Gold Nugs

1 - Determine customers' motivations when finding new cannabis products to try.
2 - Understand customer pain points when searching for & purchasing cannabis online.
3 - Discover ways in which searching for THC/CBD products aligns with users' daily lives.
4 - Use direct, indirect competitor analysis to drive both user surveys & interviews.

The cannabis industry is still relatively new, yet is ever expanding with each additional state joining with legalization. With that said, I began with conducting some general research on both online & in store ordering.

Next I researched Gold Nugs competitors/opposing dispensaries with a goal of uncovering exactly what they offer, how they represent and then display their products. I additionally created some provisional personas based on information gathered from my initial interviews.

I built out some user & task flows to show how my two different personas may move through the Gold Nug's website. This in turn allowed me to see all of the possible steps & decisions that the user may take along the way through the site.

I started the process with sketching out some possible layouts for the landing page. I then explored various ways of organizing the content, as well as it's overarching structure. As in the end, this helped me figure out what the other page’s layouts would look like.

I created my mid-fidelity wireframes based on elements taken from the home page sketches. I also chose to design wireframes that would assist in completion of the following tasks:

- Finding and selecting a cannabis product.
- Adding that said item to their cart.
- Checking out & ordering in for pickup.

Next, I constructed mid-fidelity wireframes for screens needed to do the following user tasks:

- Finding & selecting an cannabis product.
- Adding that said item, to their cart.
- Checking out & ordering it for pickup.

How to get new and old potential users interested in as well as continued interaction with their local dispensary. This is a way of generating all current information to customers effectively and effortlessly.

The solution of keeping users or even eventually potential customers informed of in-house offers, specials, news and more can easily be found right above each page's footer. Making this an essential last optional interaction to keep users in the loop as well as interested in their local dispensary.

Navigating between different store locations, being their medical or recreational menus can be a mighty pain when it comes to browsing online products offered in each dispensary.

The main navigation and additional sub navigation bar becomes sticky upon scrolling through each store's products offered. This way one can effortlessly switch between store locations, recreational or medical menus, and even have the option of simply using a search bar to find what's needed. Additionally one's own cart, and whatever may be in it, can also follow users along when browsing.

Branding
UI Kit
UI Designs

The goal of Golden Nugs was to focus on an informed, transparent, friendly and inviting user experience. I searched for two separate typefaces that would best fulfill that goal during my logo exploration. I needed a catchy, yet bold headline font, as well as one more easily legible one that came in multiple weights.

In lieu of this I choose to use ITC Kabel for my main & Encode Sans Condensed for all other information as it could fit into minimal spaces cleanly. Finally, I picked to customize my own typeface from scratch, for my main logo design, and then illustrated an 'gold nugget' icon, to be featured as the favicon too.

. . .

As you can see from all the pages displayed here, I decided to opt for a modular layout and format, as it allowed for easy stacking of all content. Furthermore, this gridded infrastructure provided a strong internal framework for which assets could be placed within. This came to a head as many of the block elements utilized a hover state to reveal a splash of full color images and content.

Online product information of flower from dispensaries is merely always lacking, if even present at all. Usually all that is presented is the THC percent and type of cannabis it is. All in all this often leaves users to search themselves elsewhere for any pretermit information about said strain.

A more well informed and information based description of the flower or bud offered, be it for top reported effects, flavors, helps with, terpenes, and more. Additionally present are various figures and shapes to illustrate each area’s denoted the main qualifier reported for said strain. Nonetheless if users are still in question of what product to order, the sticky CTA budtender bell-hop button can be found on the lower right side of their screen to help out.

Option that would allow potentially users, new and old alike, to simply & most efficiently search across an entire store's inventory for products available aligning with their own specific criteria.

Utilizing the "shop by" section, which can be found on the home landing page, each stores listings page & more. This feature quickly advances customers to their given store, with a more curated selection of items in stock matching the selected fields or areas desired. Additionally, this opens up the potential of new and old users alike to find exactly what product fits their needs best, especially when it comes to new potential items not tried before.

Interactive Prototype
Usability Testing

I created a high-fidelity, & interactive prototype in Figma to conduct usability testing, in person as well as through screen sharing. Five participants from various backgrounds, profiles & ages were chosen for the test. I presented each with 3 tasks to complete, then observed progression.

INSTRUCTIONS: "You have just landed on the homepage, please browse through it."

NOTES: Every user completed the task with relative ease & speed. They noted they enjoyed the bud-tender sticky CTA help button & main navigation that follow you along on your order.

INSTRUCTIONS: "Please imagine you were going to order, & reserve, a quarter oz of newly available cannabis strain; called 'Golden Goat' from your local dispensary."

NOTES: Task was no problem for any of the participants, and was completed quickly. All users positively commented on the various hover states, & the detailed information present all throughout. i.e. specifically with the thumbnails, as well as on the product detail pages too.

INSTRUCTIONS: "I would like you to further explore all other pages & areas."

NOTES: All participants found & located all other pages, & commented on an positive overall use of selective colors, balanced with stackable modular sections.

I made a list of iterations based on feedback from my testing. This made me reflect upon the importance of testing as a part of the overall design process, as well as how the process is interactive.

Oftentimes dispensaries have their own way of showing inventory, yet if need be, this is only needed when it comes to 'setting aside' an item. In any case, when ordering from a dispensary online it can be difficult to tell how you will be receiving your products in the end.

This is the final, all in one, screen that users see before clicking on the place order button. From this last screen users are given a multitude of all the final information needed to aid in their better understanding. Be it with the order type, pickup time, payment details or breakdown, and more.