Designing an Ale Trail

Gathering Inspiration

I was brought on as a UX designer to lead a redesign of the Brewker website. The business goals were to increase site traffic and conversions by improving user experience and trust. The previous website was very minimal in terms of content, navigation, and branding. My challenge was transforming it into an engaging platform that reflects Brewker’s unique value and guides users to purchase local craft beers online.

Objectives

• Make the site appear more professional and reputable to build consumer confidence in the brand.

• Streamline navigation and improve findability to make key actions more obvious.

• Develop a consistent visual brand identity to reinforce recognition in Ohio.

User Research

To better understand pain points and redesign opportunities, I conducted:

• 3 interviews with existing customers

• User testing with 3 participants on Zoom

• Analysis of site analytics including traffic sources, major pages, and conversion funnels

Key Findings

Key findings showed users found the site confusing to navigate, visually unappealing, and lacking enough information to understand the full service offering. With research insights in hand, I led an end-to-end redesign focused on:

• Visual brand identity - Created logo, color palette, typography, and graphic styles to reflect the brand personality and set it apart from competitors

• Usability - Simplified navigation, optimized page layouts, and enhanced flows for key tasks like beer selection and checkout based on user feedback

• Content - Wrote clear, benefit-driven content to communicate product details and build trust

• Imagery - Sourced vibrant photography of local breweries and beers to make the brand more approachable and appealing

Results

In the 6 months since launch, the redesign has positively impacted key metrics:

• Site traffic increased by 26%

• Pages per session improved from 1.2 to 2.4

• Online sales conversion rate increased 19%

By optimizing content, navigation, branding, and usability based on research insights and testing, I helped Brewker boost engagement and conversions through an improved digital experience. This project showcases my user-centered design process and ability to solve strategic business challenges.

Marketing

In addition to redesigning the website, I took on managing Brewker’s email marketing, social media, and digital campaigns. Key initiatives to reinforce brand identity and promote the subscription service included:

Email Marketing:

• Created segmented email lists and journeys tailored to consumer and business user groups

• Developed a consistent brand voice and tone for email content

• Optimized email templates for engagement on mobile and desktop

• Grew the subscriber list from 1,200 to 4,500 over 6 months

Social Media:

• Established profiles on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to increase brand awareness

• Created and scheduled regular posts highlighting new beer arrivals, brewery partners, events, and promotions

• Drove 25% increase in social followers QoQ through compelling visual content

Campaigns:

• Planned and executed digital ad campaigns across search, social, and banner channels

• Targeted paid ads to drive traffic to key site pages like beer finder and checkout

• Ran retargeting ads to previous site visitors to recover abandoned carts

• Reduced cost per click by 35% by continually optimizing targeting and creative

Business Presentations

• Build presentations to receive funding from investors.

• Complied slide decks and important information to project company growth

• Created infographics to represent company data and projections

Branded Merchandise and Collateral

• Designing beer posters, tap handles, and growlers featuring bold, beer-inspired graphics that represented the brand personality. These were distributed to brewery partners to display in tasting rooms.

• Creating unique t-shirt designs that customers could purchase online and wear to promote the brand. The shirts incorporated character illustrations reflecting the target audience.

• Producing branded pint glasses and stickers to include beer deliveries, increasing visibility during the unboxing experience

• Designing trade show booth displays and sales sheets for distribution at industry events to raise brand awareness in the wholesale market

By expanding Brewker’s presence across channels and aligning messaging, I amplified reach and engagement with their brand and website relaunch.