ARIA HAIR RITUAL SALON
From brand strategy to live website. A complete identity for a hair ritual salon in Sardinia
A complete project: UX research, brand identity, wireframes, high-fidelity design, copywriting, and a live bilingual website, built around one strategic question: what does it feel like to arrive, before you arrive?
My Role
Tools
Team
Project Type
UX strategy · Web presence ·Service design · Brand identity
UX Designer · Brand Designer Copywriter
Figma, Figma Make,
Illustrator, WordPress
Solo
THE CHALLENGE
A category that fails its most valuable customer
Traditional hair salons are often built around technical outcomes, not human experience - rushed, transactional and overstimulating. For professionals who value intentionality and subtle quality, the category has nothing to offer.
Aria's founder had a different vision: a salon rooted in ritual, calm and genuine care. He needed a digital presence that could communicate that vision to the right person before they ever walked through the door.
USERS
Two archetypes, one primary focus
The project defined two user archetypes through research. The strategic decision was to design primarily for the Conscious Professional - the long-term revenue driver - at a level of refinement that still serves the secondary user naturally.
The Conscious Professional
Local. Arrives via trusted recommendation. High mental load, scarce time, high expectations. Uses the website as a trust confirmation tool.
Needs calm, restraint, and atmosphere, as well as reliable clear information.
The Experiential Explorer
International traveller on the island. Discovers via online search. Needs the site to carry the full weight of discovery, storytelling, and trust, with no prior relationship with the salon.
PROBLEM OVERVIEW
What the user actually needs, and the market ignores
The research phase mapped the core tension clearly. The primary user — a busy professional with high mental load and scarce time is looking for a trustworthy hair salon, a space of relax and inner care that works as a passage from working time to personal time.
Painpoint #1
Loud, rushed environments that increase rather than reduce stimulation
Painpoint #3
Generic "wellness" language that feels promotional, not genuine
Painpoint #2
Transactional services with no sense of intention
Painpoint #4
No coherence between the digital promise and the physical experience
MAIN SOLUTION
A brand world that begins at the first click
Every visual decision traced back to the archetype and was tested ahead in the design process.
The website was designed as the first touchpoint in a longer service journey, always considering what the user would expect when they walked through the door.
I used AI Figma Make to rapidly generate mid-fidelity structural layouts for testing prototypes, allowing me to validate information architecture and navigation before investing in high fidelity visual design.
The site was then built in full Figma high fidelity and launched as a live bilingual experience.
The website had to feel like a quiet room, not a marketplace. Low cognitive load, restrained language, generous space.
The user should feel the atmosphere before she books.
WHAT TESTING REVEALED
Early testing findings and validation
The first prototype included a pre-page that let users choose between a music or silent experience, designed to set the salon's atmosphere before the homepage loaded.
It felt aligned with the brand's calm, ritualistic identity, and was supported by benchmarking: several competitors were using this same pattern.
We tested it with 5 users. The results told a different story.
Users were confused by not having direct access to the homepage. On mobile, they worried the site would start playing music in inconvenient surroundings, and the mute option wasn't fast enough to feel safe.
What was designed as a welcoming gesture became a barrier.
The pre-page was removed entirely. This decision reshaped the homepage to carry the atmospheric weight on its own, through pacing, imagery, and copy rather than a separate introductory layer.
BUSINESS FOCUS
Designed to convert, not just to inspire
The main question was how do we reach this customer and retain them.
Services were divided into two distinct categories, essential salon treatments and relaxation rituals, with a connected navigation that allows users to move between them naturally, and the client to upsell strategically.
It was important to find a balance between introducing the user to the relaxation rituals, without overselling.
Service Design
Two clear tiers: essential salon + relaxation rituals. Distinct but connected. Users can move between them fluidly.
Strategic CTAs
Early CTAs placed in the user journey. Preferred and suggested service labels guide decision-making without pressure.
Upsell by design
"Add a ritual to your service" redirection button - surfaces higher-value offerings at the natural moment of decision.
Service cards
Icon-led cards with keywords summarise each service at a glance, reducing cognitive load and increasing booking confidence. Suggested services are highlighted.
Booking flow
Clear, frictionless path from discovery to booking, designed for a smooth user journey.
DESIGN DECISIONS
Precise and clean design
AI-assisted mid-fidelity testing allowed early validation, discarding what didn't work before committing to high-fidelity. Design rooted in two principles: sensation and clarity.
Colors
Olive, sand beige, and cream. Grounded tones connected to nature, designed to lower visual energy and promote relaxation
Typography
Two typefaces, used with restraint, one for presence, one for clarity.
Spacing
Generous white space throughout, creating a sense of breathing room and quiet contemplation.
Editorial photos
Carefully selected editorial-style photography. Diverse, mood-driven, light. Casual beauty over posed perfection.
Card Layout
Adaptable, icon-led cards with considered copy, balancing grounded information and ritual feeling across every service.
Responsiveness
Mobile version was carefully crafted. Horizontal scrolling over vertical stacking, adapted typography, simplified photography positioning to preserve white space on smaller screens.
Accessibility
WCAG-compliant. Alternative tones were derived from the core palette to ensure contrast and readability across all text.
DELIVERABLE
Every touchpoint.
Brand Identity
Logo, palette, typography, visual language, tone of voice
Wireframe delivery
Working on wireframes allowed a smooth communication with client about structure and iterations, before talking about colors and typography.
UX research & strategy
Archetype definition, touchpoint mapping, UX principles
Copywriting
Full site copy in Italian and English, rooted in archetype tone. Italian and English content differs in length and tone - this affected layout decisions (flexible containers, text hierarchy adjustments, cultural nuance in CTAs).
High-fidelity design
Full 5-page Figma design, with great attention for details.
Web design & responsiveness
Desktop and mobile-friendly.
FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS
Next phase
Ready to launch
The website is built and ready for launch. Once live, we'll be tracking first-time booking requests from the website, traffic from organic search and user drop-off before the booking step.
Booking system
Cost-benefit evaluation underway for a direct in-site booking flow.
On-site photography
Bespoke salon photography to personalize the service offer.