Hive Hugger
Website Design
In partnership with Hive Hugger, a pioneer in hive insulation technology, we developed a redesigned website. This initiative is geared towards enhancing the resilience of bee populations against the harsh Wisconsin winters. Our goal with this website is to promote the broad adoption of innovative practices that support both bees and beekeepers.
Timeline
2024 / 3 months
Role
UX Research, UI Design
Client
Hive Hugger
Team
UW-Madison, MD+I Team: Olivia, Yuchen, Jia, Yixin, and Peiqi
Context
Hive Hugger, a pioneering organization in the beekeeping industry, specializes in developing innovative hive insulation products designed to protect bees from the harsh realities of winter, particularly in cold climates like Wisconsin. Despite their technological advancements and critical mission, Hive Hugger faced challenges in reaching a broader audience and effectively communicating the importance and efficacy of their solutions.
Need for Redesign
The existing Hive Hugger website lacked the modern aesthetics and functionality needed to engage today’s digitally savvy and environmentally conscious audience. It was crucial to not only present Hive Hugger as a leader of saving bees but also to make the scientific data behind their products accessible and understandable to both novice and experienced beekeepers
Hive Hugger Existing Website
My Role
As a UX Designer in a team of five, I led the user experience efforts for Hive Hugger's online platform. My work, in concert with another designer, our marketing lead and the project manager, involved distilling user research into an intuitive and impactful design.
Problem
In cold locations like Wisconsin, beekeepers can experience significant losses of their bee populations during winter. In harsh winters or under suboptimal management conditions, losses can exceed 80%-90%.
BUT
Beekeeping isn't adapting quickly to new products in the industry, because of the aging beekeeper population.
AND
Many beekeepers in more rural areas may not be well-connected to a broader community. This lack of connectivity can limit the sharing of knowledge and resources.
How might we use Hive Hugger to make it easier for the beekeeping community to embrace new ideas and information to save their bees during the harsh winter?
Solution
Complete redesign of their website that features:
Emphasize on Mission and Science
Redesign Hive Hugger’s website with a streamlined design that emphasizes their mission to save bees, and highlights the science of hive insulation.
Mentorship Program Integration
Integrated a mentorship program to foster a community of engaged beekeepers, enhancing knowledge exchange and boosting sales.
Hive Hugger’s Goal
Boost Sales: Double Incoming Year
This ambitious target involves doubling the current figures, a move aimed at expanding their market presence and ensuring that more beekeepers have access to their innovative hive insulation products.
Create a Community of Open-Minded Beekeepers
By fostering a network where experienced and novice beekeepers alike can share knowledge, experiences, and best practices, Hive Hugger hopes to enhance the collective proficiency and success of the beekeeping community.
Bridge the Gap in Innovative Practice
Recognizing the industry's slow pace in adopting new technologies—partly due to the aging demographic of beekeepers—Hive Hugger is dedicated to bridging this gap, by providing education, resources, and support through their website.
Process
Research & Empathy
Research
The research concentrated on understanding why Hive Hugger’s product sales are low and why awareness of this innovative product is limited.
We conducted extensive research including interviews & surveys with the target audience, and met with stakeholder every 2 weeks to understand their challenges and needs. We also did secondary research to find out how our website can stand out.
Key Insights
84% of the beekeepers purchase beekeeping products online
64% of the beekeepers’ general beekeeping practices & purchase decision comes from other beekeepers like mentor
The conversations highlight that beekeepers, being data-driven, are likely to adopt innovative products if recommended by their mentors or fellow beekeepers
Define
Persona
After our research, we decided to target our efforts towards hobbyist beekeepers and beekeeping sideliners who face challenges with winter survival rates.
Pain Points
Struggles during cold months
Feel unsafe with advanced techniques
Productivity and profitability decrease
Behaviors
Active on social media
Follow experienced beekeepers for advices and tips
Provides guidance and mentorship to new beekeepers
How could we address these pain points by redesign Hive Hugger website?
Trustful Data-driven innovative product
Educational Content and Resources
Showcase
Success Stories
Mentorship Program
Ideate
Wireframe
We initially sketched out a mission-oriented wireframe for the website, focusing on the co-founder's primary goal of saving bees. However, we realized that a purely mission-driven approach might limit the effectiveness of an e-commerce platform. To address this, we decided to integrate both aspects, combining our commitment to the mission with the functionality of an e-commerce platform.
Mission Oriented
Combine
Product Oriented
Design System
Design Desision
01 Home Page
Before
After
Fixed top navigation with clear information hierarchy
Eye-catching brand’s tagline and mission
Hero image shows a open-minded community
02 Product Information
Before
After
3D Animation shows how product installed
Introduce top and body panel separately
Brief descriptions of products
03 Testimonial
Before
After
Showcase success stories
Convince Beekpers by Real-world testimonial
04 Science Behind
Before
After
Introduce the science behind Hive Hugger with data
Introduce product’s Key Characteristics in card-view
05 Educational Resources
After
Provide comprehensive guides, tutorials, and articles directly on the website
05 Mentorship Program
Connect less experienced beekeepers with experts who can provide guidance and one-on-one coaching. This personal interaction helps transfer knowledge more effectively and builds confidence among new beekeepers, while boost product sales.
Leveraging Social Media
Since the community is active on platforms like YouTube and Instagram, integrating these channels into the website experience and building social media connections can enhance engagement.
Hand-drawed Ikea Style Setup Guide
Beekeepers reported that the original setup guide was difficult to understand, while the instructional images did not clearly show a comprehensive view of the product setup.
Before
After
Illustration created with Procreate
Test & Deliver
Due to time limitations, we integrated our usability testing and iteration process into our weekly design process and team meetings. We iterated the design thousands times based on feedback from beekeepers and stakeholders, ensuring bi-weekly meetings to refine our approach. Additionally, we consulted with 3 design firms for advice, continuing to iterate based on their insights.
Version 0.5
Version 0.9
Final Version
Conclusion
What did the stakeholders say?
“I absolutely love this transformation of our Hive Hugger website; it's not only visually appealing but also clearly conveys our mission. It reminds me of my initial motivation for creating this product: bees deserve better.”
This heartfelt sentiment was movingly expressed by Hive Hugger's co-founder, Peggy
Takeaways
I learned that there is no one-size-fits-all approach or process for every project. Success depends on adapting to the specific business goals, resources available, and project timelines. This flexibility is crucial for meeting diverse needs and achieving desired outcomes.
