Althaea Skincare

Role

Brand Designer, UX/UI Designer

Tools

Figma, Wordpress, Notion

Overview

When Pilates Plus OC approached me, it wasn’t just about a new website—it was about a full evolution of their brand. With new ownership and a refreshed vision, it became clear early on that the existing identity simply wasn’t scalable or reflective of where the business was headed. The goal was to reimagine the brand from the ground up and position it as bold, elevated, and future-ready. The result? MEGAWELL — a name, a voice, and a look that set the tone for everything that followed.

The Challenge: A Brand That Had Outgrown Itself

When I first connected with the team at Pilates Plus OC, I didn’t jump into visuals or wireframes. We started with a conversation—a real one. And that’s when I learned something that shaped everything:

The brand wasn’t broken… it just wasn’t built for what was coming next.

The business had evolved. New leadership, bigger goals, a broader vision. But the original brand identity? It was holding them back—visually, strategically, and emotionally. It wasn’t scalable. It didn’t communicate the level of sophistication or experience they were actually offering. And most importantly, it didn’t feel like them anymore.

That’s where I came in.

Discovery: Asking the Right Questions First

Before touching a single pixel, I led a full brand discovery session with stakeholders to understand the deeper “why.”

Was this a vanity redesign? A new trend to chase? No. The answer was clear:

“Our current brand doesn’t represent where we’re going.”

That level of clarity gave me the freedom to zoom out and design with the future in mind. Through strategy calls, creative direction workshops, and visual alignment exercises, we mapped out everything—from tone and brand energy to how the visual identity should feel when someone walked into a studio or landed on the homepage.

Stakeholder Vision Meets Creative Guidance

The team had a strong point of view on what they wanted—which I loved. I wasn’t just designing for them; I was designing with them. And while they had ideas, they trusted me to explore directions that reflected the goals we uncovered during discovery.

We went through multiple rounds of logo concepts—clean, bold, stylized directions with varying degrees of edge and elegance. I kept everything in black and white intentionally. I didn’t want color to distract us from choosing the right formfirst. We talked about usability, scalability, print performance, and how each direction held up at 1 inch vs 10 feet.

After a few rounds, we landed on a version that just… felt right. Bold. Balanced. Unapologetically simple.

Round 3 - UX Sitemap

Round 4 - UX Sitemap

Wireframing & Prototyping

Using Figma, I produced:

• Low-fi wireframes to validate UX decisions with stakeholders and clients

• Mid-fi flows for priority pages (homepage, PDP, results quiz, blog)

• Rapid interactive prototypes for usability validation

We focused on reducing friction and cognitive load:

• Floating add-to-cart CTA on mobile PDPs

• Ingredient “tooltips” for science-focused users

• A simplified quiz flow that routes users to relevant products (based on skin goals)

UI Systems & Visual Translation

I collaborated with the Art Director to develop a design system grounded in:

Clean, generous white space to evoke calm
Muted, science-forward palette with warm neutrals
Consistent visual metaphors (circles, flow lines, and cellular imagery)
Typography that balanced authority with approachability

We tested layouts on mobile first to ensure graceful degradation and responsiveness.

Screenshot 2025-03-26 at 10.57.02 PM.png

Handoff & Implementation

Partnering closely with developers, we:

Delivered a complete design system and annotated flows
Provided hover states, responsive behavior, and motion guidance
Created fallback components for CMS-driven sections like blog and FAQs
Conducted weekly design-dev QA sessions to ensure pixel-perfect execution

Outcomes & Impact

Although I did not have direct access to post-launch analytics, client feedback indicated:

Brand awareness grew by 78% within the first three months (measured via social and email growth)
Dr. Ava’s personal brand saw increased credibility and media coverage
The “invisible UX” was noted and appreciated—users didn’t feel confused or interrupted at any point during the shopping journey

“Navigating this site feels natural—I barely realized I was shopping, it just flowed.” — End-user feedback

Reflections

What I’m most proud of is how frictionless the final product feels. Great UX isn’t about flash—it’s about removing barriers. From story to checkout, the Althaea experience is calm, clear, and confident.

What I’d do differently:

Incorporate more structured A/B testing around the quiz flow post-launch
Push for earlier usability testing with real shoppers using mid-fi prototypes