Brand Identity & E-commerce / 2024
A full brand system and Shopify store for a small-batch apothecary. We moved Haven from generic “wellness” to a sensory, trust-first experience that converts browsers into ritual.
Haven makes small-batch botanical oils, salves, and sleep rituals. Founded by herbalist Maya Chen, the brand had beautiful products but a fragmented identity and a 0.9% store conversion rate.
Customers described the brand as “nice but forgettable.” The goal: create a cohesive, sensory brand system and e-commerce experience that communicates trust, craft, and calm — and lift conversion to 2.5%+.
01 Research
Interviews with 18 customers revealed purchase was emotional, not functional. People wanted permission to slow down. We mapped the “evening wind-down” journey and built the brand around that moment.
02 System
Fraunces for warmth, Inter for clarity. A palette of warm stone, clay, and sage. Custom grain textures and debossed labels to signal hand-made quality without cliché.
03 Decisions
We removed pop-ups and replaced them with “Ritual Guides” — short, honest stories for each product. We also standardized SKUs and photography lighting to reduce cognitive load.
The hardest part wasn’t making it pretty — it was making it honest. We tested three logo directions, killed the most “beautiful” one because it felt performative. The final mark is a simple, hand-drawn leaf with generous negative space. It breathes.
“For the first time, the site feels like me. Customers are staying longer and actually reading the stories.”
2.8%
Store conversion, up from 0.9%
+47%
Average order value
3.2x
Time on product pages
100%
Packaging rollout across SKUs
The takeaway: clarity beats decoration. By aligning visual language with the customer’s ritual, Haven stopped competing on price and started owning a feeling.
I partner with founders who care about craft, story, and conversion. If you’re ready to turn your product into a ritual, let’s talk.
Start a projectCase study available as PDF on request.