Drinkable
Drinkable
At-home food and drink preparation boomed across the country during 2020 caused by COVID-19 social restrictions and restaurant/cafe closures. While most businesses have reopened, food and drink consumption at restaurants/cafes have not fully returned to pre-pandemic levels leading many to believe people are still making their own creations at home.
Since the start of COVID-19 more users prefer to make beverages at home and would like a way to connect to other users and find recipes to make their favorite drinks at home.
Problem
My Role
UX Researcher, UI/UX Designer
Duration
80 Hours
Prototype (Will open in a separate figma tab)
01 Research
02 Define
03 Design
04 Test
05 Conclusion
01 Research
Methodology
Competitive Analysis
Compared 4 beverage related apps and their strengths and weaknesses
Other recipe based apps for certain categories of beverages (coffee, cocktails etc) had outdated or cluttered UI making the apps unappealing to users
I realized my research would benefit if applied to a larger scale. I developed a survey comprised of 8 questions pertaining to current beverage consumption and habits. I also asked users about the impact COVID-19 and how it has since effected their lives. . I sent out the survey on several different platforms. I had gathered about 10 responses before posting on reddit survey channels targeting users drinking beverages throughout the day which brought the total to 22 participants. Ages ranged 18-50+
Survey
During the polling process, I saw the opportunity to update choices for the users in order to make the survey more user friendly and have summarized results beflow:32% preferred making own beverages
36% preferred buying beverages
Remaining users had no preference
When asked how drinking habits/consumption has changed:
Key Insights from Survey Results
Cost and the quality of taste are the most influential barriers for users when deciding to make their own drink or buy.
Time, energy levels and having the necessary ingredients are other factors for users when making a decision for their beverage.
More users are working from home, going out less following the pandemic.
Users are making more beverages at home and forgoing an outside source for their beverages.
I conducted 3 telephone user interviews. The age range of 26-63 gave a glimpse how beverage consumption habits and COVID-19 has effected people at different stages of life. For example, one user had retired in the last couple of years and other users were post college <5 years focused on expanding and building their career.
User interviews
Users want their food and drinks to taste good
Users want to prepare food and drink in a time effecient manner allowing more time for other tasks
Users want to try new things (food/drink) in social settings that they normally do not have during their daily routine
Goals
Take care of their bodies
Find a new routine if their previous routine was interrupted with COVID-19
Connect with others (friends/family) and meet new people
Motivations
Cost is the biggest barrier for beverage consumption for user
After the pandemic, users are figuring out their new normal
Users are pushed to make their own beverages while they would rather be due to obstacles
Pain Points
Key Insights
Most users are continuing to adapt to a new way of life since the start of the pandemic in many different ways
User use many different resources for finding new recipes for food and drinks
How might we ?’s
How might we help users reconnect with others in a social environment as life begins to go back to ‘normal’?
How might we help users efficiently search for and broaden their knowledge for creating beverages at home?
02 Define
Key Features start off the brainstorming process, narrowing down valuable elements in the design to users and align with business goals. Some compelling features included ‘Pick your machine’, drink quiz, and drink of the day.
Personas, key features along with previous competitor’s designs created a foundation for the rest of the design process in the form of the site map. Click the link below to view sitemap (will be redirected in a separate figma tab).
With MVP in mind 3 main User flows were focused on
User signs up for an account
User completes preference quiz
User searches for and view a recipe page
Click the link below to view user/task flows (will open in separate tab).
Task flows were also created to confirm pathways created in the user flows above.
03 Design
Sketching played a vital role in the design process, getting all potential screens and variations on paper streamlined the wireframing process
Once Mid fidelity wireframes were started and a general idea of the key screens needed for the MVP were created in figma, brand identity and UI features were the next step.
Logo Sketch
Wanted to incorporated brand values such as sophistication, refined into the logo.
Logo Sketch in Figma
Final Logo
A general direction was created in a component library with several choices that would be used in the high fidelity wireframes and based on feedback, colors, logos and typography would be swapped out.
Prototype (Will open in separate tab)
Dashboard
Search Results
Recipe Page
04 Test
Usability Testing
3 Users performing 3 moderated tasks on figma prototype
Users found app clean, refreshing and easy to use
Users would like expansion on the community feature, specifically being able to share recipes between friends
Move ‘favorites’ module higher up on the dashboard bring machines down
Below is an example of the small changes made after user feedback which added value to the MVP while being relatively easy to implement.
05 Conclusion
Expansion for Community section
Share recipes with friends 'Virtual Happy Hour' for users to come together making the drink of their choice from comfort of their own home
Header illustrations
Add emoji or illustrations to headers on dashboard to elevate design and draw users attention appropriately
Grocery Feature
Allow users to add ingredients within recipes to a grocery list, totaling an estimated cost, partnering grocery stores that allows users to order online or locate ingredients needed for chosen recipe(s)
What's next?