THE ELEVATOR PITCH
Lantern—a cannabis, home-delivery service—was founded to disrupt the cannabis market by providing personalized guidance & delivery services for its users. They reached out in need of help with the end-to-end design for the customer experience on LanternNow.com.
As the sole designer across every touchpoint, my role was to create a responsive eCommerce platform for Lantern, produce additional branding & marketing assets, and consult on a variety of product offerings. The following Case Study highlights some of the work completed in the 9 months before launching the MVE site in March 2020.
Freelance — 2019
Role: UX/UI, Marketing & Brand Lead
Client: Lantern
Lantern Team:
Justin Robinson, Co-Founder
Ben Cost, Head of Technology
Brian Crowley, Software Engineer
CRAFTING THE BRAND
The logo was designed to be easily recognizable, versatile, and reflective of Lantern’s mission & values.
The wordmark is the name set in the typeface Noe by Schick-Toikka. Although the mark is simple, the characters within it are expressive & restrained, reflecting the nature of the Lantern identity system.
The logomark is the “L” from the wordmark, knocked out & raised inside of a rectangle. This mark is only meant to be used in small spaces, when the full wordmark would be illegible.
The typefaces were carefully selected in order to balance out the energy and tone of the brand.
The combination of Proxima Nova and Garamond Premier Pro bring a level of sophistication and sincerity to the overall identity.
The color palette reflects the vast range of needs & expansive demographics of Lantern’s users.
Everyone has different histories, needs, and desires when it comes to cannabis. The demand is complex, and even more complex are the effects that cannabis has on its users.
The shape system is an important facet to the Lantern identity.
These shapes embody the ingredients to Lantern’s visual system. When paired together, they represent the “lantern”, and when the elements are separated, they can be used throughout the system in various applications.
THE CIRCLE
The circle represents the core & totality of Lantern & it’s values. It symbolizes honesty & a humble nature.
THE TRIANGLE
The triangle represents the beam of light that Lantern is shining on the cannabis industry. It symbolizes adventure & guided experimentation.
THE RECTANGLE
The rectangle represents a foundation that acts as a pathway in cannabis discovery. This shape guides our users in discovering all possibilities of cannabis.
DEFINING THE USERS
From anxious newbies to seasoned smokers, I spoke with a wide range of people that displayed different behaviors & mindsets around cannabis.
2
Major Cities
8
Dispensaries
10
Delivery Services
18
Users
What People Said
“I see all these new products and want to try them out, but I’m afraid I’m going to have another horrible panic attack if I try the wrong one. I’m curious but I’m scared. I don’t know where to start.”
— Actress & Producer, Los Angeles
“Myrcene is a terpene that relaxes your muscles. Plants with less than .5% of Myrcene are sativas, and plants with more than .5% are indicas. But Myrcene is just 1 of 12 terpenes in commonly consumed cannabis, so those labels are not great.”
— Dosist Employee, Los Angeles
“I wish I had the courage to try other weed products, but I’m scared. What if something happens to my kids and I can’t help them because I accidentally got too stoned? No one really helps you with these things.”
— ER Nurse, Wakefield
User Insights
Regardless of their experience level, people entering the legal market stumble to find what works best for them because they suddenly have more options than ever.
Consistent cannabis users struggle to optimize their cannabis experience because our knowledge of it is both incorrect & evolving.
Nervous & price-sensitive users hesitate to explore new products because it could break their bank or be downright dangerous.
Users in destigmatized environments still keep their consumption of cannabis private because they’re afraid of lingering stigma.
The dark history of cannabis makes socially conscious business more appealing—especially for disenfranchised communities.
When people buy cannabis, they’re buying self-care. We’re delivering feelings, not products.
People want to feel like they’re in control of their cannabis experience & will go the extra mile for the product and/or service that they want.
As laws shift from extreme punishment to full legalization, businesses must adapt on the fly to survive.
While dispensaries want delivery, they are hesitant to take on another business cost & liability.
Delivery Insights
CREATING A RESPONSIVE EXPERIENCE
After establishing the brand guidelines & completing field research with dispensaries, delivery services and users, I started to design the eCommerce platform based on the Drizly backend. As users would be accessing this site from their phone, tablet or desktop, ensuring a responsive experience was a priority.
DIFFERENTIATING FROM THE CROWD
The legal cannabis industry is in its infancy and, therefore, behind other industries in the proliferation of enhanced tools & services for end customers. Today, dispensaries are the core customer interaction moments in understanding products & effects, with little to no consistency in recommendation or service. Most notably lacking in the cannabis landscape is the ability to understand, at an individual level, what products are right for each customer.
In order for Lantern to become more than just a delivery service, I developed a personalized shopping experience to increase the value Lantern has to its users and in turn deepen its customer relationships.
This shift into hyper-personalization will help Lantern become a recognized & trusted brand in the cannabis market.
