Overview
Role: Product Designer, Art Director, UX/UI Designer, Prototype Developer
Client: Emerald Exchange (EMEX)
Platform: Interactive Web App (Prototype)
Tools: Adobe XD, Protopie, Miro, Photoshop, Illustrator
Client: Emerald Exchange (EMEX)
Platform: Interactive Web App (Prototype)
Tools: Adobe XD, Protopie, Miro, Photoshop, Illustrator
Emerald Exchange is on a mission to elevate the cannabis industry by supporting small-batch, organic, regenerative farms—offering an alternative to mass-produced, corporate cannabis. Their original concept was a hybrid farmer’s market + music festival with in-person events featuring yoga, sound baths, and talks on cannabis culture and science.
As the brand evolved toward a digital platform, I was brought on to design a virtual experience that maintains the heart of the live events: education, community, and discovery
The Challenge
Design an interactive digital platform that:
• Feels like exploring a real-life festival or farmer’s market
• Tells the stories of small-batch cannabis farms through immersive video
• Offers a premium, Whole-Foods-style shopping experience—distinct from the typical “get high fast” branding of other platform
• Combines e-commerce, education, and event vibes in a cohesive UX
Video Walkthrough of Prototype
🔍 Discovery & Strategy
I led virtual workshops with them using Miro to define:
• Key user personas (conscious shoppers, wellness-curious, lifestyle enthusiasts)
• Product requirements and user flows
• Prioritized features for the MVP
We mapped a journey where users could:
• Explore interactive maps with clickable booths
• Emulate the experience of visiting a farmer in-person: being greeted (via a booth video), perusing their products in-person (adding a "Magnifying Glass" section and incorporate smell notes)
🎨 Visual & UX Design
Art Direction
The aesthetic needed to reflect the warmth and intention of a rustic, boutique festival. I developed a visual language that felt organic yet elevated—green earthy tones, hand-drawn illustrations, and organic textures.
The aesthetic needed to reflect the warmth and intention of a rustic, boutique festival. I developed a visual language that felt organic yet elevated—green earthy tones, hand-drawn illustrations, and organic textures.
UI/UX Design
I designed the app using Adobe XD, focusing on:
I designed the app using Adobe XD, focusing on:
Spatial navigation via map-based exploration
Seamless video integration to bring farmers’ stories to life
A calming, intuitive layout for browsing and learning
UI components that supported educational modules and event discovery
Prototyping
We needed a tool that could support full-screen embedded video. I chose Protopie to rig and animate the prototype, embedding custom video content for each digital farm booth.
We needed a tool that could support full-screen embedded video. I chose Protopie to rig and animate the prototype, embedding custom video content for each digital farm booth.
🎥 Featured Interaction: Farmer Video Tours
One of the most important features was the ability for users to meet each farmer through embedded video tours—walking the land, showcasing wares, and sharing growing practices.
Protopie was essential—it’s one of the only prototyping tools that allowed for seamless video playback within a working prototype, which made the vision come alive during stakeholder reviews.
📈 Results & Takeaways
• Delivered a high-fidelity prototype that guided the team’s next phase of development
• Helped align a cross-functional team (brand, event, and product stakeholders) around a new digital vision
• Created a reusable design system for future feature expansion
• Reinforced my belief in combining systems thinking + storytelling for meaningful user experiences
👩🎨 What I Enjoyed About This Project
This project merged my passions for:
• Supporting ethical, small-scale businesses
• Designing user experiences that are immersive and emotionally engaging
• Able to wear my artistic and illustrator hat to produce beautiful and unique video-game-like interactive visual environments
It’s a great example of product thinking applied to a mission-driven lifestyle brand, where user experience directly supports sustainability, community, and conscious commerce.