Coffe app

Understanding the Challenge 🧐

In today's fast-paced world, coffee lovers often find themselves in a rush, needing to order their coffee quickly and efficiently. The goal was to design an ordering system that not only simplifies the process but also enhances the overall user experience by minimizing friction points. The app needed to cater to users who are familiar with popular coffee chains who would appreciate a more streamlined, user-friendly approach.

Solution 🎯

I developed a high-fidelity prototype for a mobile app that emulated the experience of ordering at a major coffee chain, such as Starbucks or Costa. The prototype focused on one major task: ordering a coffee. The aim was to create a design that was not only functional but also enjoyable to use, reflecting the brand's commitment to customer satisfaction.

UX Research 🔎

To create an app that could stand out in the crowded coffee shop market, I conducted a competitive analysis of Starbucks and Costa's mobile apps. My analysis was guided by Nielsen's heuristics, which provided a framework for evaluating the usability and effectiveness of these existing solutions.

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Key Insights from the Competitive Analysis:

Visibility of System Status: Starbucks does an excellent job of keeping users informed about their order status. However, I noticed that Costa's app lacked real-time feedback, which could lead to user frustration.

Match Between System and the Real World: Both apps used language and icons familiar to coffee drinkers.

User Control and Freedom: While Starbucks allowed for easy navigation and changes, Costa's app sometimes trapped users in a specific flow, making it difficult to backtrack or correct mistakes. My design prioritises flexibility, allowing users to modify their orders at any stage.

Consistency and Standards: Starbucks maintained consistent design patterns, which helped users learn the interface quickly. However, Costa's app had some inconsistencies in its UI elements that could confuse users. I aimed to ensure that my design was both consistent and aesthetically pleasing.

Design Solution💡

I developed the information architecture for the app and a rationale for the colour palette. My goal was to create a logical flow that would make it easy for users to order their coffee and other items with minimal effort. The architecture was designed to be as flat as possible, reducing the number of steps needed to complete an order.

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Key Components of the Design:

Home Screen: Features a quick access menu to the most popular orders and a clear navigation bar.

Menu Categories: Organised by type (e.g., Coffee, Tea, Pastries), with an emphasis on clear, concise labelling.

Customisation Options: Allows users to easily adjust their orders, such as changing milk options or adding flavour shots.‍

Order Review: Provides a clear summary of the order with the ability to make last-minute changes before confirming.

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Every design decision was informed by the competitive analysis and rooted in Nielsen's heuristics. For example, I emphasised real-time feedback (visibility of system status) and provided multiple opportunities for users to review and edit their orders (user control and freedom). Moreover, making the navigation bar visible at all times allowed users to move freely into different sections of the app.

View Prototype

Key Learnings ✍️

Applying Nielsen's Heuristics: Utilizing Nielsen's heuristics as a framework for both the competitive analysis and the design process was invaluable. This experience highlighted the importance of backing up design solutions with best practices in user experience.

Flexibility in Design Thinking: As the sole UX designer on this project, I learned the importance of being adaptable and resourceful. I had to wear multiple hats, from conducting research to building the prototype, which taught me how to efficiently manage my time and resources.

What the client says 💭

I can only recommend Clara A true professional and Figma Native user! Clear communication from the beginning, where she requested many different details so the product delivered matches my intentions. It may sound obvious this process, but through my Fiverr experience as a buyer, not all professional pose these questions that make a huge different on the end product. Can only recommend others to invest in Clara. Get's the money worth.