CSD Brands

Transforming three online experiences in one strategic project

Design Systems,
Shopify Migration,
Brand & Design Direction,
Shopify Strategic Advisory,
Growth Framework

Dramatic portrait of person with hands covering face on dark background

Website

Kiss Chasey and Nena and Pasadena, known to loyalists as KSCY and NXP, have shaped the Australian streetwear culture for the past decade. Today, the founding fashion house, CSD Brands, has grown to operate six labels and one multi-brand, in-store and online retail business, Neverland.

Following a new brand strategy, CSD Brands partnered with The Working Party to design and develop three distinct yet interconnected online stores.

For The Working Party, the pathway was clear: build a robust framework that lays the foundation for all CSD Brands' sites while allowing each brand's individuality to shine through.

By working to the more complex requirements of Neverland first, KSCY and NXP gained advanced performance functionality with minimal overlay – all the while simplifying site management for CSD Brand's team.

View Neverland, Kiss Chasey and Nena and Pasadena online stores now or keep reading to learn how.

One custom build, three design systems

Elevating brand identity through website design was central to this project. The strategic approach was to develop a a custom theme and three dedicated design systems to convey cohesion while amplifying each brand's unique personality.

The fundamental framework was built in line with Neverland's design system and extended UX requirements, including omni-channel integration, multi-level navigation, accessible size guides, and detailed product display pages.

Then, there was no need to start from scratch with KSCY and NXP. Instead, The Working Party infused the respective brands design systems into this new architecture by leveraging the codebase, interactivity, and customer journeys that were established in the Neverland build.

This streamlined project delivery in the short-term and enhanced customer experiences, brand identity and in-house team efficiency long into the future.

What is a design system?

A design system is an extension of a brand’s visual identity and guidelines that provides a comprehensive set of standards to all UI components, including buttons, typography, iconography.

Page load times decreased by 400%

CSD Brand’s new found speed extended beyond project delivery to one of the most often overlooked aspects of online experience: site speed.

Having passed through many hands over time, the codebase for Neverland, KSCY and NXP were riddled with temporary fixes, resulting in suboptimal loading times. By creating a technically-robust custom site, CSD Brand’s three websites saw impressive improvement across all three sites.

The specifics:

At launch, the new Neverland site loaded 4.8 times faster than its predecessor, taking 3 seconds compared to the previous 14.5 seconds. Remarkably, the new website loads 99% of the homepage within 1.8 seconds, while the old theme took 2.3 seconds to load a mere 5%.

Three people standing on a set of stairs with a metal fence in the background

Screenshot of Neverland's mobile product page feature blue t-shirt

Better product discovery through smarter tech

The group-wide approach also enabled UX improvements made to Neverland to be applied across all sites, with optimising product discovery a key focus.

Prior to the project, search functionality was underperforming and product pages failed to encourage further exploration of the sites. Not only did this hinder key metrics like Average Order Value (AOV) and Conversion Rate (CRO), but it didn’t align with the retail group’s strategic shift from product-centric shopping to campaign-led experiences.

The Working Party implemented product stitching to connect variants so alternative colours and washes viewed easily and introduced Shopify's native ‘Wear With’ to suggest complementary products in line with CSD's new strategy.

With a new codebase, Shopify’s native search was fast and accurate, eliminating the need for a third-party app.

That's not to say technology enhancements didn't play a crucial role. Integrations with Rebuy (cross-selling and product bundling), Foursixty (the shoppable Instagram app), and stockinstore (bridging online and offline shopping experiences) each contributed to a much-improved product discovery experience.

Partnering with The Working Party was exactly what CSD Brands needed in our brand refresh. The team took the time to understand our unique needs and business model. They crafted a tailored, group strategy that perfectly aligned with our shift towards brand individuality and campaign-led experiences. Thanks to their efforts, our customers now enjoy a faster, more engaging, and intuitive shopping experience across all our brands. We couldn't be happier with the results and look forward to a long-lasting partnership with the exceptional team.

Emma Lamkin

Head of Digital Marketing and eCommerce, CSD Brands

Services

Design and Creative