A mint green gradient background with a macbook open to Shelf's Service page. There are two options: one to launch a new brand and a second option to refresh an established brand.
Business Therapy™ and Website Refresh for Brand Identity and Packaging Studio

Shelf Studio

  • 👩 My role: Researcher, UX Designer, Business Therapist/Process Optimizer
  • 💼 Project: Redesign entire website, create new pricing and estimate system, & generate business insights to apply across processes
  • 🗓️ Timeline: 4 months

Overview

Shelf Studio is a Brand Identity and Packaging studio here in Austin, TX. They have over 20 years of experience in branding and packaging, helping national companies and farmers market founders form lasting, scalable identities that grow beyond logo and pack into the full brand experience.

Objective

The objective was two-fold. After a hiatus, stakeholders wanted an organized revamp of business processes for a fresh approach based on previous experiences, most specifically for estimates but they were open to other improvements.

They also required a new website to reflect their expanded services and personable interaction style, and to include educational content.

Research Strategy

  • Founder interviews
  • Expert interviews
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Industry research

Pain Points and Solutions

Pain Points/Insights

Stakeholders were heavily involved in research and solutions. This was a highly collaborative process. I gathered their expertise and experiences to develop these insights.

Business processes:

  • Estimates were a drag and often the main stakeholder would lose out on profit either by under-valuing their contributions, inadvertently giving too-low estimates up front, or working on tasks even if they were outside of project scope.
  • Stakeholders wanted to avoid negative client relations experienced in the past.

Website:

  • Utilize business insights to optimize and organize information included:
  • In order to serve a range of client budgets and information-seeking users, more options and educational content were desired.
  • The importance of having a cohesive brand needed to be obvious and communicated
  • The value of having a small, experienced team
  • Optimize SEO across the site, with page-specific content
  • Correct some minor accessibility faux pas

Screenshots of Old Site:

Screenshot of old site's services page with a huge list of information.Screenshot of old site's services page with an abstract timeline going down the center of the page. At the top it says "Focusing on consumer-centric design, strategy and execution." At the top left of the line there's a blurb starting with "1. We Discover." To the right of the line is a simple drawing of a rocket ship. Below is the next step: "We Strategize" and a drawing of a chess knight is on the left of the timeline. Screenshot of old site's case study for Austlen Baby Co. with a 3x3 grid of branded images.

Solutions

Business process actions taken:

Created new estimate system, in google sheets

  • Each service was separated into different tables to account for full, medium, and light versions at different price points. Each table broke the service out into tasks. Contributors are listed across the top with their hourly rates. Each task had hours under the contributor who accomplished that task. All hours are added up, multiplied by contributor rates, taxes and profit are added on, and a total is calculated.
  • New hours and rates can be entered to accommodate projects with different allocations of hours and contributors.
  • This allows for streamlined project estimates across any number of project scopes and takes the guesswork out. Now our main stakeholder won’t be underpaying herself.
  • Here's a Template

Developed new Client Interest Questionnaire & Client Intake Questionnaire

  • Wrote open-ended questions to send to new and potential clients to gauge their personalities and collaborative styles, in addition to budget and project scope
  • This set up stakeholders for success by providing a more accurate picture of how the working relationship will work, so they can augment their own collaborative style for smoother interactions. Or to high-light potential red flags.

Ideas for generating passive income and return business

  • That’s a secret! You’ll have to contact me and ask me about it.

Surveys to former clients for data-gathering

Website:

Utilize business insights to optimize and organize information included:

  • Services pages targeted towards two audiences: (1) for new businesses looking to launch a brand and (2) for established businesses looking to refresh or expand their brands.
  • Pricing examples to accommodate new brands with smaller budgets.
  • Clear communication throughout the site about the importance of branding as a foundational element of a business. Having a cohesive, clear, and memorable brand multiplies exponentially across campaigns and touchpoints.
  • An About page that communicates the value of having a small, experienced team.
  • Helped improve storytelling and copy across pages to tell a succinct story.

SEO articles to improve site findability

Improved accessibility (don't wanna get sued)

Final Product

A macbook open to Shelf's Service page. There are two options: one to launch a new brand and a second option to refresh an established brand.A macbook open to a section on the home page that says: "Where do you want your brand to go? We've got the chops to take it there." Then there's a 3 columns with two rows of steps in the process with icons in the signature mint green of the Shelf brand. A mackbook open to the first two steps of the early stages services page. Step 1 is Develop Your Brand Strategy. There's short description, an option to get started, a list of deliverables, and a learn more button. Same for the next step: Name Your Brand.A macbook open to one of the case studies for a stroller for Austlen Baby Co.

Impact

Business Processes

  • Improved educational content to help with decision-making
  • Stakeholders feel more prepared for any situation
  • System in place to prevent too-low estimates
  • Actionable ideas for generative passive income and upping return clients

Website

  • Improved educational content to help with decision-making
  • Cohesive storytelling to engage users
  • Won’t get sued over accessibility
  • Improved website findability

What the Client Had to Say

"Katie is grounded, extremely capable, and a delight to work with. We were one of her first projects, and it was like she’d been doing it for a decade. She guided us through a full-spectrum analysis of our agency, starting with our general structure and the framework of our proposals.

We looked into the full gamut of our services—strategy, naming, content, and packaging—to create a system that works for our collective of consultants and our clients' budgets. Katie then applied that same rigor to our website’s UX, creating a hierarchy that highlights our philosophy as a creative guide in the CPG industry. Her ability to ask the right questions and find hidden gems made our messaging eloquent and impactful. 

‍By the end of the process, running the business feels intuitive."

—Alison P. Sauter

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Disclaimer: "Business Therapy" is a consulting service focused on operational systems and company culture. I am not a licensed therapist, counselor, or mental health professional. The services provided do not constitute medical advice, psychotherapy, or any form of clinical mental health treatment.

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