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Pattern Brands: Design System & Conversion Strategy for 7 Brands

The team behind Pattern Brands was formerly Gin Lane, a brand-building agency that launched 50+ DTC startups, creating $15+ billion in market value (including Harry's, Sweetgreen, Hims, Smile Direct Club, Everlane, etc).

I joined Pattern Brands as a UX/UI Designer and worked on various projects, from building their first Design System, Cart UX improvements, Search experience, Shop pages redesign, Landing pages, Branding, and more. 

The results were a conversion rate boost of 23%, 8% lower cart abandonment, and raised user satisfaction.
Core Responsibilities
UX/UI Design, Product Design,
Conversion Optimization Design,
Design System, Analytics
Category
E-commerce, DTC,
Website, Mobile

Timeline

1 year 9 months 
(Jan ‘23 - Sept ‘24)

23%
Increased
Conversion rate
8%
Lowered Cart
Abandonment Rate

10%

Improved Customer
Satisfaction Score
’’ Tanja is a natural UX designer and who understands how to balance creative and conversion-driving design to drive a direct-to-consumer business forward. She is incredibly organized and was instrumental in helping us manage and execute eCommerce strategies that helped us achieve revenue targets, increase conversion rate, and improve the overall customer experience. ’’
- Meredith Doherty, Director of Business Development E-Commerce
Context

The brand platform of the DTC era. 7 Brands and 7 Shopify stores.

Gin Lane the team transformed into Pattern Brands, and today it’s a rapidly growing family of DTC e-com lifestyle brands, and currently consists of 7 brands, each with their own site, aesthetic and type of customer.
Mobile homepages of GIR, Onsen, Poketo, Open Spaces and Letterfolk.
My Role

Designing for Growth and Conversions.
My role encompassed:

User Research & Analysis
Using heatmaps, GA4 data, usability testing and competitor analysis, I uncovered user needs and habits across all brands.
Conversion Optimization Design
Improved the features that lead to conversion boost by 23%, tested through A/B testing, and collaborated with CRO and engineering teams.
Design System
Reduced Development Time: 
Our modular design system, built with reusable components, allowed engineers to implement changes seamlessly across all brands.
Landing Page Design
I designed and built in Replo 30+ landing pages, utilizing a variety of styles (editorial, product-focused, static, animated), which were A/B tested and iterated on.
Design System
Timeline: 2 months

Building a Unified Design System

My first challenge was working on the design of a unified Pattern Brands design system. This system would provide reusable building blocks for a new Shopify theme, allowing all 7 brands to maintain their unique aesthetics while sharing a cohesive foundation.
Challenge

Issues with productivity
across the teams.

- The Engineering team had to implement each change 5 times in 5 ways, because brands were hosted on Sanity and Shopify and 4 different themes.

- E-commerce coordinators couldn’t operate the same way across the brand portfolios, because the themes and platforms had different editing options.

- The Creative team had the issue of designing Heroes and Collection banners of different sizes for launches.

- The photography team had to make the product images ratio and colors differently for 7 brands.
Results

Sped up our teams workflow & lowered sites maintenance

- Reduced Development Time: No more repetitive code! Our modular design system, built with reusable components, allowed engineers to implement changes seamlessly across all brands.

- Empowered E-commerce Coordinators: Standardized workflows and a consistent editing experience empowered our E-commerce team to manage products and promotions with speed and ease.

- Streamlined Design & Photography: Standardized image sizes and a single theme meant the creative and photography teams cut their work time significantly.
Cart Drawer
Timeline: 1 month

Cart drawer with a gamified shipping bar

Cart - Before
Cart - After
Challenge

Pain point affecting a big % of cart abandonment

44% of customers say they will not return to a site if it has a poor checkout experience.

Reasons for cart abandonment include unexpected additional costs, and concerns about security, meaning we needed to add validation and reassurance to build trust with the user.

56% of online shoppers more likely to return to a site that offers product recommendations, and we didn’t have them.
Results

Conversion rate improved and cart abandonment lowered

With a hypothesis that these changes will improve our conversion rate, we asked ourselves:

- How do we build trust with the users?

- How do we gamify the free shipping threshold?

- How to integrate the upsells?

- How do we make the cart experience delightful?
Research

Doing research alongside: Deep Dive into Quantitative & Qualitative Data

The data oscillated from brand to brand, so the approach needed to be adapted, while the red connecting line also needed to be found, which was a big challenge.
Data-Driven Optimization
Used Clarity and GA4 to check mobile usage, cart drop-offs, top pages, user flows, and heatmaps.
Qualitative Insights
I made surveys and reviewed customer feedback to pinpoint website usability pain points.
Mobile Focus
Mobile usage was 60+%, the experience was mobile first and focused on shopping usability.
Acquisition & Demographics
US based, Millennial, most of users were new - we needed to explain well what the products were.
Brand Identity Reinforcement
For each brand we developed their own unique style, because each had their user audience.
Internal Feedback
I gathered user feedback from our customer service and social media teams, regarding websites usability.
Search
Timeline: 2 weeks

Search interaction Improvements

Default State - Before
Search Active State - Before
Default State - After
Search Active State - After
Challenge

The 4th most clicked item on site, but with very high % of drop-off and no result search

52% of users struggle with poor mobile search experiences.

41% of users miss relevant products due to lack of upsells in search. Not highlighting related products during search leads to missed sales opportunities.

47% of users leave sites due to slow search.
Delays in search results lead to frustration and drop-offs.
Results

Enhanced Search with the Mobile experience in focus

By streamlining:

- mobile search functionality,
- integrating upsells,
- and refining product recommendations,

Customers were able to find products faster and more efficiently, leading to improved user satisfaction and higher sales across all brands.
Try it on Live site
Filters
Timeline: 2 weeks

Filters and Redesign Boost Usability

I redesigned the collection page to enhance user experience, focusing on intuitive filter access and navigation.

By redesigning:
- the filters for easier access,
- introducing a horizontal collection menu,
- adding color filters,
- and refining price filters,
I streamlined the shopping process, making it more efficient and user-friendly.

These improvements led to better product discovery and increased user satisfaction.
Collection Page - New
Color Filter - New
Price Filter - New

Results

23%
Increased
Conversion rate
8%
Lowered Cart
Abandonment Rate

10%

Improved Customer
Satisfaction Score
Conclusion

Impact and Learnings

At Pattern Brands, I saw firsthand how design drives impact when rooted in real user needs. By leveraging user data and prioritizing consistency, we improved engagement, streamlined experiences, and boosted conversions across our brands.

Not every project made it to launch, but that, too, was a lesson—sharpening my skills in teamwork, communication, and strategic thinking in the fast-paced world of startups.

Next Case Study: Landing Pages Optimized for Conversion

A showcase of landing pages designed to boost engagement and conversions for various clients through thoughtful, data-driven design.
Next Case Study ↗

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