Maple Guild
About
The Maple Guild is a brand new company with a brand new product. We were asked to architect, design, and develop the first ever company website. With a focus on innovation and a clear plan to revolutionize the industry, The Maple Guide website positions them as the future of maple.
The problem
The client needed to get their web presence established before they had finished products. We architected, designed, and built the site to include a shop experience that could be displayed in phases, from teaser information about products to a custom shop housed within the site.
Business Goals
Convey the unique brand story and vision of Maple Guild and establish them as a disruptor in the industry
Inspire consumers to buy the products
Inspire industry buyers to contact Maple Guild directly to discuss opportunities for partnership
My role
As the Lead UX Designer I identified the client's business goals, established user personas, and architected the website. I designed and created all wireframes and worked closely with the content, design, and development teams. I created necessary documentation and worked with the Back End Developer to create the content model.
Main tasks
Designed the information architecture
Designed initial wireframes which established the conceptual model for the website
Worked directly with client to understand their brand and voice
Presented all wireframes and strategy thinking to the client at milestone meetings
Designed final experience for the entire website
Visual Designer: Liz Merchant
Success metrics
50 customers / day to visit the website
10 customers / month to purchase products off the website
To comply with my non-disclosure agreement, I have intentionally not used real data.
Process
We started by identifying why The Maple Guild started their business in the first place. With words like "craftsmanship", "quality", and "pride" bubbling to the top, we knew this site had to celebrate the individual guild members. This became the foundation of our strategy. Components were created to highlight guild members through quotes, video, and individual bios.
The site needed to speak to both individual consumers and industry buyers interested in partnering with an innovative company. We carved out a specific section of the site for Corporate Sales and let the rest of the website focus on individual consumers.
Leveraging the flexibility of a component based approach, we delivered a website that was not overly complicated to build but still provided a delightful experience for the user.
Success criteria
We knew our design needed to do these 3 key things:
Establish a look and feel for the company that they could roll out across all products and marketing materials
Convey that they are a small, local business that can be trusted
Position them as innovation leaders in maple (it’s not just syrup)
Information architecture
We created a specific page for corporate partnerships and let the rest of the site focus on their process and story.
Brainstorming
Focusing on why the founders created The Maple Guild allowed us to tell their story in their own words.
Wireframes
Designing from a mobile first perspective ensured that the experience would seamlessly work across devices.
Mockups
Emphasizing process
We used high quality images and video to highlight their process for extracting pure maple right from local trees in Vermont.
Get to know "the guild
Using images interspersed with their origin story we emphasized that The Maple Guild is made up of local Vermonters working the land.
Stakeholders
We worked directly with the founders of the company to establish their brand and translate that to the website. They were very engaged in the process and excited to share their products with the world.
Launch
The final product is a total success! The client loved our vision and the component approach was so successful we've utilized it in more complex projects. Our phased plan to accommodate future needs for e-commerce has also been a leveraged. We launched with a brochure site and just launched the shop experience on Amazon. Next stop, custom shop experience within the site!
Post-launch
The client is still growing their marketing efforts, but we have Google analytics in place to determine if users are inspired to buy products or reach out for business opportunities.
What I learned
Using a component based approach adds flexibility and speed
It seems like the question is always: how can we build the website faster? We wanted to figure out a way to accomplish this, while still allowing for a custom, dynamic marketing tool for the client. We designed 6 reusable components that we could leverage while designing the experience. This method proved to be efficient, speeding up the process while reducing cost for the client.