Sea Island Coffee – Brand Evolution & Ecommerce

Audience profile
Premium coffee. Audience unclear – to be investigated, articulated, found & evolved

Context synopsis
We are now in the third wave/generation of the coffee movement. In the past five years, coffee and the coffee moment has been catapulted into the lime light. There are a lot more coffee lovers and coffee geeks than ever before. Sea Island Coffee is a premium coffee brand with a premium product, they are merchants and they are roasters. The old brand and online presence/shop was simply not authentic enough and also dated, it did not convey what it really stood for, Sea Island Coffee is provenance brand, they are coffee merchants selling premium coffee.

Objectives

• Maximise the potential for purchasing on a new site
• More visibility, promote the new Coffee House due to open in Battersea
• Let others learn about the brand
• Teach people about a premium coffee experience

What we did

Phase 1 – Investigation

• Investigate all aspects of the business
• Business analysis
• Competitor and  comparator analysis
• Brand, communication and content audits and analysis
• Stats analysis
• User research
• Technology research & recommendations
• Art direction
• Brand evolution
• Pin point weaknesses and strengths
• Develop content strategy
• Information Architecture, user experience design and web design

We drank an awful lot of coffee. We investigated all aspects of the business,  interviewed all members of the team and also reached out to all contractors, from PR to SEO and PPC. We needed to thoroughly understand all aspects of the business and coffee. Gradually as we peeled back the layers and asked many questions, we got to understand the business and the business culture of Sea Island Coffee and their clientele. We prepped for the workshop, sent out a few online surveys. All findings, data and research where meticulously organised.

Phase 2 – Workshop & Outcomes document

• Workshop and presentation of findings
• Final documentation on digital strategy
  

We analysed all aspects of our findings and produced an outcomes document, this document included a condensed and edited breakdown of the Phase 1 stage.
With the new data from the workshop and surveys, we evolved the user profiles, goals and task flows. We produced a top level content strategy and looked closely at the organisational structure (Information Architecture) of the new site along side navigation, taxonomy. We produced all necessary wire-framing, UXD and interaction design and also phase 1 visual design of the site itself, for both mobile, tablet and desktop computer.

We needed to look deeper into the motivations for getting some coffee? Could we introduce a coffee subscription model into the mix, but in terms of a smooth user experience, could we make it a more human experience, rather than something running off the back of software and e-commerce templates.

Additionally we also made a series of further recommendations that involved all aspects of the business from employing a content/site manager, copywriting site  content, packaging and  labelling, the commissioning of illustration, product photography, lifestyle photography, coffee estate photography, social media strategy and alignment etc..

Phase 3 – Creative implementation

• Finalised IA & wireframes
• 
Design delivery
• Final content strategy including social recommendations

Phase 3 was about implementation and getting it all ready to hand over to the chosen development agency that we researched and vetted during Phase 1. They were chosen based on merit, technical capability and chemistry. We have been working closely with Juno Web Design to launch the online shop.