Ikkari

01 | Client

IKKARI is a contemporary wellness brand offering a curated range of premium, sustainable skincare, supplements, and lifestyle products. With a refined audience seeking high quality, considered solutions in the wellness space, the brand needed a digital presence that communicated its product offering clearly while also expressing a deeper story and sense of purpose. We partnered closely with the IKKARI team to create a website that balances elegance with clarity, guiding users through an experience that’s as informative as it is immersive.

Role

  • As a startup under the Aje umbrella, IKKARI needed a digital experience that reflected the parent brand’s premium positioning while establishing a unique identity. During discovery, we created key personas, The Expert, The Explorer, and The Existing Customer, to map distinct user mindsets around health, wellness, convenience, and loyalty to the Aje brand. Through workshops, competitor analysis, and reference site reviews, we identified user needs for ingredient transparency, seamless product discovery, and a balance of aspirational and functional design. These insights directly shaped the UX strategy, focusing on intuitive navigation, curated shopping journeys, and a content-rich experience designed to evolve with the brand.

  • During the wireframe stage, we focused on structuring the site around IKKARI’s core philosophy of Inner, Outer, and Aura to ensure the brand’s holistic approach to wellness was central to the user experience. Each word defined a product category: Inner for digestibles, Outer for body products, and Aura for scents, creating an intuitive way for users to shop by need rather than by product type. Our wireframes prioritised storytelling, education, and clear filtering to help users navigate seamlessly, while still incorporating traditional e-commerce touchpoints such as quick add-to-cart options, bundled product suggestions, and streamlined checkout flows. The goal was to build an experience that felt like an online apothecary, inspiring exploration while staying deeply connected to the IKKARI brand philosophy.

  • The design focused on creating a story-led, editorial experience that elevated the premium feel of the products and stayed true to the umbrella brand. Motion was used to spark user engagement without distraction, while progressive disclosure kept information accessible but never overwhelming. Users could choose to explore deeper or stay focused on purchasing. Hick’s Law guided key decisions to simplify choices and reduce cognitive load, making the overall journey faster, clearer, and more intuitive.

02 | Objective

The goal was to create a digital platform that captured the essence of IKKARI, a space where rich storytelling, meaningful design, and seamless wayfinding converge to express the brand’s layered philosophy and leave a lasting impression in the holistic wellness space.

03 | Challenge

Through in-depth discovery workshops, the process focused on understanding IKKARI’s unique position as a new brand under the AJE umbrella. Three distinct customer archetypes were identified: The Expert, a discerning wellness savvy individual; The Explorer, a curious socially engaged customer drawn to aesthetic and experience; and the AJE Loyalist, existing customers likely to engage with IKKARI through brand affinity. Balancing these needs was key to shaping the right digital journey.

04 | Solution

To translate IKKARI’s abstract wellness philosophy into a clear and engaging digital experience, the solution focused on progressive disclosure and narrative led design. The brand’s three foundational layers inner, outer, and aura, were embedded into the user journey, creating an intentional onboarding experience that revealed core values and product synergies over time.

This approach clarified the brand’s holistic offering while encouraging exploration and emotional connection. The site was positioned as a modern online apothecary: warm, intuitive, and rich in detail. It successfully engaged aesthetically driven Explorers, delivered the substance sought by Experts, and provided a familiar yet aspirational entry point for AJE loyalists.

Features

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Features •

  • Weaving Storytelling

    Storytelling was embedded throughout the site to spark intrigue and foster engagement, ensuring the brand’s mission and ethos were not only preserved but communicated in a compelling and memorable way.

  • Conveying Ethos

    IKKARI was founded on the philosophy of three core layers—Inner, Outer, and Aura. It was essential to communicate this framework to users in a way that helped them grasp the brand’s deeper meaning and understand how it shapes the product offering.

  • Balanced Design

    While staying true to IKKARI’s brand ethos and layered philosophy, we remained empathetic to user needs—striking a careful balance between immersive storytelling and familiar eCommerce touchpoints to ensure a seamless, intuitive browsing and purchasing experience.

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