Cannabis has come a long way. There are thousands of stylish dispensaries profiting from the soon-to-become $19B industry.

But when it comes to e-commerce, we aren't quite there yet.

From weed puns to lack of information, purchasing cannabis products can feel overwhelming for new users.

Our design concept changes that. By creating a flow of simple questions, we figure out what a user is looking to do during the day, what state he/she wants to achieve — and recommend products based on this personalized data.

Without making a single "high" joke. Really.

When STRV designer Tomas Sebastian decided to create a concept for Weedmaps, an app that allows users to review cannabis strains and find local dispensaries, he came across two main challenges found within the cannabis industry:

1. Inexperienced consumers are overwhelmed by information.

2. There is still a social stigma surrounding marihuana.

Tomas felt that the cannabis-related apps already on the market weren’t doing a great job at solving either problem. They seemed outdated, not very user-friendly and didn’t help users pick the best product for their needs. Considering just how strongly apps within other markets focus on those elements, Tomas’ approach became:  

“Let’s make this weed app as good as top food delivery apps.”

Here’s how he did it.

USER-FRIENDLY DESIGN

• Modern design
• Utilizing common patterns and practices
• Sticking to colors that are familiar, pleasant
• Avoiding well-known, stigmatized symbols like marihuana leaves
• Set of icons
• Symbols on the Discovery Screen (first screen) that don’t overwhelm the user
• Help users easily recognize a product’s main qualities, and what they can expect
• Soft colors for calm, sleepy, etc./ Deeper colors for energized, motivated, etc.
• Familiar language
• Skipping jargon familiar only to enthusiasts
  

PERSONALIZED SUGGESTIONS

• The onboarding process is a “flow” made of simple questions that help identify what a user is looking for/needs
• What are you planning to do?
• How high do you want to get?
• Do you have any experience?
• How do you want to consume?
• The answers help suggest products that suit the user best
• Questions include the main purpose: Medical vs. Mood
• Experienced users can easily skip this flow

MORE DATA = IMPROVED RESULTS

• Because every product’s effects tend to slightly vary from user to user, follow-up questions serve an important role
• Once the user has used the product a few times, he/she answers a few questions about the experience
• With more user data, suggested products are better tailored to each user — based on users’ tolerance, taste preference and more.

Tomas and the STRV team chose to work on this design concept based on the current trends and our experience with — and interest in — the cannabis industry (check out what we did for Eaze HERE).

If you'd like to know more about this concept and our work, or if you have an idea of your own...

REACH OUT