E-Commerce Intervention for Burb Cannabis
We proposed and implemented a conceptual interaction design intervention for an e-commerce site, based on a client of our choosing. We chose to recreate Burb Cannabis’ online shopping experience by re-integrating the ‘BC Bud culture’ on their homepage and designing an intuitive, user-friendly cannabis selection experience for consumers who are new to the legal market.
Lead Role In
Interaction Design
Web Experience
UX/UI
Project Length
4 weeks
Team
Oscar Waizel
Gracie Gu
Martin Curic
Chris Chan
Context
Web Design
E-Commerce
Web Experience
UX/UI
Tools
Figma
Photoshop
Premiere/AE
The Brief + The Challenge
In order to create our own intervention, our team and I were tasked to observe and adapt the e-commerce intervention for the clothing brand, Kit and Ace, done by a Vancouver-based design, consulting and engineering studio, Engine Digital. Having analyzed their approach to content strategy, design patterns, and rationale for the redesign of Kit and Ace’s ecommerce experience, our team came up with three key insights to serve as anchors for our own intervention.
For context
This is what Engine Digital did for Kit + Ace
↓
After observing and analyzing their approach to e-commerce
we came up with 3 key insights.
Insights from Engine Digital
Why the Cannabis Industry?
Since the cannabis industry is relatively new to the legal market, finding ways to describe cannabis to people in an intuitive manner has often been a problem. Through our research into BC-Bud culture and cannabis experts we came up with three insights that we lived by throughout our project:
Insights slide from cannabis industry
What Sets Burb Apart and Why we Chose Them
Burb is not a dispensary but a cannabis brand that leads with its luxurious, chic ambience, giving life to the new iteration of legal cannabis. It aims to integrate the history and passion of 'BC Bud’ culture into a space that feels welcoming to old-timers and new-comers alike. Burb’s mission is to offer a personalized experience with its knowledgeable staff with the intention to ‘de-tech’ the cannabis purchase experience; a principle that we strived to bring into our digital design intervention.
Burb's Mission
"We're doing our best to create a brand that strikes some kind of emotional connection with the consumer, allowing them to come into the regulated side of the industry."
- John Kaye, Founder and CEO of Burb
Framing
How might we introduce new users to a personalized and credible cannabis selection experience in order to help them break into the new iteration of legalized cannabis?
Problem Statement
Solution
Intervention Point 1
Cannabis Selection Experience
We analyzed Burb's current website in order to capitalize on the missed opportunities for the web experience that would define our intervention point. We want to bring the kind of personalization Burb offers in-person, onto the digital space.
Final Prototyped Demo
From the initial concept to the bringing the final protoype to life, I lead in developing the content, user interface, and prototyped animations. I leveraged my knowledge from working in the cannabis industry to make a product that would bring value to those looking for a personalized e-commerce experience.
Step-by-step Feature Breakdown
In guiding the shopper, the first thing they want to know is what strain type they are looking for; indica, hybrid or sativa. This came first before the product format or even strength as desired effects are of utmost importance for new consumers. After sitting down with Headset.io (a leading cannabis analytics company) they reported from experience that most people (new or not to cannabis) shopped in this kind of order.
First iterations and sketches
These were the initial sketches from my sketchbook and first iterations of the digital prototyped solution. At first, I explored with sorting strain types through producers, terpenes (it's aroma), and it's desired effects using short adjectives. However, I realized both solutions were either too high level or too granular.
For our second intervention point, the goal was to highlight Burb's brand and culture (through the history of 'BC Bud') and feature original products worn by an aspirational persona- someone who personifies Burb's aesthetic and BC Bud as a way of life.
My main contributions were in visual design layouts and title copy-writing in order to capture our audience.
Intervention Point 2
Shopping Through
Aspirational Personas
Homepage
Connecting to the West Coast 'BC Bud' Legacy
Shopping through 'Burb', aspirational personas
Reflections and Takeaways
For me this project felt like a passion project more than anything. I really wanted to take on this a client that was less common and challenged the stigma around cannabis. Of course, this project was conceptual but that didn't matter to me. I was treating it as if it were real and conduct the kind of UX process that would have been needed had this project been 'real'. Sitting down with Headset.io was especially insightful in seeing what kind of customers shopped for what products. In addition, drawing from personal experience having previously worked at Burb helped me empathize with different kinds of customers— especially the new ones.
For me it was about creating a welcoming yet familiar environment that shared the history of cannabis in BC whilst also being informative and engaging, for old timers and newbies alike. As someone who has both been a customer and employee, I understand both sides of the game and know what it's like to both be and assist those who have had a negative experience with cannabis. I was tired of hearing stories about people consuming it the wrong way, not knowing how much they took, or just not being aware of the diversity of consumption methods, strain types and effects. My approach was more systematic and less based on your classic, 'stoner bro-science'. This is what usually would lead people down the wrong experience.
Whilst I don't think we fully realized this goal in a 3-week e-commerce case-study adaptation, I plan to conduct more sound research to make this project more credible and backed by tangible customer behaviours.