"A beautiful site for a perfect cup of tea." —juror Kevin Flatt
"Very clean, very simple. Teaosophy takes a daunting number of products and provides a clear path through them, while providing one of the most elegant and usable shopping cart interfaces in the competition." —juror Jeffrey Veen
Overview: This site captures Teosophy's passion for the tea experience by mingling informative anecdotes with a clean and unique design. Surprisingly deep in content, it gives visitors plenty of information to help them make a purchase they won't regret.
• .Net structure with 1,761 files and 139 folders
• 4-level information hierarchy
• 3.5-month development time
• Content management system
Comments by Greg Nations:
"During our initial meeting with Teaosophy, it became clear that they weren't just another tea producer. They looked different, they sounded different, they had a story to tell and they had a unique way of respecting their products. For a creative agency like POP, Teaosophy's passion inspired us to create an online experience that would connect emotionally with their customers.
"Tea drinking is ritualistic, rejuvenating and inspires reflection. We wanted to capture that moment when someone is looking through the window on a sunny Saturday morning, perhaps sitting in a comfortable leather chair and enjoying the view, with a cup of tea sitting on a nearby table. We wanted to capture not just the look, but the atmosphere. From a visual design perspective we knew that creating an immersive and subtle experience was the best way to communicate the importance of tea to this audience.
"However, in addition to the visual experience, the business goal was to market and sell Teaosophy's products. We didn't want to drop customers from serenity into a dissimilar, unemotional purchase path. So our designers, information architects and technical developers strategized ways to combine the visual design with an intricate and robust e-commerce solution. The result? Throughout the shopping process, customers remain comfortable and interested in experiencing more of the brand.
"We feel fortunate to have worked with a client with a deep belief in the power of their product and the willingness to take the extra time to accurately express it through an online presence."