Beerhops

Context: This is an app concept project created to showcase my UX and UI skills.

Apps used: Sketch, Invision & Marvel.

What I did: UX & UI design, usability testing, research, wireframing, feature prioritization. and Invision prototype.

BEER HOPS

Beer hops is an app that allows you to find local breweries, review craft beers, see events, and get rewarded for checking in and sharing photos on social media. This app is geared towards the young social individual who enjoys craft beers but is not a beer elitist.

RESEARCH

I researched craft beer drinkers to establish who my possible target users are, validate user personas, and test out possible user flows (through usability testing). This was done in order to validate target users, identify their pain points and provide a useful app that cater to their needs.

The following graphs were taken from the Brewers Association (BA) which is the national organization that represents the small and independent craft brewers in America. They highlight demographic data showcased at the Craft Brewers Conference held in May of 2016.

Fig.1. Graph from Julia Herz, Today’s craft beer lovers: millennials, women, and Hispanics, (national Brewers Association for small and independent Craft Brewers).

Millennials are the majority of weekly craft beer drinkers, followed by Gen Xers.
Millennials are 2 times more likely to be weekly beer drinkers than Gen Xers.
Boomers are almost 3 times less likely to drink craft beers on a weekly basis even though they make up the largest population of drinking age.

Fig. 2. Graph from Julia Herz, Today’s craft beer lovers: millennials, women, and Hispanics, (national Brewers Association for small and independent Craft Brewers).

Women are not very interested in beer.
Men are 3 times more likely to drink craft beer weekly than women.
Studies have also shown that women who do drink beer weekly are just as likely as men to choose craft beer. This was presented during the Craft Brewers Conference in May 2016.

USER INTERVIEWS

6 people were interviewed. The majority were craft beer drinkers who wanted to have fun with friends while enjoying their favorite beers. Many found it frustrating when an establishment didn’t have the beers they were looking for. Finding breweries and reviews were also pain points highlighted by the craft beer drinkers. Also, in correlation with the Brewers Association research, all users who said they drank craft beer on a regular basis were men.

PERSONAS

Matt is the main persona.

He loves craft beers, is social media savvy, enjoys going out with friends and frequents breweries on a regular basis.

Josh is the secondary persona.

He likes beer, is social and likes to discover new places to go with friends. Prefers places that offer discounts or some sort of rewards.

FLOWCHART & wireframes

After analyzing the research and user flow chart, I created low-fidelity and mid-fidelity paper and SketchApp wireframes to iterate through design options quickly. I used the wireframes as a visual guide to refine the app’s user experience & user interface designs.

MID-FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

Usability testing

I conducted usability tests with 5 users in order to understand the customer’s perspective and see if the app’s user experience was effective. The following were the tasks tested:

Finding a brewery
Finding information about breweries
Earning points

Usability testing outcomes

There were a couple of things that were brought up during testing:

Users struggled to find out how they can earn points and redeem them for prizes
The social posting aspect of the app was not as obvious

I was surprised to see users struggle but it was an eye-opening experience. Changes like adding a camera icon to the app were made in response to user feedback. These changes tested to be much more effective with users.

On a positive note: