Boring Drinks

Helping people find clean and complex nonalcoholic alternatives


Product Design   Responsive Website





People who don’t consume alcohol struggle to find interesting, nonalcoholic alternatives.
I set out to explore how people are navigating the nonalcoholic beverage landscape and understand what might enhance and support their sober journeys. The nonalcoholic beverage space is experiencing a surge of activity recently, with the emergence of several brands and a rise in popularity of sober lifestyles. It is, however, challenging to find these brands stocked and several of them operate direct-to-consumer. There’s also less information and recipes readily available about preparing nonalcoholic drinks. How might these user communities be connected to alternatives? How might we close the knowledge gap?
Role
Research
UX/UI
Prototyping

Tools
Figma

Duration
6 weeks


Research


Current trends around alcohol-free lifestyles often center on retail and consumers with prior alcohol abuse, as opposed to sober populations who don’t consume alcohol for other reasons (e.g. cultural, religious, dietary). I was interested in this group and interviewed sober adults between 30 and 60 years old who’ve chosen not to consume alcohol for cultural, religious or dietary reasons. Adults over 30 were selected because the current US-based alcohol-free trends are being led by 30+ adults. I interviewed this demographic to get a better understanding of their needs and motivations.Age Range
30 - 60

Outreach Channels
email,  phone, social media

Number of Sessions
5 virtual interviews
“If you ask for nonalcoholic, it’s limeade. The only thing there is an abundance of is alcohol.”


“I still want something interesting to drink that isn’t water.”


 “I’d like to be able to have it at home because I have to pay for it elsewhere.”






Key Findings

  1. Thoughtful and craft dining experiences are important.

  2. Specialty drinking is a luxury, there’s a hesitancy to invest. Participants prefer to dine-in.

  3. Participants prefer natural and fresh foods to processed ingredients.

  4. Culture and religion has shaped their relationship to alcohol. Many participants prefer halal.

  5. Limited availability of information about alternatives is a challenge.
Values:
  • intentionality
  • affordability
  • clean eating
  • halal


Problems:
  • limited alternatives available
  • high-cost of alternatives


Opportunities
  • recipe sharing
  • retail       



Personas







Defining the Problem


How might we help people who don’t consume alcohol for cultural or dietary reasons find halal and clean nonalcoholic alternatives?

How might we help sober communities learn to make clean nonalcoholic drinks at home?

How might we help people find nonalcoholic alternatives for special occasions or entertaining?

How might we close the knowledge gap surrounding nonalcoholic cocktail making?




Concepts and Initial Testing


I ideated concepts that would connect users to craft nonalcoholic cocktail recipes, provide information about nonalcoholic drink making, and allow users to purchase halal and organic alternatives and accessories, like ingredients and glassware. Recipes would be sourced from professional mixologists—it was important that the recipes come from subject matter experts to address the knowledge gap. 




Information Architecture





Low Fidelity Wireframes
I designed low fidelity wireframes for these flows and tested 3 different views for the recipe and glassware lists. I also explored desirability for a user recipe submission feature and a glossary feature.







Key Findings

  1. Users preferred single-page views, and information organized by tabs

  2. Users desired more information on the recipe and product detail pages

  3. Users were not interested in a recipe submission feature

  4. Users requested or expected to be able to search and filter by ingredient

  5. Users were highly motivated by images, ingredients and flavor profiles





Iterations and Further Testing


Based on the first round of testing, the priorities for mid-fidelity designs were imagery, search and filter, and reducing cognitive overload. Based on feedback and time constraints, I prioritized recipes and learning and removed the ecommerce element. The glossary was eliminated for its high effort and low impact. The recipe submission feature was also eliminated due to low desirability.  



Iterations and Mid Fidelity Prototype

⟵ The ability to be able to search or filter by ingredient was added. It was kept visible with horizontal scrolling because search by ingredient was so desirable

⟵ I tried a combination of dual column and single column views

⟵ Flavor profile was included on the recipe card abbreviated view


⟵ The glossary page was eliminated due to high effort and low impact, definitions were made available via non-modal pop-ups.



Insights, Iterations and Final Prototype

Users almost always interacted with the search bar first, followed by the sort and filter actions, not necessarily with the intention of using them but because they were prominent. They reacted negatively to the horizontally scrolling sort and filter and described feeling overwhelmed. All users requested clarity of the iconography. They desired specific metrics for recipe time commitment; requested additional definitions be added; and misunderstood the effort level metric. 
⟵ Color vibrancy and contrast were increased, and colors that are less gendered were chosen

⟵ A second search bar was added on the homepage near the top of the screen
⟵ A highly requested “features” section was added
⟵ The sort and filter actions were converted to dropdown menus on desktop and a drawer on mobile

⟵ The dual column view on the homepage was eliminated


⟵ A search bar was included on every page because the search function was so desirable

⟵ Numbers replaced progress bars for time estimates and effort level was eliminated altogether

⟵ Rating averages were changed to units of 5 instead of units of 10




    Reflection


    I made several adjustments due to scope creep and unexpected, but exciting, test results. I scrapped features I thought would be critical because they turned out not to be desirable for users. I originally intended for this product to primarily be a platform for users to submit and share recipes, however, because there’s so little information available about nonalcoholic bartending, users need more information than they have to share. That could be an interesting direction for future expoloration—how might we create a library for nonalcoholic mixology? 


    Future Enhancements
      • A dial or button that adapts the recipe to varying serving sizes
      • The inclusion of substitute ingredients and processes
      • Addition of meal pairings for each drink recipe
      • A user submission feature for more knowledgeable users