NW Ketamine
Transformed brand and website, boosting conversions by 400% and establishing them as a trusted thought leader in ketamine therapy for treatment-resistant mental conditions.
My Role
Project Mgmt.
Research
Strategy
Content
Branding & art direction
Design
Website development
Wordpress build
DATE
2022
01/ Summary
Services
Estimating & scoping
Project Mgmt.
UX Audit
Market research
User research
Copywriting
Branding workshop
Ideation
Photography direction
UX/UI design
Information architecture
User testing
Wordpress development
Deliverables
Competitive analysis
User interviews
New copy
Personas
Sitemap
Mood boards
Styles (fonts, colors)
Research database
Brand voice & values
Content blocking
Responsive wireframes
Design system
Logo & icon design
Affinity Maps
Style guide
Prototypes
Live working site
Custom HTML & CSS
Outcomes
Significantly improved conversions (400% increase!) and site engagement
Refined brand and new styles
New website designed and built on WordPress
New written and image content
Project management & end-to-end design
I was involved in this project from the estimating and scoping phase to win the work, the research, design and Wordpress build of the site, the copywriting, and the project management. I kept meeting notes and links to all project resources in Notion.
02/ Opportunity
Northwest Ketamine Clinic’s brand, website, and content felt sterile, incohesive, inauthentic, and lackluster. They lacked genuine thought leadership. They considered themselves data-driven but didn’t use data in their content. Their tone of voice felt corporate and overly medical.
Project goals
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01/ Articulate and visualize a better brand image, website, and content.
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02/ Portray a sense of hope and joy within the site.
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03/ Make their website a 'source of truth,’ go-to place for anything Ketamine related.
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04/ Be more relatable to their patients
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05/ Make their website a 'source of truth,’ go-to place for anything Ketamine related.
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06/ Help potential customers understand how NW Ketamine is different
03/ Process
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Competitor analysis
Performing a competitive analysis involves comparing companies addressing similar challenges. I looked at both direct and indirect competitors to compare features, and evaluate strengths and weaknesses.
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User interviews
I interviewed 4 existing patients and 2 prospective patients to understand:
Mental Model - Expectations from the Website
Findability - User's Ease of Locating Information
Reasons for Choosing NW Ketamine
Perceived Value - Distinct Features of NW Ketamine
Brand/Content Analysis - Voice, Tone, and Personalit
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Interview Insights
I used Dovetail for transcription analysis and tagging of interview insights. It made storytelling around the data visual and accessible.
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Google Analytics Audit
A Google Analytics Audit involves analyzing data from Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with a website. This includes metrics like user behavior, traffic sources, and engagement patterns. I did this audit before starting the redesign to gain insights into user needs and behavior, identify problem areas, and make data-driven decisions to enhance the user experience and website performance. I also checked for proper configuration to provide suggestions for better utilization.
Research findings
Clear and concise
People battling mental conditions are already overwhelmed. We need to clearly and concisely communicate NWK’s differentiators and value prop.
Tell people what to expect
Reduce redundant copy
Articulate the value
Guide & storytell
Ketamine therapy is relative unknown and scary to some patients. Show that NWK is a thought leader and trusted medical advisor.
Guide people
Incorporate more user-centered language
Create new copy that speaks to the experience
Holistic wellness
Newer brands like Fieldtrip and Mindbloom appeal to people for their relateability. Incorporate a sense of down-to-earth while maintaining medical trustworthyness.
UX Audit
A Website UX (User Experience) Audit is a thorough review and analysis of a website to evaluate its usability, accessibility, and efficiency in providing a positive user experience. This process involves examining elements like design, navigation, content, and overall functionality to identify any issues or areas for improvement. The goal is to enhance user satisfaction, engagement, and the website's effectiveness in meeting both user needs and business objectives.
Armed with great quantitative and qualitative data about what patients seek in a ketamine therapy clinic, I decided to facilitate a branding workshop to kick off the design phase.
Branding workshop
I facilitated a Miro-based Branding Workshop to define NWK’s Values, Audience, Brand Archetype, Brand Voice, and Brand Story to:
Define what NW Ketamine is and what people should say about it
Make implicit ideas explicit
Alignment helps shape everything — from big features to tiny amounts of micro-copy on a website
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Brand Values
Brand values represent what is important to the business, its beliefs. The brand purpose answer the “WHY” question to a business’ existence while brand values reflect the inherent convictions on “HOW” the business should conduct itself.
