[Design] Audit current theme and define premium direction

[hta218]

Context

We want Naturélle to become product-ready and premium-feel, so customers can confidently choose it as a real storefront theme instead of treating it as an outdated starter/demo.

This is the first design task for the theme refresh. The output will guide later visual design, section design, dev implementation, and documentation tasks.

Goal

Audit the current Naturélle theme and define a clear premium design direction for a beauty / wellness / skincare / organic premium commerce storefront.

Scope

1. Current theme audit

Review the current theme and identify what feels outdated or not production-ready:

• Homepage structure and visual hierarchy
• Header/navigation and footer
• Collection page and product cards
• Product page / PDP
• Cart/search UX if available
• Typography, spacing, color usage, image treatment
• Mobile responsiveness and mobile shopping UX
• Missing trust/conversion sections
• Missing app/integration surfaces
• Any areas that feel too generic, starter-like, or not premium enough

2. Premium reference research

Use these Shopify Theme Store references as a starting point, then add 3–5 more references that better match Naturélle's positioning:

• Epitome — premium fashion/editorial reference: https://themes.shopify.com/themes/epitome
• Impression — polished product storytelling and premium layouts: https://themes.shopify.com/themes/impression
• Vows — refined visual system and conversion-focused ecommerce UX: https://themes.shopify.com/themes/vows
• Zenith / Escapism — premium immersive visual direction: https://themes.shopify.com/themes/zenith/presets/escapism
• Eurus / Arise — mature commerce feature coverage and high-quality UX: https://themes.shopify.com/themes/eurus/presets/arise

Prioritize additional references from beauty, skincare, wellness, organic, and clean lifestyle brands.

For each reference, capture:

• What works well
• Which page/section patterns are relevant
• Which visual ideas can inspire Naturélle
• What should not be copied

3. Theme positioning

Define the intended direction for Naturélle:

• Target merchant/brand type
• Visual personality
• Key shopping experience
• Recommended homepage narrative
• Recommended core pages to redesign first
• What should make this theme different from Pilot, Maison, and Aspen

Focus area: soft premium beauty UX, ingredient/routine storytelling, trust/reviews/subscription-ready PDP.

4. Integration/app UX research

Research these common 3rd-party app categories and identify where their UI should appear in the theme:

• Reviews: Judge.me, Yotpo, Okendo, Loox
• Subscriptions: Recharge, Skio, Appstle
• Email/SMS + back-in-stock: Klaviyo, Attentive
• Wishlist: Wishlist Plus or similar wishlist apps
• Loyalty/referral: Smile, LoyaltyLion, Yotpo Loyalty
• Search/filter/merchandising: Shopify Search & Discovery, Algolia, Klevu, Boost
• Analytics/pixels: GA4, Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, Triple Whale/Northbeam-style tracking

For each relevant app/category, note:

• Where it should appear in the theme UX
• What the connected state should look like
• What the empty/unconnected fallback should look like
• Any design requirements for later docs/dev handoff

Deliverables

• Audit notes covering current design/UX issues
• Reference board with at least 5 Shopify Theme Store references + 3–5 additional relevant references
• Proposed premium positioning for Naturélle
• Priority list of pages/sections to redesign
• Initial integration/app placement map
• Notes for dev/docs handoff

Figma is preferred for visual references and annotations. A short written summary in the issue comment is also required.

Non-goals

• Do not implement code in this task.
• Do not finalize all detailed page designs here; this task defines direction and priorities.
• Do not copy another theme's design directly.

Acceptance criteria

• Current theme audit is completed with clear problems and opportunities.
• At least 5 premium Shopify Theme Store references are reviewed.
• At least 3–5 extra brand/theme references are added.
• Naturélle positioning is clearly defined.
• Key redesign priorities are listed.
• 3rd-party app/integration surfaces are researched and mapped.
• Figma/reference board link is added to this issue.
• A concise summary is posted as an issue comment for review.

Reviewer

Leo will review the audit and direction before follow-up design tasks move forward.

[mira-weaverse]

Daily GitHub triage: @imsinhp, this issue has had no update for 44 days and missed the milestone July-2026 on 2026-07-31. This matters now because the unresolved '[Design] Audit current theme and define premium direction' work can affect production reliability. Please share the current status, blocker, or PR link and confirm the next delivery step.

[mira-weaverse]

@imsinhp this Naturelle audit and premium-direction work has had no update for 7 days, and the July-2026 milestone deadline of 2026-08-07 has been missed. This is the dependency for the visual system, page redesigns, integration research, and development plan, so the missing audit and reference-board handoff now puts the whole theme refresh sequence at risk.

Please share the current Figma/reference-board status, Leo review status, any blocker, and the handoff link or next concrete delivery date.