Leafwell
Built from zero into the largest virtual care clinic for medical cannabis in the US. Full brand identity, web platform, and mobile app.
The problem
Leafwell had nothing. No brand, no product, no market position. Just a bet that cannabis needed to be treated as medicine.
Outcomes
1M
500,000+
800+
My role
Lead Product Designer brand identity, UX strategy, flow definition, and UI across web and app, with direct ownership of design decisions
Scope
Brand identity · Design system · Marketing website · Mobile app · Content platform
Methods
User interviews and A/B test results fed directly into design decisions throughout
Key decisions
Defining a new visual language for medical cannabis
Every cannabis brand at the time used greens and leaf iconography aimed at recreational users. We made a deliberate break: a palette built around purple and clinical, trustworthy tones, closer to a healthcare or wellness brand than a dispensary. The goal was for a first-time, anxious, possibly older patient to feel like they were entering a doctor's office, not a cannabis shop
Designing the first-time flow as the product's most important moment
With users ranging widely in age but skewing 30+, many engaging with cannabis as medicine for the first time, the certification flow couldn't feel transactional or intimidating. We prioritised this experience above all else early on, clear steps, reassuring language, and a process that felt closer to a telehealth appointment than an online purchase.
Building retention through utility, not just content
A medical card, once obtained, doesn't need to be renewed for months, so the app needed reasons to stay relevant in between. We designed two systems for this: a partner store marketplace giving users in-app access to dispensary discounts, functioning closer to a delivery marketplace than a static directory, and a points-based loyalty system modelled on engagement mechanics, rewarding return visits and purchases rather than relying on the medical card alone to bring people back.
Treating content as core product, not marketing filler
For a category with widespread misinformation and legal complexity varying state by state, trustworthy content was a product requirement, not a blog. We designed the content hub with clear hierarchy between legal, medical, and lifestyle information, built to be scannable and credible rather than SEO filler. This reinforced the "source of truth" positioning at a product level, not just a brand level.
The website work was eventually handed off and changed direction after my involvement ended
The website work was eventually handed off and changed direction after my involvement ended. a reminder that design systems and decisions only hold if there's ownership to protect them after launch. Where I had the most lasting impact was the brand, where the original thinking remained intact and continued to compound, I would manly liked to have created more documentation for a better handoff that was tied with the results we had.