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Brand Archetype
Symbols simplify complex ideas. Archetypes tell the brand story using powerful universals, leading to a tangible experience. Find your unique archetype to connect with your audience and build a distinct voice and look.
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Persona 1 - Overwhelmed Susie
We have to understand NWK’s audience well, so that we could address their problems and speak to them in ways that resonate. We also have to understand the challenges they face, when those challenges come about and the state of mind they’re in as they face them.
70% of Patients are Susie
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Persona 2 - Gary the Optimizer
We have to understand NWK’s audience well, so that we could address their problems and speak to them in ways that resonate. We also have to understand the challenges they face, when those challenges come about and the state of mind they’re in as they face them.
20% of Patients are Gary
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Storybrand
People love stories! Stories, when told well, elicit emotions and the emotions make it easier for people to not only understand a message but the experience of having those emotions make them more likely to remember it. This exercise was all about making NWK’s patients/customers the heroes and NWK as the trusted guide.
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Brand Voice Content Audit
After the workshop, I evaluated the existing web and blog copy against the Brand Values and Voice guidelines and scored each piece using a custom rubric. You can’t improve unless you measure!
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Brand Voice
Your tone of voice reflects who a brand is and helps them connect with the right customers. To do this, it needs to stay consistent across the website, social media profiles, emails, product descriptions—everywhere they interact with customers.
Design
It was time to put all of the team’s hard work into pixels!
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Sitemap
First, I created a sitemap to map out the current pages. I updated the sitemap as the project evolved to reflect the new and updated information hierarchy.
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Content blocking
I went through each page of the existing site and “blocked out” the content.
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Content blocking
I then created simplified low-fidelity content blocks in Figma and color-coded them to indicate which were existing blocks and which were new.
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Mood board
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Fonts
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Colors
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Voice
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Icons
Low-Fidelity Wireframes
Starting with simple shapes helps identify recurring elements and also helps inform the design in a developer-friendly way.
Treatment timeline
A resounding cry during user interviews was that people didn’t know what to expect. I created ‘What to Expect’ page along with a ‘Treatment Timeline’ to make it clear and concise.
Storytelling
Part of the development of NWK’s new content was to help tell the story of Ketamine and how its use has evolved into what it is today.
Research repository
Part of building credibility in this space involved curating relevant research and adding in an element of perspective and simplification to make it more accessible to potential patients. I conducted the meta research and then worked to grade it, simplify it and attain NWK’s professional perspective.
Photography direction
I worked with a local photographer to direct the creation of new photos for the site. I then sourced stock images and videos to fill in the gaps.
Designs in WordPress
I built the mockups in WordPress using Divi and custom HTML/CSS.
Adding animation
Usability testing
Usability tests were moderated on User Testing with 8 participants. Findings were grouped and prioritized into subsequent iterative revisions.
“I was immediately struck by the ease of navigation and the wealth of helpful information available. Unlike other clinics, I found exactly what I needed without any hassle. The site's modern design and cohesive branding instilled a sense of trust and professionalism, clearly setting it apart as a leader in the field. It's evident that a lot of thought and expertise went into making this website not just visually appealing, but also incredibly user-friendly and informative.”
— Gary, current NWK client
04/ Outcomes
Three months post launch I benchmarked the performance against our starting numbers and the results were amazing!
| Metric | Before (1/1/22 - 3/31/22) | After (4/1/22) - 6/30/22) |
|---|---|---|
| Avg. Time on Page | 0:34 | 1:12 |
| # of Visits that Convert | > 1% | 3.45% |
| Owners Pride in Brand Image | "Lacking" | "Proud and confident' |
| Length of Intake Calls (how well site prepares customers) | ~ 10 - 20 minutes | ~ 5 - 15 minutes |
Successes
Conversions up 400%!
Full end-to-end design from scoping to stakeholder management to launch and testing
Polished, professional brand update with new styles and a clear brand voice
New mobile-friendly website
New copy and content, including several new pages, new sections, and a research repository
Happier, more informed customers
Learnings
I learned a lot about building websites in WordPress. I learned a lot about ketamine.
From a project standpoint, I was pushed to make compromises and find ‘good enough’ with a limited budget.
What’s next?
Our next steps entailed working through bugs and small requests from the client mostly related to copy or content they wanted added to the site.
Since the launch, I’ve worked as a creative design consultant with the client for maintenance and small design tasks.
We won subsequent business from the client for their other business.