Co-op Funeralcare aimed to relaunch their website with the goal of providing a simpler, more intuitive experience for those facing the loss of a loved one. With a strong emphasis on empathy, the redesign sought to create a sensitive and supportive digital environment for users during an incredibly difficult time. The website had to not only offer clear access to funeral planning services but also communicate warmth, understanding, and approachability.
One of the key challenges was ensuring that the website could facilitate difficult, often uncomfortable conversations around death and funeral planning. In 2020, research revealed that only 9% of people aged 50 and over had a funeral plan in place, with many adults hesitant to discuss their funeral wishes. The challenge was to build a site that could gently guide users through this sensitive process, while making it feel safe, supportive, and easy to engage with. Additionally, a large part of the project involved creating a funeral plan builder—a flexible tool that allowed users to personalise their plans in a way that felt appropriate to their needs.
Challenges Design elements, such as colour palette, iconography, and layout, needed to ensure the experience was comforting, with the design language reflecting empathy. The project was fast-paced, requiring quick iterations while staying true to the emotional tone needed for the project.
Insight & solution
Our research revealed that the act of planning a funeral is often a private and emotional process, with many people avoiding it due to the difficulty of broaching the topic. We knew that the design had to facilitate an emotional journey, using both visual and functional elements to guide users without overwhelming them.
The solution was to create a website that balanced functionality with sensitivity. We chose a soft, muted colour palette, incorporating calming tones and gentle shapes to evoke a sense of warmth and support. The funeral plan builder was designed as an intuitive wizard, allowing users to choose how much detail to include in their plans, from simple options to fully personalised ones. The design needed to be clear, easy to navigate, and above all, comforting. This approach helped users feel in control of the process, while also making the subject matter less daunting.
Key deliverables
We delivered a full-scale, responsive atomic design system in Figma, complete with page templates for future scalability. Alongside this, we provided detailed guidelines for using the design system, ensuring consistency across all aspects of the website. We also developed art direction guidelines for the photography of ecommerce items such as coffins, urns, and flowers, ensuring they were presented in a way that was respectful and aligned with the tone of the site.
Additionally, we created UI screen designs and the corresponding UX designs, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience. We performed user research, conducting around 20 user interviews to understand both the current journey and reactions to the design prototype. Their feedback was invaluable, allowing us to adapt our approach and refine the design as we went along. This iterative process ensured that the final product was aligned with user needs and expectations.
Impact The redesigned website allowed Co-op Funeralcare to create an accessible and emotionally supportive experience for users, helping them through a sensitive and challenging time. By focusing on empathy and user-centric design, we helped the brand position itself as a compassionate, trustworthy partner during a difficult process. The funeral plan builder, while not included in the final version, was a key element that demonstrated Co-op’s forward-thinking approach to meeting customer needs with flexibility and sensitivity. The new site reinforced the Co-op brand’s core values of approachability, care, and trust, making a difficult topic more manageable for users to navigate.
