Lineage Seeds

Case Study:

Lineage Seeds is a heritage farming company that sells fully organic seeds with lineages dating back millennia. Their business relied heavily on in-person sales at fairs and booths across northern New Mexico, limiting their reach and growth potential.

To solve this, I designed a website that gave Lineage Seeds a strong online presence, allowing customers to easily browse and purchase seeds from anywhere in the country. The streamlined experience supports broader access while maintaining the brands deeply rooted, artisanal identity.

As the designer, I was responsible for the end-to-end design of Lineage Seeds’ website, including the information architecture, user flow, and visual design (4 Week Period in June 2025). I also mapped out the broader service experience—integrating both the physical booth presence and online store—to ensure a consistent and seamless customer journey across touch points.

Before the website was created, customers could only purchase seeds in person at fairs or booths, which limited access for those who couldn’t attend these events. Users had no way to explore the product catalog ahead of time or make purchases at their convenience. This made it difficult to maintain engagement or build long-term customer relationships outside of local events.

Lineage Seeds relied almost entirely on in-person sales, which capped their revenue potential and made growth unpredictable. Without an online presence, they lacked visibility beyond northern New Mexico and missed opportunities to reach a wider audience interested in heritage or organic agriculture. Additionally, there was no infrastructure for managing orders or providing information outside of face-to-face interactions, creating inefficiencies in the overall service experience.

Users wanted a simple and accessible way to browse, learn about, and purchase Lineage Seeds’ offerings without needing to attend local fairs or events. They were looking for convenience, trust in the product’s origin, and a smooth online shopping experience that reflected the brand’s authenticity. From a business perspective, the primary goal was to expand reach beyond in-person sales and grow revenue through an online channel. Product goals focused on creating a clear, intuitive website that communicates the brand’s story, organizes the catalog effectively, and streamlines the purchase process for both new and returning customers.

Starting Broad: Understanding the Full Customer Journey
To create a website that genuinely supported Lineage Seeds’ users and business, I began by mapping the entire service experience—from first encounter at a booth to online browsing and post-purchase engagement. This service design lens helped me identify pain points not just in the digital product, but in the broader brand experience. I found a major gap between the rich, educational in-person experience and the complete lack of follow-up or access beyond the booth.
Using these insights, I conducted a content audit and designed the information architecture to support two key journeys: customers who already knew the brand and were ready to purchase, and new users curious about the heritage and values behind the seeds. I structured the site to support both with equal clarity.
Structuring the Experience: Information Architecture
After identifying key content types—product categories, seed histories, educational blog posts, and ordering info—I created a clear and intuitive site map. The primary navigation focuses on three goals:
1. Discovering products
2. Learning about the brand’s lineage
3. Making a purchase
I tested this structure with a few early users who had interacted with the brand at fairs. Their feedback confirmed the importance of making "Education" and "Seed Stories" as prominent as "Shop" in the navigation—something that became a defining part of the IA.
Designing for Simplicity and Trust
Visually, I kept the interface clean, earthy, and accessible reflecting both the brand’s roots and the needs of its audience. Many users were older and not necessarily tech-savvy, so I prioritized large typography, high contrast, and minimal clicks to reach any product. Product pages are stripped down to essentials: image, short story, and clear call-to-action.

While the site is still in its early stages, the design was created to address key business limitations—namely, reliance on in-person sales and limited reach. By building an online presence for Lineage Seeds, the goal was to expand customer access beyond local fairs and create a sustainable channel for year-round revenue.
o To measure success, I would focus on the following key metrics:
o Online conversion rate: % of visitors who complete a purchase
o Average order value: to track whether online shoppers purchase more than in-person buyers
o Geographic distribution of sales: to assess how well the site extends reach beyond northern New Mexico
o Email sign-up rate: as a proxy for customer interest and engagement
o Repeat visitor rate: to gauge customer retention and satisfaction
Tracking these metrics over time would help validate whether the design truly supported business growth, improved accessibility for users, and created a scalable alternative to in-person-only selling.

From a service design perspective, I integrated key user touchpoints such as email signups (for post-fair follow-up), order confirmation flows, and FAQs—ensuring that the website could function not just as a storefront, but as a continuation of the fair experience.
Iteration Based on Feedback
Through ongoing feedback from the business owner and a small group of loyal customers, I refined everything from the homepage layout to the checkout experience. One key insight was that many users didn’t just want to buy—they wanted to understand where the seeds came from. As a result, I reworked the homepage to lead with storytelling rather than just products, creating a better emotional connection.