
I then started a brainstorming session by collecting my research and creating personas that would fit the ideal CBD user and purchaser.
SOLVING THIS CHALLENGE
By creating the user personas above, I can now see where potential users are planning to use the Hempsey's CBD website.
I then conducted an ideation session where I create a user flow and introductory lo-fi screens to analyze the start of the user journey.
This is a user flow diagram which showcases the preliminary ideation for the updated user journey.
These are my primary sketches developed from the user flow to see the user journey on each screen.
ANALYZE WHAT'S IMPORTANT
Now that I can see a potential user journey, I then focused my efforts into prioritizing what features and goals I wanted to achieve in the Hempsey's CBD website.
I created this prioritization Now, Next, Later chart to highlight key areas of focus, but also note which features can be added at a later time.
REDESIGNING THE HEMPSEY'S CBD BRAND
The client requested to change the current logo. Here you will see the previous logo and the redesigned logo along with branding one of Hempsey's CBD products.
USABILITY TESTING
Now that I have created a working prototype, I conducted a usability test with five users. I asked the users to try to navigate different key areas of the Hempsey's CBD website. I also asked the users about the overall design, ease of use, and overall impression. Here are the key findings.
REFINING THE HEMPSEY'S CBD WEBSITE
After reviewing the results from the usability test amongst users, I created a revised version of the Hempsey's CBD website. Please feel free to try out the clickable prototype below.
