BeanVoyage

In a heavily coffee-influenced culture where caffeine is a source of both productivity and connection, I found that we waste a lot of time searching for the perfect cafe that fits our needs — and there isn't a straightforward path to it yet.

I'm passionate about coffee myself, with several types of brewing mechanisms at home and a frequenter of cafes. This project was a way to fuel that passion and help other coffee aficionados find their perfect café.

There's an ever-growing coffee culture in the U.S. Remarkably, 63% of Americans admit to drinking at least one cup a day, showcasing its popularity over even water. Yet when we look at coffee-related apps, only the big café chains have them.

Post pandemic, there has been a shift in work culture and many Americans are moving to a remote workplace — leaving cafes a new workplace for many. Yet there isn't an efficient way for workers to find places conducive to work.

I started with a competitive analysis with direct competitors being Google Maps, Yelp and Doordash as platforms primarily used by customers to discover coffee shops and order online.

Using a SWOT analysis, I compiled differentiation opportunities and started user research — conducting 2 sets of field studies for 2 user types (cafe frequenters and cafe owners/managers) over a course of two weeks.

Based on findings, I developed user journey maps for 2 personas and focused on 4 key features, developing personas and user flows accordingly.

“Coffee is more popular than water with 63% of Americans admitting to drinking at least one cup a day.”

— Industry Research

Once I had my initial sketches, I worked on developing low fidelity wireframes according to the key user flows identified. With this prototype, I conducted usability tests over the course of a week to identify problem areas and improvements.

I interviewed 5 participants and found that some user flows needed to be fleshed out more. Based on the changes, I moved into high-fidelity wireframes and prototyping and conducted another usability test with 5 participants.

The research and testing phases revealed critical insights that shaped the final solution.

Since this project was conducted as part of my graduate capstone at MICA, I had limited time. For next steps, I would conduct additional research on business plans and competitive viability compared to Doordash, Toast, and UberEats.

I would then design the cafe owner view of the app with flows of onboarding, sales transactions & menu setup and conduct usability tests.