Notemaker

A smart solution for quality writing materials

I’m a self-confessed stationary addict - I love a fresh notebook more than anyone should, and I always use the same drawing pens (I buy them in boxes now).

No surprise then, that the Notemaker site design was a dream project – an eCommerce (Magento) backend with flexibility and opportunity in the front end.

With 100 brands and over 6,000 products the site had to be browsable and the search-bar always within reach. Being able to filter and sort was crucial too.

Most retail sites face the challenge of making shopping simple and displaying just the right amount of information. Notemaker was no different. Social links, shipping options, subscription call-outs – pages can get very busy, very quickly.

The information architecture stuck mainly to categories already established in the schema from the previous site. But the wireframing revealed some busyness in the pages. Some utilities – like currency selection and wish list – needed to step back and the product details had to push forward.

The information architecture stuck mainly to categories and subcategories that were already established in the schema from the previous site. But the wireframing revealed some busyness in the pages. Some utilities – like currency selection and wishlist – needed to step back and the product details had to push forward.

Typographic styles, navigation items and common elements were all built into the style guide. This governed the rollout of the templates. Product pages, category pages and peripheral pages all aligned to the established aesthetic. The shopping cart was designed to be completed in one page to speed up the checkout process.

The site launched in beta as more products were ported over until we tested and pushed it live. Shoppers loved the upgraded experience and told us as much.

Seven years and a name-change later – to Milligram – the site remains much the same. Surely a testament to a considered design and happy customers.