PROJECT

Happitini

MY ROLE

Discovery

User Research

UX/UI Design

Prototyping

Usability Testing

TOOLS

Sketch

InVision

Miro

Marvel

SUMMARY

I designed a location aware mobile app, finding the best happy hour deals, discounts and events.

People are social-creatures, we thrive off of human interaction, connection, and social time. Once we are safe to do so again, more than ever, people will want to gather to have fun, relax, let loose, and enjoy one another’s company - what better way, than at a happy hour?

PROBLEM

Finding and determining the “perfect” happy hour can be a time-consuming and stressful task. Especially if you are in a new city with many choices/options, and many places to research.

SOLUTION

Create an app that could do “the dirty work” for the users. Design a location-aware mobile app that helps users find various happy hour specials, deals, and events based on the user’s specified location and/or desired happy hour characteristics.

TARGET USER

The target user for the app is over 21 years of age, likes to attend happy hours, and have intentions to attend happy hours.

Phase 1: Research & Discovery

The most important part of creating a valuable experience for users is to study the user and understand their “needs” and “wants” as much as possible. In order for the design to be successful, I knew I needed to find participants that would first and foremost find use and value in the apps’ main purpose: to find

AFFINITY MAP

“It just feels like all the information isn’t always updated, I feel like a lot of restaurants and bars don't even have their happy hour stuff online”.

“...I try to go to happy hour but I mean around here happy hour ends at 6pm and sometimes I get home at 6pm, so it would be nice to be able to find a ‘late night’ happy hour or one on the weekend”.

UNDERSTANDING USERS DESIRES

  1. People said they want to be able to look/swipe through venue photos

  2. People said they rely heavily on reviews and ratings

  3. People said location and convenience are key factors

  4. People said finding a happy hour at a day and time that fits their schedule is most important

  5. People said they go to happy hour mainly to catch up with friends and have fun

EMPATHY MAP

happy hours. After completing some secondary research on the benefits of happy hours and possible reasons people attend them, a research plan was created along with a list of selected participants for user interviews.

USER PAIN POINTS

  1. People have a hard time finding a happy hour at a time/day they can actually attend.

  2. People have a hard time finding valid, up-to-date information online (if any at all).

  3. People don’t even know how/where to go about finding a happy hour online.

USER PERSONA

Phase 2: Ideate

HOW MIGHT WE?

  • How might we help people easily find a Happy Hour in a specific location?

  • How might we help users sift through the mounds of reviews and information given?

  • How might we assist people to find specific characteristics they are searching for in a HH?

  • How might we help the users get up-to-date, valid, information?

  • How might we reduce the amount of time and steps users take to search for a Happy Hour?

  • How might we help people find a Happy Hour happening at a time that the user can attend?

DEFINING THE MVP

By using user stories to figure out the many different tasks users would want to achieve, I defined my MVPs, and developed my red routes. Right away, it was clear that users needed to be able to:

  1. register for the app so they could create a profile 

  2. find a happy hour in a specific location/day/time and/or with specific features

  3. view photos, specials, menus and venue websites

  4. share/invite a happy hour with a friend

Phase 3: Interaction Design

RED ROUTES AND USER FLOWS

One of my user stories and an MVP was for the user to be able to choose from a variety of filters or certain aspects/characteristics, including being able to select the day

and/or time to find the perfect happy hour for them. This flow allows the user the ability to find a happy hour on a specific day/time along with specific characteristics.

USER FLOW

SKETCHES

The next step was for me to sketch out the main screens that were needed for users to complete the red route tasks and to get an idea of how the app would function in terms of design and usability.

GUERRILLA TESTING

As seen in the sketches, I originally had the filtering screen pop up (by tapping the magnify glass icon) located at the bottom (on the navigation bar). However after my guerrilla testing, I noticed that a lot of the participants (almost all) had a hard time finding this icon and also didn’t register that it was to filter and search for specific happy hour characteristics. With this knowledge, I changed the icon to a filter icon. labeled all icons and also moved it to the top of the screen for better visual hierarchy (so that it was one of the first things users noticed on the screen).

wireframes. Below is an image of the same flow shown in the previous user flow example above with use of the low-fidelity wireframes.

LOW - FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

Once I had an idea of how I wanted the screens to function, I tested them out to make changes, and then created my low fidelity

Phase 4: Visual Design

MOOD BOARD

I needed to get an idea for how the app’s aesthetics would translate for users when exploring the site. I wanted the app to feel friendly, inviting, and fun--yet still sophisticated.

BRAND ATTRIBUTES

Playful, sophisticated, reliable, savvy, stressless, inviting

BRAND PERSONALITY

Happitini is more than just finding inexpensive food and drink deals, it’s about connecting and strengthening relationships with friends and strangers alike. A bond that brings everyone together for the social interaction that is so purposeful and important in every human experience.

Imagery Inspiration

  • I chose this imagery because it displays a sense of community and authentic relationships.

  • It displays people relaxing, having fun and enjoying each others company with a friendly and inviting vibe.

  • It shows fun and colorful cocktails in an earthy, sophisticated fashion.

UI Inspiration

  • Rounded corners and buttons gives a more contemporary and sophisticated look.

  • Bright colors give a friendly, fun and inviting vibe.

  • A simple, clean , modern look gives a sense of ease and comfort.

BRAND PLATFORM & STYLE GUIDE

Hapitini Brand 1.png

interview process, I heard a lot of participants say that they were very visual and often judge places by pictures, proving that the images and visual design had to be as important to me as functionality.

HIGH - FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

Designing the high fidelity screens for “Happitini” was really important. Adding pictures of real venues and using an attractive color scheme gave the app energy. During the

Phase 5: Test & Iterate

USABILITY TESTING

For the testing of the prototype, I asked the users to complete a few tasks to see if the apps’ design was functionally intuitive and easy to use to complete the tasks successfully.

While testing my prototype I received a lot of useful feedback and suggestions (i.e.- users would have liked to see more features). Most important observations made:

  • the users had a hard time knowing where to go to register for the app (they wanted to sign in before having an account).

  • the users didn’t know where to go to change the location of where they wanted to search (they went to the “map view” icon instead of “filter” icon). 


ITERATION

With the observations and feedback I received from the usability testing I went back to iterate my designs. The biggest alterations that I made:

  • the creation of a “search field” where the user could change their location in the map view along in the filter sections.

  • the addition of an edge case for users trying to log in without an account and rephrased my question/task of “registering”, to see if users had issues with the actually registration process.

  • the addition of other minor features to enhance the users overall experience, such as a price range and distance for each venue.

INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE

 INSIGHTS & TAKEAWAYS

Exercising a user-centered methodology and design process, I created “Happitini” to help users easily find happy hours --so that they can be less stressed over the process of trying to find a happy hour and more focused on enjoying their time socializing at a happy hour. I have learned that

testing early on, and as many times throughout the whole design process, is one of the best things a designer can do to save time, money, frustration--and most of all to be able to create the best experience for users.

Next

EVENTures