CASE STUDY
Maneki.min
- Branding
- Website Development
About This Client
Maneki.min is a Melbourne-based pet apparel and product eCommerce store. They approached us with building their online store from the ground up, a fully functioning eCommmerce website with a minimalistic design.
The Challenge
Maneki.min approached us with the challenge of building their eCommerce store for their pet apparel and products business. They wanted a minimalistic design to their website that portrays a warm and inviting vibe with no overcomplicated features to their store. As a small business with limited products, they wanted to really showcase their small selection of products right from the homepage.
We began their constructing their online presence with these following objectives in mind:
- Design an uncluttered and minimal design with their main focus being their products
- Create a warm and inviting tone to the website that will make a lasting impression on their customers
- Craft a design that is both visually appealing and mobile-responsive
- Utilize an easy to use eCommerce platform that is scalable and robust
What Maneki.min said
"OBSIDIAN provided their services to me when I needed to improve and launch my website. With their knowledge, they were able to build a website for my business exactly that way I wanted. They helped transition my old Wix website to my current well developed Shopify website dedicated to my marketing and business needs."
- Michelle H, Maneki.min
The Solution
One of our challenges was finding out the best suited eCommerce platform for Maneki.min. We originally steered towards using Wix eCommerce as the platform of choice. It was simple to use, easy for the client to customize and add products. It checked all the boxes for Maneki.min’s requirements. We created a development store on the Wix platform but we quickly realized that the platform may not be scalable enough to be future proof.
This is when the team decided to switch over to Shopify - while Shopify had a more of a learning curve compared to Wix, the features and scalability it had over Wix was a no brainer decision. To compromise the switch, we ensured we supported and trained our client on how to use the platform during the process.
For Manekimin’s visual identity, we decided to go with a monotone and warm colour palette consisting of colours of brown, beige and sage. A natural colour palette and common colours you would see on a pet. This portrays a welcoming tone to their website and creates an inviting brand identity for Manekimin.
We wanted to ensure we were showcasing all of Manekimin’s products - we implemented sections on the homepage with products that had just arrived to the store, a best selling product section and a must have product section. Allowing their customers to see all their products at a glance of the homepage.
Product Page
The Outcome
Through this process, we were able to successfully launch Manekimin’s website and introduce their business to the digital world. With this launch, we were able to achieve:
- Concrete visual identity: The monotone and warm colour palette of their website plays into their visual identity as a business of inviting positivity and harmony to the digital experience.
- Platform to sell their products: With this new website, Maneki.min now has an avenue for revenue for their business, now able to get their products to their customers hands.
