FOLI
Foli is a curated directory of legal dispensaries, reliable brands, and wellness lifestyle for the canna-curious.
MY ROLE
• Research
• Personas
• Userflows
• User Testing
MY ROLE
• Wireframing
• Prototyping
• UI Design
• Visual Design
THE CHALLENGE
Operating on the front line of a heavily regulated industry, cannabis dispensaries have limited opportunities for advertising—and discovery tools like WeedMaps cost a fortune for these business owners to use. But with transparent pricing tiers for all budgets, comprehensive analytics, and full-time customer support staff, Foli is the pro-dispensary marketing and discovery platform the industry has been waiting for. For a product this advanced they needed an all-new experience design.
THE PROCESS
Research
From the initial research, I found that we have two different clientele that Foli needs to appeal to 1) the un-educated, cannabis consumer and 2) the dispensary owner who needs to be able to advertise legally in their markets. The app needs to be modern, and push its cannabis thought leadership through influencers and connoisseurs in the industry.
Stakeholder Interviews
On the dispensary side I learned a lot from initial discoveries with potential client interview. Like getting on the competitor’s platform was a time-consuming process, not to mention very expensive to advertise on. On the consumer side, I found out that they were not looking for the cheapest cannabis products around but the best quality products but the thought leadership to back the claims up. I saw a great opportunity for Foli to push into the cannabis thought leadership sector.
Personas
From the research gathered by the client and Product Manager, I have nailed down two main personas for the Foli experience. One is the typical consumer looking to purchase and be informed on their cannabis consumption. The other is the dispensary owner looking for another application to market on, share deals and see analytics about their consumers without the steep membership pricing.
Ideation & Wireframes
I reorganized the information and used wireframes to review and gain alignment with the management and product teams. I made sure I displayed the right information, and all the relevant features are easy to access for the user. With these wireframes I had to attack the experience for 2 different users; the consumer and the dispensary owners. Each would have its own set of controls, settings, and analytics tied to their accounts so both journeys had to be explored in depth.
Prototyping
After defining the must-have features, I made a low-fidelity prototype to test with the user. The goal of testing is to identify any usability issues. I wanted to find out how long does it take to complete a task like registering or searching for a product. If the user is not able to complete a task, find out what happened, and why. Document where the user clicks to complete each task. I also wanted to identify where did the user gets stuck, if any, during the testing and what questions were asked.
High Fidelity Designs
Now is where the fun starts. Using approved desktop and mobile wireframes, I started to create the high-fidelity look and feel for Foli. I wanted to cater the imagery to the 30 to 40-year-old female consumer as well as the highly intellectual dispensary owner. Brave golds and flourishing greens were used as the color palette to complement brand and lifestyle imagery. A consistent and energetic icon set was also created to push the cannabis product to the max. I worked very closely with the front end team to spec out any missing interactions that were not covered in the high-fidelity mockups. I conducted a UX review of each front-end ticket that was implemented to ensure it was aligned with the designs before it went live.
Visual Design & Style Guide
With a fun and engaging app design comes rules and regulations. I created a brand and consistent style guide for internal teams to run with the Foli product after launch. From icons to typography to imagery, the Foli product was set for success at its Beta 1 launch.
RESULTS
An improved and innovative app experience
With the UX improvements and clearer messaging, we now have an easier way for clients to view deals and shop for their cannabis online and see the whole process through without contacting someone at Foli.
More transparency for the dispensary owners
The revamped event details give clients access to the information they need. They can view the analytics of their dispensary and access their specials and deals anytime — on their own! All at a reasonable advertising and marketing price.