Linde Werdelin
Design Lead . Creative . UX . UI
A platform for adventure and exploration beyond the ordinary
The luxury watch brand, Linde Werdelin approached me with a problem. They were looking for Creative Direction and UX expertise after a disappointing redesign of their e-commerce website. The CEO, Jorn Werdelin, enlisted my help improving the website from the ground up. The ambition was to reinstate the brand’s unique identity and regenerate their online presence, a very important aspect of the brand’s long term vision.
Challenge
In 2007, when the first recorded successful free climb to the summit of Mount Everest was completed, the climbers opted to use Linde Werdelin instruments. A Swiss-made sports watch brand with a unique history and exclusive collections, seen as an alternative to the large conservative watch brands, it was ready to be discovered again, this time with a stronger digital presence and a pioneering attitude all of its own.
Process
After taking the time to really understand the ambition and the history of the brand, I decided on an incremental end to end redesign, however there was a pressing timeline and a small team. My role was to design every aspect of the website journey and lead this from a brand, creative and UX perspective. All key journeys were mapped out, sketched and validated before being designed and developed using a hybrid approach that gave us the flexibility and structure we needed in order to get the finished product to market.
Outcome
We launched with the key journeys and essential features that would enable us to measure its success. Post launch, sales grew by a massive 30% which gave us a huge boost in confidence and customers even got in touch to thank us for the improvement. The brand had a small pool of loyal followers so we instigated Instagram marketing campaigns focused around intimate brand stories and product launches, bringing thousands of new visitors to the website. We are now witnessing a huge uplift in traffic and a healthy number of return visitors which has resulted in more sales year on year.
LOOKING FORWARD
These watches are luxury fashion items and the buying behaviour in this sector is very interesting. I’m continually learning and experimenting with new ways to improve the customer experience. My main goal for the near future is to encourage repeat purchases, more interaction with the sales advisors and up-selling accessories. I find looking at the product from a 360 perspective really helpful, this allows us to understand the luxury watch consumer and their journey, from the initial awareness phase, through to consideration, deciding, purchasing and owning the product.
