Heritage Farm
Connecting community with 'The Last Small Farm'
VOLUME II
A RESPONSIVE WEBSITE
ROLE
UX/UI Designer
CLIENT
Heritage Farm
A LOCAL DAIRY CULTIVATING COMMUNITY
Heritage Farm is a local dairy in my hometown of Kodiak, Alaska. On an island of harsh winters and a small population it is hard to image a thriving small dairy, but there is. Heritage Farm believes in local options, the strength of small farms and bringing together community for food security.
Heritage Farm was providing so many fantastic products and community opportunities but their website was difficult to use, did not reflect current products and opportunities, and was not aligned with the brands visual identity.
"Kelli at Heritage Farm creates so many opportunities for our community. Unless I am staying updated on her instagram stories I don't know what products are in stock. It would be great to have a website showing what products and events are happening at the farm. I want to be more involved!"
COMMUNITY MEMBER
THE LAST SMALL FARM
KELLI FOREMAN BELIEVES IN SMALL FARMS
What adjectives would you use to describe your brand?
"Family-oriented, inspirational, community focused, resilient, hardworking"
How do you want customers to feel when they engage with your brand?
"Part of the farm family, inspired to do more themselves, curious to know More about their food, where it comes from and while it may see a reach from the above it’s important to me that they are motivated to get their kids involved with their work whatever it is."
What direction do you want to take your brand?
"We are in a changing season here. Going away from commercial agriculture and back to my roots of small farm/farmstead feel. Working toward focusing on my family and small circle to make a bigger impact and encourage others to play a larger role in their own story."
A Focus on the Community
DESIGN WITH
Product and Product Information as a Priority
Telling the Brand's Story
WHO IS THE COMMUNITY?
In recent years there has been a movement on Kodiak to increase food security. Being an island in Alaska, the grocery stores are often empty of essentials. The community has been coming together to create local options.
Heritage Farm's community is diverse, expanding across genders, age groups, and professions. Some are looking for reliable local food products, others are searcing for community. Heritage Farm has both.
WHAT DOES THE COMMUNITY NEED?
A RESPONSIVE WEBSITE WITH CURRENT PRODUCT INFORMATION.
Based on user interviews, I learned that Heritage Farm's community is looking for a website that is responsive on multiple devices and shares what products are available.
RESEARCH APPROACH
Competitive Analysis
User Interviews
User Personas
POV & HMW Statements
POV STATEMENTS
I want to connect more with my community and find likeminded people who value sustainable living.
I want to get more educated about food systems and farming practices.
I want to get more educated about food systems and farming practices.
I need to get cheese from the store, but they have been out since last week and with this storm I am guessing we won’t be getting in from the main land soon.
HMW STATEMENTS
Create a website that Heritage Farm’s community can easily access upcoming events and current products.
Find ways for Kelli to connect with her community directly about products.
Educate about the value in regenerative small farming practices.
Educate about the value in regenerative small farming practices.
SITE MAP
ORGANIZING SITE TO BUILD PRODUCT AWARENESS AND TELL BRAND STORY
After trying a few organization approaches I decided that having all pages prominently available on the header menu bar would best serve the user.
With so many different experiences and products coming out of Heritage Farm, I want the users to quickly find what they are looking for.
MY PRODUCT GOALS
As a member of the community that benefits from small businesses like Heritage Farm, my goal was to create a design that I knew the community would appreciate.
My primary goals for this website design was having products easy accessible and sharing the unique story of Heritage Farm.
CONNECTING COMMUNITY TO PRODUCTS
A primary point of this project was connecting the community to available products. Being a small farm, Heritage Farm's products vary week to week. Woven throughout my website design are options to connect customers to the current product list.
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5/5 participants said they wished the website was easy to navigate and displayed available products.
Easy navigation to the 3 primary categories of the farm.
Updated product list available on home page
TELLING THE STORY OF SMALL FARMS
Kelli prioritized not only having a website that sold products, but also told their story. I integrated many opportunities for this throughout my design and included personalized detailed that allowed Kelli's community to connect with her.
Kelli, owner of Heritage Farm, believes in sharing the value of small farms.
Woven throughout the website is Heritage Farm's story.
A NOTE FROM THE DESIGNER
WHAT I LEARNED
FROM HERITAGE FARM
Heritage farm was a special project for me because I am a part the community that benefits from the services. It allowed me to really understand the brand's needs in a way I hope to replicate with future clients.
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This was the first project where I really dove into telling the story behind the brand, and learning how important this is. During this project, I learned how to have depth in my storytelling while still making information digestible for the user.