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Ibn Al-Nafis: herbal apothecary website

A 1948 apothecary, online.

Ibn Al-Nafis Herbs has weighed herbs by hand in Riyadh since 1948, and most herbal websites look nothing like that. The earlier version of its online store, which I designed, is live. This redesign, which I led with a designer who drew most of the screens, hasn't shipped yet.

Client: Ibn Al-Nafis Herbs, Riyadh
Role: Project lead
Scope: Home, shop, product pages, visual language
Status: Live (earlier version)

Don't lose 77 years on the way online.

The shop already had history, a famous district and a family recipe book. Most herbal websites look the same; this one couldn't.

Customers who already trust the shop.

People who know the name and want the same care online: where the herbs come from, how they're handled and who's behind them.

Borrowed from the room itself.

A pointed arch frames every photo, a soft geometric pattern sits behind dark sections, and headlines use Ruqaa calligraphy. Colours are olive, sand and paper, with one copper just for buying.

Proof it's real, on the first screen.

The home page opens with three facts, not adjectives: 77 years, 140 herbs, 4.9 from visitors. Then how the herbs are handled (shade-dried for seven days, weighed by hand) and the shop's real address.

Three details borrowed from the shop.

Most of the design came from the shop itself, not from other websites.

Borrow one form from the shop

A pointed arch frames the hero photo, crops every product and comes back as the footer's edge.

Copper only for buying

Olive, sand and paper make up the site. One copper is kept for buying, so the main action never competes.

Calligraphy and local numerals

Ruqaa calligraphy for the headlines and Arabic-Indic numerals throughout.

Where it stands.

Live earlier version: The first store I designed

The earlier version of the Ibn Al-Nafis online store is up and selling.

2025 redesign: Not shipped yet

This redesign is designed and reviewed but hasn't launched, so there are no numbers to show for it.

What I owned

Leading the project
The design direction, with the designer
Reviewing home, shop and product views

One shape did most of the work.

The arch frames the hero, the products and the footer. One borrowed form, repeated, kept the site consistent better than any component sheet did.