Ecommerce + Branding Overhaul
w/ Three Silver Broomsticks

ROLE: Sole UX Designer TIMEFRAME: 2 Weeks

To better grasp the intricacies of great ecommerce design, I conducted a two week design sprint for a local Seattle small business, Three Silver Broomsticks, to elevate their ecommerce and branding to the level of its competitors using rich data to improve the site’s shop pages, product cards, and checkout process. Although the project is conceptual, the outcome is tangible with evidence based results.

Quick Facts

  • The Three Silver Broomsticks is a locally owned metaphysical shop located in South Seattle. They offer a wide variety of metaphysical goods as well as psychic and tarot card readings.

  • A metaphysical shop is a wide umbrella term that generally indicates a store in which you will find goods and services related to various spiritual practices.

  • Yes! Metaphysical stores are open to all, curiosity seekers and experienced practitioners alike. Some practices within the metaphysical umbrella are closed (hoodoo, smudging, etc) but most shop keepers will be able to help you understand what is appropriate for you to explore or not. When in doubt, ask!

The Challenges

To the right you’ll see the original Three Silver Broomsticks Site. I’ve number coded some of the areas of opportunity that became core components in my research to discover how they specifically affected users and what some potential solutions could be.

1. Unorganized Shop Categories
2. Lack of Search Functionality
3. All Content on Single Page
4. Limited Sort Functionalities
5. Limited Info on Product Cards
6. Unclear Brand Image

Lessons From Real Witches

Phase 1 Research + Testing

Meet Our Resident Witch

Serena O’Conner

I crafted a persona to embody all the interview and usability test results findings and keep the user in mind while making improvements

  • AGE: 29
    EDUCATION: College Degree
    HOMETOWN: Seattle, WA
    FAMILY: In a Relationship, Lives Alone
    OCCUPATION: Executive Director for a Nonprofit

  • Serena is a sensitive soul who has recently grown a deep spiritual practice within the metaphysical umbrella. She loves learning about her new interest and feels it has helped her become a better person and care more about the world around her. She is still gaining confidence in her practice and prefers to shop online for tools and books relating to her beliefs. Because Serena is still gaining confidence and learning about her craft, she finds some of the information online confusing. Sometimes this leads her to endlessly scroll online looking for answers. Not only this, she cares deeply about sustainability and ethical sourcing, and it’s sometimes hard to tell where the items in shops are sourced from. This can lead her to feel anxious and frustrated and to sometimes resort to just buying on Amazon because it’s straightforward and convenient even though she feels a strong desire to shop local.

  • • I want to feel confident my shopping choice reflect my values.

    • I want to gain knowledge about my spiritual practice.

  • • It’s hard to tell if products align with my values.

    • I feel intimidated by some of the language in the metaphysical world because I am still a new practitioner.

    • I get so frustrated trying to find information that sometimes I give up and just shop at big box stores.

  • Serena needs to feel confident and informed about her online shopping choices so that she can uphold her commitment to ethical shopping and gain knowledge to grow her spiritual practice without spending hours online.

Vizualize This

To better empathize what Serena might be experiencing while attempting to purchase an item from Three Silver Broomsticks I explored paint points and opportunities with a journey map

In this scenario Serena wants to purchase a tarot card deck from Three Silver Broomsticks, her local metaphysical store. She doesn’t know a lot about tarot and wants to make an informed decision.

A Closer Look at the Pain Points + Opportunities

Conjuring (and testing) Solutions

To begin seizing some of these opportunities, I started rearranging the site I made a mid fidelity prototype of my proposed changes and conducted more usability tests.

Making Magic

Although the interviewees didn’t note any specifics about the branding of the Three Silver Broomsticks they did note that they care how products are presented. To be frank, Three Silver Broomstick’s visual branding is lacking. I wanted to keep the earthy feel the site had, but really refine it and hone in on the moody spooky vibe without feeling kitschy. We’re sticking with some muted tones, a couple of old timey fonts, and some classic imagery with a modern twist. Who am I to resist a branding redesign anyway?

Consider it Manifested, Baby

Below you’ll find the High Fidelity Prototype, but if you want to explore it at your own pace you can check it out here

Final Thoughts

With rich research and detailed application I was able to make vast improvements to the Three Silver Broomsticks that will allow current and future users to experience the site with renewed vision and usability. Next steps for this project would involve testing the current prototype and expanding research to include the rest of the site which originally included a blog, member’s portion, and more.

This project was great experience working directly with ecommerce and I look forward to more opportunities in the future!