Heads Up! Case Study
A Beer Rating App UX/UI Case Study.
Project Overview
HEADS UP! is an app developed to provide users the opportunity to search for a specific beer based on their needs - allowing our users to find the perfect beer every time!
Many beer drinkers are often annoyed when their favorite beer option isn't available for purchase, and hate choosing the wrong beer they do not like. People are overwhelmed by the amount of options they have to choose from.
Heads up! allows people to search, rate, and purchase beers in an all-in-one beer app to make an informed decision about their next beer purchase.
UI/UX Designer (Team Project)
3 weeks
Justin Mac, Maricela Austgen, Amy Kim
User Research
Our interview questions and answers validated our theory that people typically have a hard time choosing a new beer to try. We wanted to find out if users would be interested in an app that would help them discover new beers to help aid them in the beer-buying decision process.
After our interviews, we found that the majority of interviewees enjoy beer, but have a difficult time choosing a new beer to try. In addition we asked if they would be interested in using an app that would help them get quick and valuable information to help them decide, and 92.5% said they would be interested in utilizing an app.
The Heads Up! App Development Team
Testing the Heads Up! Beer Rating App
User Testing
We did thorough testing with the beer rating app to find any major bugs in the user flow. Specifically, we wanted to see how the user would enter their preference for their favorite beer profiles.
Competitive Analysis
Rate Beer
Provides an in-depth, accurate, and is one of the most-visited source for beer information. RateBeer is a world site for craft beer enthusiasts and is dedicated to serving the entire craft beer community through beer education, promotion and outreach.
Untappd
Seems to cater more towards beer enthusiasts than every level of beer drinkers. Has an iPhone app that helps check in and rate beer. Has key features like unlocking badges, exploring new breweries, and recommendations.
Vivino
As an indirect competitor, Vivino primarily focuses on wine selection - not beer. The feature that caught my attention was the wine label scanner using my phone camera. This led to one of our core features for Heads Up.
Iterating the User Flow
1st Iteration
2nd Iteration
Final User Flow
Style Guide
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Yellow
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Blue
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Dark Blue
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Pink
Low Fidelity Paper Prototypes
High Fidelity iPhone Prototypes
Home Screen
Viewing a beer and its description
Reading the reviews of the beer
Ordering a beer directly on our app
Apple Pay using our Checkout
A List of Different Blonde Ales
Just Scan and Search!
Too lazy to search our extensive beer list? Want to quickly check the ratings of the beer? Or maybe just want to add to your favorites list? Just snap a quick picture of the beer and our camera system will automatically find the bottle for you.
Love a Specific style?
Find your favorite beer style - whether it's a blonde ale, a red ale, an IPA, etc! Choose from this screen to find the perfect beer by browsing the types you like! Quick and easy to find your favorite beer.
Onboarding Screens
Key Learnings from User Tests
- More information on home screen: Users wanted to view more information on the home screen
- Camera button prominence: Large and in the center of the tab bar. This would be our primary selling-point for the app. Users wanted that feature to be front and center.
- Star ratings interaction: Users clicked on the stars to view the ratings, rather than the button "View Ratings"
- Reading vs. leaving reviews: Users valued reading reviews vs. leaving a review
- Photo ID concerns: Users didn't feel comfortable with uploading their photo ID. We decided to dig deeper into other apps and websites that sell alcohol, and found that we only needed to verify that the user is 21+ through a pop-up. We no longer needed a photo ID verification during onboarding phase.
Opportunities for Future Iterations
- Friends feature: Adding friends feature to find out what your friends and family are drinking by adding them on the app. User would be able to view what beers their friends like.
- Revenue generation: Brewery and restaurant ads - this would help create revenue for the app
- Quick compare feature: Quick compare feature with multiple beer scans to quickly compare ABV, taste profiles, etc
- Advanced search: Adding advanced search options
