DIETÉTICA LIBRA
Creating a website for a small local natural products store based in Barcelona
A website designed for the new generations of natural products costumers, mantaining its local essence.
YEAR
DURATION
ROLE
2025
8 weeks
UX/UI Designer
THE PROBLEM
Dietética Libra relied mainly on local senior customers visiting the physical store and lacked digital presence, limiting access to services and product information and reducing its visibility among younger audiences.
THE SOLUTION
A clear, trustworthy digital experience for Dietética Libra, designed to improve access, increase visibility and support the digital evolution of a small local business.
CONTEXT
Understanding The Context Behind The Experience
LITERATURE REVIEW INSIGHTS
NATURAL THERAPIES REFLECT A GROWING DEMAND FOR HOLISTIC WELLBEING
Interest in natural therapies reflects a desire for more holistic and human approaches to wellbeing, as well as greater control and autonomy in the healing process, but it also requires clear communication, proper regulation and stronger evidence to avoid ambiguity, risk and unrealistic expectations.
Chafloque Capuñay et al. (2025); Iglesias Ruisánchez et al. (2021); Orrego-Orozco et al. (2025); Mamud-Meroni et al. (2025)
TOWARDS MORE PLANT-BASED, SUSTAINABLE AND CONSCIOUS FOOD CHOICES
Food-related decisions are increasingly shaped by health and sustainability concerns, with younger audiences showing a growing preference for plant-based choices as part of a broader shift in values and a conscious lifestyle.
AESAN (2022); Gasa Gasó (2020)
SUSTAINABILITY DRIVES VALUE IN SPECIALISED NATURAL RETAIL
In specialised natural retail, purchase motivation is shaped not only by health benefits, but also by stronger sensitivity to sustainability-related messages, product origin and brand values.
Madureira et al. (2025)
WEBSITES REMAIN THE MAIN DIGITAL PLATFORM FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
For small businesses, the website remains the primary digital touchpoint through which users discover, understand and interact with the business. Ciao.
Morales-Zambrano et al. (2025)
HEALTH, QUALITY AND SUSTAINABILITY DRIVE PURCHASE DECISIONS
Purchase decisions in the natural sector are shaped not only by the product itself, but also by values and perceived benefits related to health, quality of life, freshness, food safety, absence of chemicals, and growing concern for sustainability.
Marín-Dueñas et al. (2022); Pérez-Hierro Pérez (2025)
HEALTHY EATING IS OFTEN SHAPED BY CONFUSION, MISINFORMATION AND ACCESS BARRIERS
Growing interest in healthy and eco-friendly products is often shaped by misinformation, reliance on family, friends or internet sources that are not always verified, unclear nutrition-related terminology, high product prices, limited access to certain products, and low nutrition literacy, making nutrition facts and product information harder to understand.
Palafox-Carlos et al. (2022); Reyes & Almeida (2024); Tovar (2023); Larraz Jordán (2022); Klink et al. (2025)
RESEARCH
Understanding Business Goals and Customer Needs
STAKEHOLDER AND USER INTERVIEWS
INTERVIEWS OBJECTIVES
- Understand Dietética Libra from the inside: including its story, values, offer, day-to-day operations and internal needs as a small natural products store.
- Understand what users need, expect and value: including the information, services and type of experience they would find useful in a future website.
- Assess attitudes towards digitalisation: Explore whether both the business team and target users see digitalisation as relevant, useful and desirable, and identify how a website could support those expectations.
GROUP #1: DIETÉTICA LIBRA STAFF
Business owner and part-time staff member.
GROUP #2: COSTUMERS
Regular customers of all genders aged 45–75 who are interested in natural health, value local and close service, and fit the store’s target audience.
INTERVIEWS INSIGHTS: What The Business and Users Really Want
I conducted two interviews with Dietética Libra staff and five user interviews, both in person and by phone, to understand business needs, user expectations and interest in a future website.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE DIETÉTICA LIBRA STAFF
Dietética Libra is shaped by human connection, personalised guidance and close customer relationships, making it feel less like a retail space and more like a trusted neighbourhood business.
Specialised services are a core part of the business value, combining products, expert guidance and personalised care in a way that helps Dietética Libra stand out and remain sustainable as a small company.
A website is seen as valuable only if it is useful, easy to maintain and aligned with the store’s real capacities, supporting clearer communication, greater visibility and sustainable day-to-day use.
“Personalized service it’s key. This isn’t a supermarket. Some people also come to talk. They feel listened to. Small businesses have always been more human.”
– Kornelia (Part-time worker)
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE COSTUMERS
Customers value Dietética Libra as a trusted space, where personalised attention, active listening and professional guidance make the experience feel closer and more reassuring than other retail environments.
Strong interest in natural health is showed by the costumers, even often searching for information online, but they still rely on trusted in-store guidance to validate products, recommendations and decisions.
A website is seen as useful mainly as an information and support tool, rather than as a primary buying channel, with stronger interest in product information, services and appointments than in online checkout itself.
“On the internet you miss the human side: someone who explains things well, guides you or even recommends something better.”
– Nancy (Participant 5)
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
EVALUATING THE COMPETITION
To understand how similar businesses build their digital presence, a competitive analysis was conducted across four websites in the natural health and dietetics sector. Two were selected as established references in Barcelona, while the other two were chosen for their proximity and similarity to Dietética Libra as local businesses in Esplugues de Llobregat.
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear brand identity | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Local / family identity | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ |
| Product catalogue | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Specialised services | ✓ | × | ✓ | ✓ |
| Visual dynamism | × | ✓ | × | × |
| Filters | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Product pages | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Online shopping | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Content blog | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
| Cross-selling | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | × |
Overall, the comparison revealed T stronger competitors combine clear brand identity, e-commerce, informative product pages, content and specialised services, while smaller local businesses stand out through proximity, familiarity and local identity. These findings helped define which features could be most relevant for Dietética Libra’s future website.
SWOT ANALYSIS
COMPREHENDING THE BUSINESS FROM THE INSIDE
A SWOT analysis helps identify what Dietética Libra does well, where it struggles, which external opportunities it can take advantage of, and which risks may affect its growth or continuity.
Strengths
- Personalised service as a core value.
- Over 40 years of local presence.
- Strong reputation and loyal customer base.
- Specialised services add expert value.
- High-quality products at competitive prices.
Weaknesses
- Limited online visibility.
- Small team working part-time.
- Limited time and digital knowledge.
- Ageing loyal customer base.
- Small physical store.
Opportunities
- A website as a digital showcase.
- Younger audiences through content and social media.
- Bundles and seasonal promotions.
- Local collaborations for trust and visibility.
- Social media to strengthen loyalty.
Threats
- Shift towards online purchasing.
- Lower prices in pharmacies and supermarkets.
- New physical and e-commerce competitors.
- Economic crises affecting the sector.
- Information saturation in natural health.
Overall, the SWOT shows that Dietética Libra’s strongest assets are its personalised service, local trust and specialised value, while its main challenge lies in adapting to a current more digital and competitive environment.
DEFINE
Humanising Research Through a User Persona
USER PERSONA
MEET OUR USER: ISABEL!
The user persona turns research into a relatable profile that helps guide design decisions through real needs, behaviours and expectations.
About
Isabel lives with her husband and cares about staying healthy, but prefers not to rely on medication all the time. She regularly visits local herbal shops, uses natural products in her daily life and is becoming increasingly interested in alternative therapies.
Goals
- Find natural products at a good price.
- Learn more about natural therapies before making decisions.
- Feel reassured before buying or booking anything.
Behaviours
- Searches Google on her phone when she feels unwell or wants to learn more.
- Reads articles and recommendations before visiting the store.
- May contact the store via WhatsApp or phone if something interests her.
Needs
- Clear product descriptions and health-related content.
- Easy access to categories, search and WhatsApp contact.
- Enough trust and clarity before taking action.
Motivations
Isabel represents Dietética Libra’s main target audience: adults aged 45–75 who care about health and natural wellbeing, value local and trusted service, and are gradually becoming more comfortable using digital channels to inform themselves before making decisions.
IDEATION
Turning User Needs Into Content Structure
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
CONVENT INVENTORY AND CARD SORTING: Shaping The Material
Once the user profile was defined, the next step was to explore how the website content could be structured in a clear and useful way. I began by creating a content inventory: an initial proposal for the site’s navigation, core sections and key functionality, informed by business needs, user expectations and competitor references.
This structure was not treated as final. To test whether it felt logical and understandable, I validated it through a card sorting exercise with potential users. This made it possible to see how participants grouped information, which content they associated more naturally and where the structure could be improved.
These findings helped refine the information architecture and provided a stronger foundation for the next design decisions.
SITEMAP AND USERFLOWS
Once the initial content proposal had been tested, the next step was to build a sitemap that provided a clear representation of the future website’s structure, organising Dietética Libra’s main sections into a more hierarchical system.
The sitemap helped shape a structure that could reflect user expectations while remaining realistic for a small business to manage.
Based on insights from the card sorting exercise, interviews and competitive analysis, several adjustments were made, including removing ambiguous concepts, regrouping sections and simplifying navigation paths to improve clarity.
The result was a clearer, more coherent structure aligned with both user behaviour and business priorities, providing a solid foundation for the user flows developed next.
After defining the sitemap, I mapped two key user flows to test how people would move through the site to complete common tasks.
The flows focused on two realistic goals drawn from the research: reserving a natural product and booking an appointment with the dietitian. This helped validate whether the proposed structure supported clear navigation, meaningful decision points and more than one path to success.
These journeys became a practical bridge between site architecture and wireframing.
Flow 1 explored how a user could find and reserve a natural product for better sleep, either through product navigation or internal search.
Flow 2 focused on booking an appointment with the dietitian, validating both direct access from the homepage and alternative routes through services or search.
Together, these flows helped confirm the core navigation logic, providing a stronger foundation for the wireframes that came next.
DESIGN
Wireframing a Clearer Digital Experience
PROTOTYPING
WIREFRAMES
With the information architecture in place, I translated the site structure into mid-fidelity wireframes in Figma, focusing on the homepage, product pages, services, brands and key informational sections.
At this stage, the priority was not visual polish, but clarity. The wireframes helped define how users would move through products, services and content in a way that felt intuitive, trustworthy and easy to follow.
The main design decisions focused on:
- Simplifying navigation across categories and subcategories
- Giving specialised services stronger visibility
- Supporting trust through clear informational pages
- Including search and favourites to improve flexibility and ease of use
These wireframes created the first tangible version of the experience and established the structural foundation for the final interface design.
VISUAL LANGUAGE
The next challenge was to create a visual language connected to nature and wellbeing without making the interface feel overloaded, overly decorative or difficult to navigate.
To achieve that, I focused on four areas:
- A green-based palette to reflect wellbeing, nature and familiarity
- A consistent typographic system using Poppins for clarity and accessibility
- A simple brand identity through the logo and representative imagery
- A clearer UI system built through buttons, navigation and interactive controls
By combining stronger and softer greens with neutral backgrounds, the interface gained emphasis and depth while remaining clear and easy to scan. Together with a consistent typographic system, these decisions helped translate Dietética Libra’s values into a cleaner, more cohesive and trustworthy digital presence.
EVALUATION & ITERATION
Refining The Experience Through Iteration
EVALUATION
To review the redesign more critically, I looked for opportunities to make the experience clearer, more accessible and easier to use. Rather than changing the core structure, these refinements focused on improving interaction across key parts of the site.
EVALUATION OBJECTIVES
- Review the accessibility and usability of the interface for Dietética Libra’s target audience
- Evaluate whether the website structure and interface feel clear and easy to understand
- Assess how well the experience supports navigation, exploration and key user tasks
EVALUATION RESULTS
Clearer Entry Points From The Homepage
- Issue: Key destinations were available, but the homepage offered limited direct paths into products, services and content.
- Final Iteration: Added entry buttons such as Find your product, All our services and More blog articles to create clearer pathways into the site and support exploration without making the page feel overloaded.
A More Realistic Brands Layout
- Issue: The initial layout led to excessive vertical scrolling and felt closer to a much larger catalogue than to Dietética Libra’s actual scale.
- Final Iteration: Reorganised the Brands page into two columns for a more balanced and scan-friendly structure, making the page feel more realistic, ordered and easier to browse.
More Useful Actions In Favourites
- Issue: The favourites page stored products, but offered limited next steps once users had saved them.
- Final Iteration: Added Reserve all via WhatsApp, Delete all and Continue browsing to make the section more practical and create a smoother transition between saving products and taking action.
A More Understandable Search Experience
- Issue: The search tool needed a clearer cue to communicate how users could interact with it.
- Final Iteration: Added a visible example query directly in the search interface to make the feature easier to understand at first glance and support more confident product discovery.
Improved Readability On The Product Page
- Issue: Key content tabs on the product page were visually small, which reduced readability for older users.
- Final Iteration: Enlarged the tabs for Description, Benefits and Reviews to improve visibility and make core information easier to scan and compare.
FINAL DESIGN
Bringing The Final Interface To Life
FINAL THOUGHTS & REFLECTIONS
What I Learned, What Was Missing, What Comes Next
What I’ve Learned: This project reinforced how important it is to balance user needs with the real conditions of a small business. Designing for Dietética Libra was not just about creating a more polished interface, but about translating trust, clarity and personalised service into a digital experience that felt both useful for users and realistic for the business to maintain. It also reminded me that strong UX often comes from simplifying structure, clarifying navigation and making the right actions easier to find, rather than adding more features.
Limitations: One of the main limitations of this project was the lack of usability testing with real users. While the prototype was informed by interviews, competitive analysis, information architecture methods and iterative design decisions, it was not validated through direct task-based testing. The project also remained at prototype level, which means the proposed experience was shaped under realistic assumptions, but not yet tested in a live environment with real content management, technical constraints or day-to-day business use.
Future Improvements: With more time, the next step would be to test the prototype with representative users to evaluate navigation clarity, accessibility and key tasks such as finding products, using search and booking appointments. That feedback would help refine the interface further and prioritise the most valuable improvements before implementation. From there, the project could evolve into a fully developed website capable of strengthening Dietética Libra’s digital presence in a way that supports both users and the long-term needs of the business.