Reimagining local consumption
OVERVIEW
4 months to build a business from scratch
As part of our final Master's degree project, alongside H. Anneheim, we were tasked to craft a whole business, from branding and business plan to dedicated web and mobile screens.
On top of that, we also created a light and dark mode, as well as a dynamic brand identity. Yes, dynamic. Oh, and to do so, we only had one semester.
PROBLEM(S)
The cost of convenience
Convenience has reshaped how we buy: faster, cheaper, and more often. But this comes at a cost; overconsumption hides the people and logistics behind items, and mass production is often favored over local manufacturing.
Plus, it's difficult for consumers to find local makers, and vice versa. To solve all of those issues, this project looks at how design can encourage more mindful, local consumption, without sacrificing convenience.
PROCESS
How we broke a mountain of work into manageable tasks
Starting a business from scratch is overwhelming, especially when the scope spans research, strategy, branding, and product design.
But there's always a way to simplify the next tiny step. And as long as that stays possible, we can keep moving forward.
1. Starting from issues we care about
We began with problems we already knew and personally felt: overconsumption and the lack of visibility for local producers. And it goes both ways: as an interested client, it's particularly hard to find alternatives.
näher, a German word meaning "closer," reflects the goal of reconnecting consumers and producers. It also felt particularly fitting to our region, Alsace, in the East of France, where we'd always imagined starting the business.
2. But first, let me ask the users
In order to make sure we weren't building in the wrong direction, we started off by interviewing potential users in the place we were most likely to find them: at local markets, all around the city of Strasbourg.
These discussions not only confirmed the main issues we already detected, but, arguably more importantly, they also revealed a strong interest in a potential digital platform that would make local consumption easier and more visible.
3. Listing the requirements
After summarizing the insights from the interviews, it was time to list all the must-have, as well as the nice-to-have. We wrote down all of the pages we could think of, both in producer and consumer view (because yes, we'd need both interfaces).
Later down the line, we realized that we hadn't gone into enough depth for the sales funnel, which featured more edge cases and possible flows than we'd originally accounted for.
4. Establishing a sustainable business model
Since näher offers online but local consumption (or, facilitation), it places itself in a very strategic spot of the market: at the crossroads between delivery services and scattered local initiatives.
Its business model is very similar to that of platforms such as UberEats, taking commissions on orders, and offering sponsored options to producers, highlighting them on the platform.
5. Building a shifting visual identity
One of the main reasons why other local initiatives failed was, as mentioned in the interviews, how outdated their online presence felt (if it even existed). To counterbalance that, and to freshen up the image of responsible consumerism, näher takes a stand with a playful, colorful, and simply fun identity.
We included hand-drawn elements to introduce warmth and whimsiness. Also, the colors of the brand (and the highlighted products) shift based on the season, in order to encourage cyclical consumption, and create a living, dynamic identity. All of them feature a main background associated with a stark highlight.
6. Structuring the experience
Before diving into the fun part, we had to lay out solid foundations, with comprehensive wireframes.
We covered every page, from the simplest like the product page to the most obscure ones such as pick-up instructions.
7. Designing for familiarity
The final design is made of rounded shapes, bouncy animations, and a friendly tone. Light or dark, seasonally colored, it imitates nature in its own way.
From the hover states to the shape of the cards, the whole interface is filled with playful motion and color, to keep the experience delightful.
SOLUTION
The local revolution
näher is an e-commerce platform focused on local consumption. It allows producers and clients to easily get in touch, and brings us all back to our roots.
Simply put, it offers online ordering of local products that users can then pick up directly on site, or in a local market on select days.
RESULTS
A seed awaiting to sprout
The näher project became the highest-rated project in the master's program, and was strongly encouraged to be developed further.
Although it was "simply" a degree project, we learned more in a couple months than we would have in an entire year due to how intense this was.
TAKEAWAYS
What I learned
Accessibility is not negotiable
As designers, we are responsible for making our products usable by everyone. The Internet puts us all on equal footing: why go against it?
Do what users want
This time, we got lucky: most of our assumptions perfectly aligned with user opinions. But it won't always be the case, and always running interviews is pivotal.
After all... it's a business
Designing while keeping the end goal in mind (building a viable business) taught us how a real company works.